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Home | Film Review: The Last Light (2014)

Film Review: The Last Light (2014)

The-Last-Light-2014-Andrew-Hyatt-movie-7SYNOPSIS:

A group of people have secluded themselves off from the world in an abandoned hospital after a critical apocalyptic event.

REVIEW:

Chained and locked doors are the first hint you get in the beginning of THE LAST LIGHT as to the apocalyptic status of the world. We don’t know what happened, but something big and something bad. And seven people have gathered for shelter in an abandoned hospital. The movie keeps flashing days—it’s a countdown, but to what we’re not sure. But it builds and builds . . . doom, doom, and a little more doom. The characters don’t even really remember what happened that caused humanity to dwindle; and they don’t want to.

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There are also horrible creatures which have populated the earth. But we don’t even know what they are. Neither do the characters. They refrain from discussing such things. There’s a chance they’re aliens. And there’s a chance they’re zombies. We never find out, though. All we know: “they come in waves, they search around for weaknesses.” Creepy.

Needless to say, THE LAST LIGHT is a slow burn—an end-of-the-world character study more than a gory showdown. Understatement is the name of the game, and it’s an exercise in suspenseful gradualism.

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Ed Quinn stars as Jack, the leader of the seven people who’ve taken refuge in the old building. He’s headstrong and a natural leader. He’s also the “guy with the gun,” which, it is suggested, may qualify him for his position. Edward Furlong of all people plays Noah, his advisor of sorts, who chain-smokes and lurks in the shadows. There’s also Jeffrey (Seth David Mitchell), the resident a-hole, bitter and with daddy issues, trying to seize power from Jack. There’s Meryl (Molly Hagen), who’s come unglued and recently suffocated her son. There’s Ashley (Yvonne Zima), who’s adopted a cackling nihilism; Jenny (Tahnya Tozzi), who has faith in Jack; and Harold (Jeff Fahey), who serves up dinner each night—strawberry bars, mostly.

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The acting and the characters are the saving grace in this understated, dark, end-of-the-world melodrama. Character actors Furlong and Fahey are especially memorable in their roles, lending awesome facial expressions and hardened, realistic advice throughout. Ed Quinn patrols the hospital through darkness toting a gun, trying to remain positive and keep the rest of the group’s spirits up. The seven characters relate to one another realistically. Their relationships shine through, and, for the most part, they feel enough like real people. Because the characters are well-realized and developed, their lives prior to taking shelter in the hospital are interesting. You care to learn about them, embracing the dark intimacy you get with the seven damaged individuals.

The-Last-Light-2014-Andrew-Hyatt-movie-3 A cool thing, too, about THE LAST LIGHT is how, like any of Romero’s zombie flicks, it explores the inner politics, the microcosmic organizational bedlam, within a group of apocalyptic survivors. The biggest threat, it often seems, is to the group’s solidarity. There are plenty of Furlong/Quinn conversation scenes which reemphasize it.

The movie’s weaknesses come with the plotting. The way it builds and builds, you’d think something really monumentally horrifying and disastrous was coming. The climax/conclusion is all right, I guess, but not what the would-be suspenseful build should be coming to. The zombies/aliens/whatever are not the point, but, still, something far more terrible, I feel, could have capped the whole thing off—and it would’ve been a lot more entertaining.

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With attention spans these days, it’s actually commendable how slow and talky THE LAST LIGHT is. It takes a more realistic look at what that post-apocalyptic scenario would really be like. Largely, it would be mundane, or so it wants you to believe. This film shows banal survival. . . but not without drama along the way. And, cinematically, it has dark, mysterious, and dingy down to a fine art. The sleek score helps it along with that vibe, too.

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Ultimately, THE LAST LIGHT comes recommended for people looking for an understated post-apocalyptic flick. It’s something different, and it’s a quieter, darker, more sparse approach to the sub-genre.

2 comments

  1. Goodness. Not to be rude, but pretty sure you’ve misunderstood this film completely. This is an Dante-esque allegory which only employs the apocalyptic motif as a red herring. No, see, they’re all trapped in purgatory. Furlong is Satan. This is all made clear in the final scene, with him sitting at his desk. The files he throws away are for the ones he wasn’t able to trap in their own denial. He throws them away b/c he failed. They “went into the light” by addressing their weakness and overcoming it. (I loved the film but the “into the light” bit was pretty heavy handed.) So, they’re closed cases that he has nothing to do with anymore. The ones he puts in the file drawer are for Meryl and the others who failed to deal with their sins and address their fault in them. Those characters have been consumed by the creatures (demons) and trapped in hell. They’re closed cases but filed, b/c they’re in hell. Successfully closed cases, right? Jack’s is last to go in the drawer b/c he’s right then making a choice. He almost makes it for good, but he denies his involvement–can’t face it. So the light stays black. And as his folder goes in the drawer, we see him standing in the light as the demons close around him. He’s about to be consumed and consigned to Hell. He was given a chance, but it’s 0 day and he failed to make it.

     
  2. I can appreciate both reviews. Ross Peterson points out the strengths of cast and dramatic tension. @Oh_My gives a definitive view of the actual situation. (Thank you. I was looking for a review discussing the afterlife allegory.) Ashley is apparently ripped to pieces, locked up alone with her fears and lack of self-esteem. She wants to believe there could be something more after death but quickly agrees with Jack when he scoffs at the notion. Ironically neither realize where they are. Jack is a perfect anti-hero. You want to side with him, even as the action reveals serious flaws. Noah misguides him; his higher self tries to get him to see the truth. What a great depiction of Satan, a neurotic administrator in a boring, tedious job. He has no real power and certainly no joy in filing away souls. Jenny and Harold get up the courage to leave, to go out to “The Other Side.” The closing credits feature a sweet-sounding troublesome ballad with that title. Showing what happens outside would mitigate the gloominess, but “The Last Light” was meant to be dark and damning. It certainly succeeds.

     

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