The Last Thing Mary Saw

Reading some of the reviews for this movie, I anticipated a slog of a film that tested my patience throughout its running time. What I got a beautifully acted film with an interesting story, great production value, cinematography that was on point, and a great atmospheric soundtrack that was cohesive and well implemented.

The story was interesting and kept me intrigued from beginning to end, the acting was superb from the entire cast (a rare feat for any genre of film) and although it wasn't particularly scary in any way, the matriarch was so creepy every time she entered a scene the hairs on my neck would stand up.

I could have done without another film beating the dead horse of "religious/Christian intolerance" or another movie where it seems like the creators added gay characters to get those precious woke points that they desperately seek, but aside from that, I really enjoyed this movie. There seems to be a lot of movies that want to achieve what The Witch achieved in terms of atmospheric horror, and this is probably the closest anyone has come so far.

Although I don't agree with many of the other reviewers, their points are still valid and should still be considered before going into this film. It's definitely a love it or hate it movie with very little wiggle room.

The Last Thing Mary saw is a horror film about two star crossed women in love living in an 1800s traditional Christian household. We begin on Mary , bleeding for the eyes reciting the Lord's Prayer in front of men with guns drawn , and head back in time to see how we got there.

This movie is intentionally made to be a very slow burn and in-fact you could sum up this movies entire plot in about 2-3 sentences.

While there is a "twist" so to speak the movie is not a twisty-turny ride of intrigue and it's more about putting you in the shoes of our protagonists fighting an uphill battle in a "backwards" time. Some of it honestly works. Most of it is just too painfully slow with tons of frustrating scenes with that had so much potential. One scene with Rory Culkin's character was setting up to be fantastic, shocking and then it just kind of ends.

The movie isn't awful but it also really lacks a lot of high points that make movies stand up to me. It won't be the worst movie you watch but it also won't be memorable after it wears off.

The 1800s were dark, dreary, way over-religious and not favorable to any sort of gayness. If you didn't know that, well then this film might have something to offer you. For the rest of us, it's just a slow retread of this time in history.

Great film with obvious elements of folk horror. Yes, this sub genre is a slow burning one. That's intentional. I believe we are beginning to see a revival of folk horror with this, Saint Maud, and The Witch being the most significant standouts so far.

A great commentary of how destructive conversation therapy can be to both the "participants" and their families.

If you want jump scares, look elsewhere. If you want thought-provoking, intelligent horror, here it is.

As a final note: not once did I find the film to be too dark. Never did I struggle to see a thing. The reliance on candlelight worked very well here. Maybe other viewers do not have properly calibrated screens or they have too much light in the room?

It's a period piece with minimal sets and lighting that tells the story of illicit love in the 1800s. It's not so much a horror as it is a piece on the crazy ways people dealt with sin and treated the institution of family.