The Last Winter Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
The arctic tundra has been frozen for centuries ...and so has what lies beneath.
What if mankind only had one season left on Earth?
In the Arctic region of Northern Alaska, an oil company's advance team struggles to establish a drilling base that will forever alter the pristine land. After one team member is found dead, a disorientation slowly claims the sanity of the others as each of them succumbs to a mysterious fear.
| Ron Perlman | Ed Pollack |
| James LeGros | James Hoffman |
| Connie Britton | Abby Sellers |
| Kevin Corrigan | Motor |
| Jamie Harrold | Elliot Jenkins |
| Pato Hoffmann | Lee Means |
| Zach Gilford | Maxwell McKinder |
| Joanne Shenandoah | Dawn Russell |
| Larry Fessenden | Charles Foster |
| Halfdan Theodorsson | Gary |
| Larry Fessenden |
6.50 out of 10 (377 votes)
Visitor Reviews
The ending made me real angry
posted on 26 Aug 2009The last winter is a movie that starts up promising with an oil field expedition in the arctic plains. The atmosphere of coldness, emptiness, isolation and the resulting paranoia are captured perfectly. Basically the movie starts off a lot like The thing with some modern ecological themes mixed in. There is something under the melting ice... is it nature taking revenge on man, is it ghosts, is it just the paranoia of the crew turning on each other or is it seeping gas from the ground causing hallucinations like the ecological adviser of the team suspects?? We don't know... but I didn't care because the atmosphere, music and beautiful pictures of the white nothingness are just too gripping. Until 2/3rds into the movie I really loved it and was waiting for something to drop the curtain for applause. But it didn't happen... the finale is a mix of all those ideas mentioned, unsure if the thrown in CGI Animal-Ghosts are just products of imagination or natures wrath or whatever. You just get some themes thrown in that never were mentioned before (so what are the childhood pictures supposed to mean and why was the strange box introduced into the plot heavily in the beginning to be dropped off in the end) plus a totally open and disappointing ending that I had the impression to have seen more than once before. Honestly I was angry there about a great movie being ruined so heavily... sitting there and kind of screaming "zoomout and pan, goddamnit" to the camera man. But he didn't ... I can't believe how stupid the last shot is. Watch the first half of the movie, turn it off and leave the rest to your imagination... I think then it could be a lot better than with the directors imagination leading nowhere.
Please someone, anyone, take the cameras away from cheesy green filmmakers!
posted on 24 Aug 2009Let me start by saying there is one and only one slow-paced arctic horror movie that ever worked and it's John Carpenter's The Thing. Anyone who thinks they can remake—er, rip-off—the experience is setting themselves up for failure from the start. In this case, The Last Winter is not just a failure, it's a laugh-out-loud joke from start to finish.Let me start out by saying the casting is terrible. Ron Perlman is so over-the-top as the main leader it was like watching an old, clichéd war cartoon with the stereotypical big/loud commander. Hilarious. Then you have all the men referring to Connie Britton's character as drop-dead gorgeous, when she's just flat-out ugly in this movie. Awkward. The rest of the cast is an attempt at recreating the cast from The Thing, but in a politically correct way.Then you get to the laughable plot. It's reminiscent of The Happening in that it never outright says "Global warming is making things kill us!" but infers it in every single scene. I'm not about to go into the inconsistencies in the global warming debate, but, please, can someone explain to me how global warming makes ghost reindeer? Because as you see in the second scene, ghost reindeer are as scary as "The Scariest Movie of the Year!" (L.A. Daily News) gets. Wait . . . you're still reading this review as if I'm talking about a serious horror movie? The last time I saw ghost reindeer was on those old claymation Christmas cartoons.If all of the things I just mentioned weren't enough for you to pretend this film is sitting in the comedy section of your local video store and not to horror section, I haven't even gotten to the level of boredom. Point blank: there is a MAJOR difference between building atmosphere and just pointless scenes. The original '70s Alien did not have a single pointless scene, because every single scene added something to the atmosphere. The Last Winter is the exact opposite, and just has boring, pointless scenes for the sake of boring, pointless scenes. The atmosphere is paper-thin, except what the arctic naturally creates on its own. There isn't a single scene of action or thrill until the last 20 minutes, and that is the only scene of action or thrill in the entire movie. The characterization consists of your typical off-screen sex scenes, just like in every other movie with forgettable characters. At one point you even get to see one of the men strip off his clothes—following the rules of political correctness and obscuring his crotch—and run around with his bare butt getting screen time. Unless the director has the maturity level of a 13-year-old boy, can someone please enlighten me of the point of this? Am I really the only person out there who sees no point of cheesy on-screen nudity for the sake of "Eh, every movie has it, so I can't go against the grain"? Well, folks, this is what you get when you give your money to cheesy, pansy directors.A few last complaints:- The script has the realism of something written by a 6-year-old. - The Last Winter isn't scary and it certainly isn't fun or gory. - Cheese drips off every scene. Especially the ghost reindeer. - The flash-cut directing worked in the Saw franchise, but it's downright laughable here.Do I really need to go on any further, even though I really could? The Last Winter is just a terrible green film with no intelligence and even less entertainment. It's just a cheesy, wholesale cliché example of the overdone cabin fever-type movies. It's like watching the work of a kid who saw The Thing and had a wet dream, then got worked up in global warming, then became a director and welded his two loves together with cheese and unoriginality.0/10
Great acting and great film making make for a creepy first half but a lack of direction ruins the second
posted on 22 Aug 2009Eco horror film about the advance team from an oil company finding that the Alaskan wilderness is turning against it. Ten years earlier a test well had been drilled and what it found was kept secret. Now after years of negotiations and behind the scenes dealing the advance group from Northern Industries is preparing the way for full scale drilling. Arriving back from headquarters big wig Ron Perlman finds things are beginning to go amiss. The temperature is climbing despite it being February, its raining and more than one of the people in his crew is acting strange.Well made and well acted this film works for about 45 minutes until one of the crew, who had gone mysteriously missing, begins to go on about strange forces and "don't you see it". No we don't. And thats the problem. much of this film we don't see anything. To be certain we do see the guy wander into the waste and freeze to death and we see his lifeless corpse moved around, and we see the ominous animals,we see the deaths and we hear the scary words about the planet in revolt, but we don't see anything that makes sense. For whatever reason none of it makes a whole hell of a lot of sense. Its formless dread that never takes form, and while our lives are often controlled by it, you can't make a movie about it. To be honest I started not to pay attention in the last 35 or 40 minutes. The mood was good, but it just wasn't scary because the reason for the fear, other than clever film-making, was missing.I'll try it again down the road, but for now I consider it a misfire. (Also in fairness a friend at work really really liked it)
Had everything going for it which makes it all the sadder...
posted on 20 Aug 2009... that the end ruins it all. It's not even the conclusion in itself, it's the execution of it. I mean why, why for heaven's sake is the cheapskate CGI used is way beyond my comprehension..? This movie had everything to make it a great one ; beautiful photography, excellent cast, no- nonsense dialogs, the mood, the music...everything stood as one, non-intrusive and a coherent whole. I liked it from the starting minutes, and it just got better and better. And then it decided to force-feed us the already clear underlying message with even more determination, just to make sure that everybody understood, just to drive it well home. Except that the best things are for the spectator to discover, and here we would have certainly not needed the supplementary (and cringe-worthy-cheesy) effort to explain it. You have 99% of the movie going strong, and it's the last 1% that blows it all off, that's maddening! 99% of the movie is low- key, bleak and where the FX is invisible and where you question the sanity of it all while clearly understanding the moral point, and then it goes over the top and spoils it with a whimsical overstatement and cheap CGI... I.just.don't.get.it. It's like someone else took over the direction for the last five minutes. Or maybe the dead of winter got to the film crew as well in the end. Mind you, if i seem passionate about this, it's because liked it so much that i'm angry about the lost opportunity for a *great film*. And the worst of it all is that i think that simply editing the end differently, and by that i mean cutting all the "explanatory" stuff out, could have sufficed. As it is, it just leaves me sad. I'd recommend it though, wholeheartedly, if for nothing else than the 99% of it, which hopefully promises us that extra 1% for the next time. 6 out of 10 for the potential. Would have been 8 out of 10 with the last 5 minutes cut off.
The Thing Turned Bad...
posted on 21 Jul 2009OK Well where to start, i was eager and quite exited to watch this movie After all the hype, and good reviews its received.Especially the part where its supposed to be the scariest movie of the year, i would firstly like to ask where? cos in my opinion movies low budget horror flicks like Dog Soldiers or The descent were scarier.Now about the film, It started of with potential, reminded me of the great classic The Thing, Then i have no clue as to what the director was trying to achieve, either he fell asleep while directing or there was a script changeover, because all of a sudden it went from good to utter mess and the whole story fell apart.I honestly have no idea why the director has left an opening for a sequel in the style of resident evil.I've given the movie a 4 for the beginning 20 minute's, and the acting as it wasn't too bad was the only thing that kept me sane lol.
Winter, my favorite season
posted on 17 Jul 2009I thought that this was a pretty decent movie,, it's not you're usual Hollywood Horror movie,, or anything close to it,, actually i really ain't seen anything out there like this,, this is what i would call Eco-Horror, about what nature can do to you,, the story goes is that the government wants oil out of Alaska, and they send a team of oil riggers to get the oil out,, and one by one something is wiping them out,, but we don't know what that is right away,, is it a monster. is it poison gases,, something is making people go crazy up there, any you have to figure it out for yourself. I liked all of the snow scenes,, which is practically all of the movie,, the way the wind just whips it around,, then you have the feeling of being totally isolated, you kinda feel for the characters that are stuck up the in the Arctic Circle,, all in all i found that this is a pretty good movie,, just a little hard to grasp the ending.
Stunningly awful
posted on 21 Jun 2009Starts off slow... so you think it's just taking its time, introducing you to the characters so you care when they (presumably) start to die horribly later on.Nope. It starts off slow, because that's how the rest of it goes too. Assuming you've managed to stay awake past the first 45 minutes we have some of the characters going slowly mad while ghostly sheep or something run around on the edge of their vision and random shots of environmental disasters are scattered across the screen.Just before you'd walk out of the cinema or fall asleep in your chair somebody finally gets killed (couldn't tell you who, despite all that build up), then they go mad/off themselves/get killed/whatever in quick succession.So, all self-induced mania? Well an incoming group on an aircraft crash for no reason whatsoever so they obviously had the instant version of the mania.Then it all goes completely to pot while crappy CGI see-through DragonMoose (tm) starts walking about and slapping people.Honestly, it's worse than I've described.Good job to the marketing team on getting all these positive reviews up here though! Two stars just for that.
Creepy, intelligent and eerie.
posted on 17 Jun 2009I watched this on a summer's evening enjoying a drink and completely unsure of what to expect. What I saw was a chilling, creepy and extremely thought provoking drama which explored our relationship with the planet. The incredible use of light added to the eerie nature of the film with the whiteness cascading out of the screen, almost melting the figures in shot. The clever use of music heightened tensions and gave an added depth to the plot and characterisations. Each actor gave a good performance which added interest, the people portrayed were intriguing, representing many of us and allowing us to ask the question, what if? I loved the surreal nature of the film, it harked back to one of my favourite 'X-Files' episodes-when a group of loggers unearth some extremely unpleasant insects- yet it surpasses that with the sense of menace and loss that the ending delivers. The growing hints about the threat works well: is it real or imagined or a combination of both? My only query, how does the survivor reach hospital? An excellent movie, I've not seen 'The Happening' but I sense that this is the film that should have been.
A Well Done Thriller With A Great Story!
posted on 20 May 2009When I read that this movie was reminiscent of The Thing, I was hesitant, as The Thing is one of my favourite movies. As it turns out, however, I was very pleasantly surprised! The Last Winter reminded me of the more well-considered and well-paced movies of days past when the story took center stage over dazzling special effects and pop stars prancing about as if they could actually act. The story takes its time, and evolves at its own speed without pandering to what might be the lack of attention span in a modern audience. The acting was fantastic and the lighting/camera work came together to create a truly lonely, haunting atmosphere.For those who say there is no "answer" at the end of the film, consider this: it is hinted that the "dark force" is some mysterious product of oil (which is itself, as explained in the movie, a product of age-old creatures and people). This is tied into the idea of humanity destroying the world and the world reacting as any living thing might to a virus or infection (i.e. humankind). One of the characters mentions that he "hopes this isn't happening everywhere else". Well, by the end we know that it indeed was! 8/10 because it was a great tale with a good production quality. Loved the Doomsday idea of the final scene. I would have liked better effects in the last "attack" on the male lead (thought the "flying" home concept was great). Also, a better explanation of the capped-off well (if the tundra is melting and "unleashing" these dark forces, of what significance was the drill site specifically?). Lastly, I would have liked some more explosive, frightening moments as in Carpenter's The Thing. Definitely worth seeing!
Well, this was a turn up...
posted on 12 May 2009Didn't have a clue what to expect from this film... I am a fan of Ron Perlman just purely from his looks and "unconventional" acting ability... and this film, he's good if not quite pushing himself.The story of a base readying itself for drilling in the Arctic tundra... the whole film has a feeling of "The Shining" and "The Thing" as said in earlier reviews... but has it's own style.The acting throughout is brill, with James LeGros as Hoffman stealing the show I found...The story is original... and although a slow moving film I was intrigued from start to finish wondering what the heck was going on.Overall it's a message about global warning, but NOT one that's patronising or gets in the way of a cracking thriller/horror... which is for the good.If it's a cold bleak night in your house, believe me, you'd do worse than hire this one out ;-) You wont' be disappointed.Pug
An excellent horror film
posted on 08 May 2009A few years ago,a film which really surprised me was Wendigo which was an excellent horror movie which was more interested in character development and atmosphere than in showing gore (in fact,that movie had zero gore).Now,Wendigo's director Larry Fessenden comes back with another excellent horror film called The Last Winter which shows Wendigo was not a casualty but the first work of a director who promises a lot.The Last Winter has a perfect suspense.Fessenden worked a lot on the atmosphere and he used a very intriguing and mysterious tone which keeps you on the edge of the seat.In other words,Fessenden makes you live the same paranoia the characters have.The locations also contribute for creating suspense.The performances are excellent.The actors transmit all the fear their characters have to the spectator,so you can easily feel on their place.The screenplay is great.It is very interested on the character development so you can know them very easily.I also have to say the screenplay is slow.And that slow tone is completely justified because it helps for us to get into the movie and feel all the suspense.Also,this movie brings an ecological message in a subtle and credible way.The only fail I found on this movie is the same I had found on Wendigo : the ending.On the ending of both movies,the special effects appear and they are not only poorly done but they also cannot reach all the subtle suspense of the rest of both films.But,that's a minor fail.The Last Winter is an excellent film.It's a pleasure to see a horror movie with a great story,excellent characters and a perfect suspense.With Wendigo and this movie,Fessenden has become a very promising director and it would be very interesting to see more films directed by him.
If you ignore the ridiculous underlying 'nature strikes back' theme, it 's a decent movie
posted on 30 Apr 2009No, it's not as good as The Thing, but then few movies are. However it stands on its own merits as a very entertaining and intriguing movie which captures the isolation and personality quirks of those drawn to it.I have to disagree with those who castigate Perlman in this. I think he plays the role extremely well. Jealous, aging, beaten out by a younger guy who is in many respects a better man with apostate set of beliefs, Perlman plays the part convincingly. In fact the acting is overall excellent throughout. There is slow tension building up in a remote setting with characters who are engaging, and a growing sense of doom and helplessness. What more could a horror movie ask. The 'monsters' aren't great but then they aren't really that important to the overall plot.Just put the absurdity of the eco-nut underlying theme out of mind and you will enjoy a creepy and well done dramatic film. And most likely learn what a Rolligon is if you don't already know.
If you like lots of snow and Ron Pearlman, this movie is for you!
posted on 13 Mar 2009Larry Fessenden's latest Wendigo themed movie is definitely among the best in horror of '08. Obviously in the tradition of John Carpenter's "The Thing", this flick takes place in an isolated, snowbound setting which makes up most of the tension. A team of oil drillers are sent deep in the arctic to map out certain digging locations before the equipment arrives. Only, the trucks carrying the equipment are unable to make the trip due to complications of rising temperatures - thus, our hapless crew must wait... First, two of them develop some odd behavior, one leaving in the middle of the night only to be found dead the next day while the other one endures severe hemorrhaging. Next, radios are down. No surprise there, as I doubt anyone could find a horror movie in which radio communication stays working the entire time, resulting in a safe rescue. Apparently, the problem here is the environment. It ain't happy! Oil is naturally derived from long lasting fossil remnants and the assumed ghosts of dead animals are stepping up. Actually, the actual details of the premise are very unclear, though the elements of terror and suspense shadow any confusion viewers may have. I guess I say that, because Ron Pearlman is awesome AND he looks terrifying. He looks like a gorilla with Down Syndrome, beaten with a spiked club! Plus, he even wets his bed for some reason! That scene where the plane crashes into their station was neat, too; as well as that crazy, giant moose shown twice at the end. "The Last Winter" feels pretty fresh despite the muddled plot. Check it out.
May induce suicidal tendencies!
posted on 01 Mar 2009At 5 minutes I was curious & hopeful. At 20 minutes..frustrated and doubtful. At 40 minutes angry, disappointed and at 55 minutes it was either become a charter member of the 'wrist cutters' or bail. Jack Mathews of the NY Daily News said it best for me: "...moves at glacial speed....few scares.... and no satisfaction."The film's production notes also offer major HINTS noting viewers will find the film "unsettling" that there is "something" threatening the camp, that we, the audience, will appreciate the horror(?) of a threat that may be as benign as "may be cabin fever..." and we may gasp in horror as we view the cast's "growing confusion." Yes, cabin fever and growing confusion... the exact state viewers may find themselves enjoying as the film rolls on.This faux horror film revealed less and less of a genuine horror genre. Consider the producers caveat that this film, unlike the best of the horror genre, does "...not descend into (horror) clichés." Sort of answers the question "where's the beef" in advance.Also, having bailed at the half way point I write this review in part in light of other reviews that nail the last half of the film as unredeeming.
Please, stop trying to help.
posted on 26 Jan 2009No doubt this film was made with the best of educational intentions. Permafrost thaw is indeed a very real and very serious problem, a part of the positive feedback loop that affects global warming. It's certainly something that people should know about.But, honestly, ghostly herds of caribou running around the sub-artic like the creatures in Pitch Black? This is not, repeat, NOT helpful.Movies like Starlight, The Day After Tomorrow, and this misfire do more harm to the environmental movement than any goose-stepping right-wing froth-at-the-mouth blowhard like Limbaugh or Hannity.It's difficult enough to get the average American to care about the glaringly obvious environmental changes on our planet without having some sub-moronic jack-booted boy-man pop up and sneer about how he once saw this one movie with global warming and ghost caribou and that guy from The Name of the Rose.
Thought provoking.
posted on 10 Jan 2009Well directed, brilliantly acted and filmed, basically it seemed to be about the earth fighting back, maybe trying to shake off the humans responsible for seemingly devastating it. Very sad in this respect, but a movie that needs to be seen, hopefully to get people thinking about their impact as a collective mass that everyone is having on this poor planet we call home, often to the detriment of all other forms of life which have suffered terribly in one way or another, and I think this is what was being shown in the film, and the spirit of the earth and it's misplaced creatures rising up conveyed this message very well, though not in such detail as to spoil the mysterious effect but in ghostly ways that were just right, not too little and not too much, but just enough to get the message home to what it was really all about. Maybe the director had a different vision to what I am interpreting from what I have seen in it, but this is how it came across to me. Also a very beautiful film to look at in it's pristine whiteness of wilderness.
"There is no way home."
posted on 23 Nov 2008~Spoiler~ I have been aware of Larry Fessenden as a producer for quite a while now, but The Last Winter is the first film I've seen that he has actually written and directed. And I can say that I'm very impressed with this piece. The Last Winter is almost a great horror film. Almost. The film is set in a secluded research/oil drilling station in Alaska and most viewers will be instantly reminded of John Carpenter's The Thing. But the setting and the paranoia later established are where comparisons to The Thing stop. The loose plot follows a team who are trying to set up operations for drilling oil while the thousand year old permafrost is melting around them. Is something being released due to the global warming? Is Mother Nature fighting back? It's not 100% clear but the team starts falling victim to stranger and stranger circumstances. It's a very engaging film that kept me captivated the whole time and even had a scene or two that scared me. That is no easy task and it seems that only the slow and subtle horror films can pull that off these days. It is also smartly acted. James LeGros and Ron Perlman lead a cast of capable actors who really sell their characters. Unfortunately it all falls apart somewhere near the end. The events never quite come together in a conclusion that satisfies this viewer. But I would still recommend viewing The Last Winter to prove what can be done outside the increasingly unoriginal Hollywood system.
Engaging and creepy... and also plot less and pointless.
posted on 23 Nov 2008I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to say about this one. It's loaded with so much promise - a cast of engaging characters; a bleak, isolated setting; slow-burn direction that builds a creepy atmosphere.But that's where the good stuff ends.The plot (or lack thereof) seems to involve the deaths of the aforementioned characters in random, arbitrary ways with no explanations offered. A few "ecological revenge" lines are thrown but they do little to clue the viewer in to what's actually supposed to be going on. To be completely honest - I don't think even the writer and director knew what was going on. I get the feeling they said:"Hey let's make this creepy film set in an arctic drilling station, kinda like 'The Thing'...""Cool, so what's the plot?""Ummm, I don't know, I don't think it matters. Characters can die!""Cool, so what's killing them?""Ummm, I don't know, I don't think it matters.""I guess not. Let's get started then!"
A great paranoia thriller ruined in the third act
posted on 26 Oct 2008On an Alaskan expedition to build an ice road for an American oil company at the ANWR, a group of environmentalists find one of their team dead and stripped naked in the snow. After it's discovered that toxic gases could be causing a form hallucinatory insanity, the team decides to head to the hospital to be examined. Unfortunately for them, problems arise around them that force them to remain in the toxic area.The cover art and "scariest movie of the year" called out to me in Blockbuster and told me to give this one a rental. While it's not the scariest film this year, it's up there. Then again, the biggest competition this film had for that title so far is Cloverfield. . . which is a whole different type of 'scary.' At first, the film is obviously most reminiscent of The Thing (1982) simply due to its setting. . . but, as the film progresses and the tension settles in and it forms into the isolation thriller it is, it actually gains even more The Thing-like traits. The horror of the film is very unsettling. . . something about an unseen, but still natural, evil that can scare me more than the biggest machete-wielding psychopath. You can't kill what you can't see, after all. As the story moves towards the conclusion. . . well, it just gets a little ridiculous. The paranoia continues, and we get a surge of activity that disrupts the slow, tense pace of the prior 70 or so minutes. And then BAM! We're hit with one of the worst endings ever. I mean, what the hell? The director's commentary even states, "Maybe none of it was true." What kind of answer is that? Seriously. Ugh. Anyway, I understand what they were going for. . . but it was still pretty unnecessarily. . . lame. I did like the social commentary (on everything from the global warming to the oil crisis and the SUV at the ending shot), the writing was fairly good, the acting was great, and it was shot beautifully. But due to some muddled explanation that left me more frustrated than curious or interested, the film ends up being just over average.Final verdict: 6.5/10.
The worst film I've seen this year
posted on 30 Aug 2009I'm surprised somebody actually got money to shot this turkey. Goes slow, slow, slow through the snow... and ends nowhere. Completely absurd story with some kind of pseudo-ecological concerns about global warming. (By the way, what happened with global warming this year? It's been a bloody freezing summer in England!). On top of this, the director thinks he's Bergman or something, and punishes us further with "arty" shots which are neither pretty nor arty. They're just plain boring.Don't waste an hour and a half of your life watching this "film". Just skip to the last ten minutes to have a laugh with the crap CGI. The Elk-Demons are absolutely hilarious.I'm thinking of claiming compensation. Seriously.