‘The Last House’ on Netflix – A Review

As humans, we fear what we don’t understand. This has always been our modus operandi. One thing that we clearly don’t understand and are terrified of is the ocean. Just look at early maps where the land is rendered vibrantly while the large swaths of water in between are depicted as wastelands of death with the words “Here There Be Monsters” scrawled within. That’s the general conceit of Netflix’s The Last House, a survival horror wherein the ocean reclaims the land.

The Days the Rain Came

The film opens in Washington state with Jason (Wagner Moura) fishing, though the pickings are slim. A large storm off in the distance tells him it’s time to head home, which he does. He pulls into his driveway, nodding at neighbors and admiring their Christmas decorations. He greets his still-sleeping wife Ann (Greta Lee) with donuts, which rouses the children, Ruth (Riley Chung) and Graham (Noah Alexander Sosnowski). As the family begins their day with the rain falling around the house, the Internet goes out.

Undaunted, they recall that it was their planned day for Christmas tree shopping, so they ready themselves. They go to leave and find they are unable; none of the doors will budge, the windows won’t open, and the glass won’t even shatter. They look out the windows to see that their neighbors are in a similar situation. Everyone, so far as they can tell, is trapped inside their homes.

Jason, an out-of-work engineer, goes into planning mode almost immediately. He tries drilling holes in the door, only to find that the rain, itself, seems to be repairing them. They know something is up, something unexplainable, but they refuse to panic. They try to make the best of this forced staycation. (If you’re getting pandemic vibes, you’re on the right track, except no DoorDash.) Jason finds an old box with a DVD player and two discs: Air Force One and Annie. In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Easter Egg, he also finds an old Netflix envelope that is, sadly, empty. (If you don’t get the relevance, kids, ask an old person.) 

They spotted a woman who was out jogging when the rain started who ran off to get help. She returns days later with a large kitchen knife trying to enter the house, screaming that “they’re all dead” and warning them not to go outside. Right before their very eyes, the rain itself seems to take her, dragging her screaming into the darkness. Yeah, something is most definitely up.

The Danger Within

As the days turn to weeks then months, the family begins to fray, as many of us can relate. Paranoia, claustrophobia, and frustration threaten to turn them against one another and tear their bond apart. Worse yet, when food stores run low, hunger becomes a very real problem. When the power grid finally fails, it seems like all the nails might be in the coffin. However, they have to bet their bottom dollar that the sun will come out tomorrow, even if they’ve had enough tomorrows for a lifetime. It’s through the strength of Ann and Jason that the family remains intact. That and, of course, a common enemy.

The Threat Beyond

The Last House isn’t just a closed-room psychological thriller. There are monsters. The creatures’ design is not anything terrifically new, but Leterrier does a good job of obscuring the beasties until it’s proper time they reveal themselves in full. Even though they’ve trapped our heroes in their home (along with everyone else), they want in. As they’re in control, they can do as they please, opening the door at their whim and waltzing in looking for a snack. It is this final slit in the veil that sets up the film’s tense third act and gives us its conclusion, for better or worse.

Final Thoughts

I’ve seen plenty of worse movies than The Last House, but its claustrophobic minimalism wears thin at times. Between scenes of the Terror from outside trying to get in, we get a bit too much time with the family, none of whom are terrifically compelling. Jason is capable (think MacGyver in a Doomsday bunker) but often too reliant on his engineering skills to face pragmatic truths. Ann is maternal and patient, but it frays as time wears on. The kids are each so one-dimensional that I understand why their parents shortened each of their names to a single syllable: Ru & Gray. Ru is all innocence and little else; Gray is teen angst and little else.

If you’ve ever wanted to see a film by a Doomsday Prepper who also has a big soft spot for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, this is that movie. It attempts to do for creatures of the sea what The Happening did for plants with about the same efficacy. If there’s a deeper environmental message here, I didn’t get it.

While the acting is at times quite good and director Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk) clearly knows his away around action, the script ties both to some pretty shoddy pacing and scenes so dark we can’t see a thing. Not to leave you hopeless, though, this film reminded me of a much better one: Arcadian, which I saw at the Overlook Film Festival in 2024. That film stars Nicolas Cage as a single father struggling to raise two sons in a post-apocalyptic world which is stalked by creatures at night. Taking place on an isolated farm, the film makes better use of its single location, tension, claustrophobia, and creatures. Be warned: these beasts are straight up nightmare fuel.

The Last House is currently streaming on Netflix, and Arcadian is currently streaming on Hulu. Have you seen either or both of these movies and do you agree with my scores and comparison? Let us know in the comments below and always check back here for more movies, streaming, comics, and books news.