Sex of Magic 

The Last House is not a horror movie. There are no jump-scares or dismemberments but it is entertaining nonetheless. It’s more like a Stephen King novel or similar to The Happening but centered around one family and their experience with the frightening events.

The premise is unique yet giving us the common “what if” scenario. What if the ocean decided to take back its planet? This film is more of a psychological thriller than horror when you consider hearing your child say, “I’m hungry,” knowing you have no way to feed them.

The Delgado family becomes trapped in their house by an unknown force and after the initial panic, they settle into their new reality. Viewers soon begin to deduce what has trapped them but it takes the family years to realize what has happened.

On a typical morning the Delgados scurry about preparing for their day when they suddenly realize they can’t leave the house. Jason(Wagner Moura), Papa Delgado and unemployed fisherman, runs around yanking on all the doors and smashing windows but is unable to break through. Ann(Greta Lee), Mama Delgado, and their two children Ruth(Riley Chung) and Graham(Noah Alexander Sosnowski) also try to get out but to no avail.

It’s pretty safe to say that the vast majority of people know what it’s like to be trapped inside their houses. The early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic irrevocably changed society’s relationship with isolation. In many ways, The Last House was created as an outlet for the complicated emotions of that time. Six years later, however, the film about a family locked inside of their own house during a “rain invasion” falls flat, lacking the emotional stakes that would make it relatable. 

At the start of The Last House, Ann (Greta Lee) and her husband Jason (Wagner Moura) are struggling to pay the bills and provide for their family. Their eight-year-old daughter Ruth (Riley Chung) and older son Graham (Noah Alexander Sosnowski) remain blissfully unaware, frolicking through the house and bantering with each other as siblings do. One morning, they wake up to find the front door stuck shut. And the side door. And the windows. There’s no way to even break out—they’re stuck inside, and so is everyone else in the neighborhood. 

Thus begins a years-long struggle to stay alive with the resources available inside of the house. Unlike our own quarantines, The Last House world loses internet connection, leaving them unable to seek companionship or advice from the outside. The exact mechanics of the “rain invasion” are a bit hard to pin down. Director Louis Leterrier relies heavily on voice-over narration to explain away any lingering questions. It’s unclear how they figured out the rain was responsible for their predicament, how their house didn’t immediately flood, or how the rain monsters developed their powers. 

I am comfortable overlooking plot holes in science fiction movies. I am not tuning into Netflix for Game of Thrones-level world building. However, what the film lacks in cohesion needs to be made up for in character development, and the pacing of The Last House made this impossible. The first half of the film takes place while the family is eating their stockpiled food and drinking water with the electricity on. There are no stakes. There’s nothing that can hurt them and they aren’t going to die anytime soon. Because of this, there’s very little time for the moments of upheaval. Problems are quickly resolved, and any mental instability feels unearned.