The Last Thing Mary Saw

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.

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.

I love slow burn horror films so these types of films are not alien to me. But as I watched this, I began adjusting myself in my seat with the thoughts about how much further it would take to reach the end credits. That's how terribly bored I felt watching this unstimulating, mundane film. I just felt apathy toward the whole story. I wasn't impressed with the cinematography or setting.

The home look like an ordinary atypical Connecticut home from the outside were the cinematographer used some care to not photograph the driveway and street in front of it. YAWN.

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.

COULD have been a great film if they'd used some lighting, but they didn't. COULD have been a great film if they'd thrown in a bit of action instead of plodding along, but they didn't.

COULD have been a great film if they had kept the story clear instead of muddying it up, but they didn't.

What they DID do was manage to toss in the obligatory LGBTQ sub-theme in the hopes that would get them a few pats on the back and some great reviews. It didn't.