To Your Last Death

While not a masterpiece, how could anyone rate it only 1 star? That's confusing to me, as it seems a lot of care was put into producing this. Some people seem to have a problem with the animation, but I kind of like it. It's more of a comic-book art style full of gore and murder, and that appeals to me a lot more than Japanese animation does, even if the excessive blood isn't exactly what I look for in a movie. I'm not much for the torture porn, but this film balances it nicely with dark humor and an atmosphere of dread and anxiety. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea but it's definitely not boring, and I give it 7/10 for at least being an original animated horror feature within the manhunt sub-genre, and not just another remake of something old.

I admire the ambition and challenge of creating an original full-length feature film, an action horror-thriller at that - and through crowd-funding, no less. To explore this space with full animation allows the most grisly, gory, bloody moments to present without concern of how the special effects may turn out. And, honestly, I'm rather grateful for that for another reason: at its most gnarly, it turns out that 'To your last death' recalls the likes of 'Hostel' or 'Saw' in terms of torment and carnage, and those are the sort of movies I just don't care for any more. The rest depends on the writing. For my part, I don't think it's perfect, but it's a pretty good time.

Like most 2-D animated features, this employs largely static backgrounds, with some specific elements rendered separately so that they can be readily manipulated like the characters, props, or other active aspects. The style here provides for a fair amount of detail all around, though movement is perhaps less fluid than in other animated movies we've seen. That can make it difficult to fully engage with at points, but once the action kicks up, the critique falls by the wayside as our attention is kept otherwise.

Setting aside the animation, it's easy to imagine 'To your last death' as a probably schlocky live-action venture, a B-movie through and through. I mentioned 'Saw,' and that's certainly an appropriate point of reference for some facets, but other story beats remind of various other features, too. Though don't be mistaken - this is a film all its own. It's unquestionably a little ham-handed at times, but for the most part I think it's actually written quite well - dialogue seems believable; characters are complex and varied; scenes are mostly pretty well considered, and engrossing; and the overall narrative is entertaining, and absorbing.

I did say "for the most part." In my opinion the greatest shortcoming here is the framework in which the story takes place. It's a touch of flair I think is unnecessary, self-indulgent, and overbearing. Dropping that extravagance also means the film's biggest voiceover stars, William Shatner and Morena Baccarin, no longer have roles, but I'd sooner have a tale I can be fully invested in than a couple contributors who will draw in more audience members. Without that embellished structure, the plot would also be more straightforward, and more plainly an echo of more renowned genre flicks, but again - that's a sacrifice I'd rather the filmmakers had made. Oh well; to each their own.

One way or another, what it comes down to is that mileage will vary from one person to the next. The animation style, the violence, the overarching story framework, the voice acting - any number of aspects here may entice or repulse individual viewers. I have mixed feelings about it, but moreso than not, I'm pleasantly surprised at how this turned out. I have my problems with it, but I generally like the screenplay, the animation is perhaps a refreshing touch, and it's suitably enjoyable to have kept me watching. I don't think this is a picture to go out of your way to find, but if you like this genre at large and come across 'To your last death,' it's not a bad way to spend 90 minutes.

Found this by happy accident. and it is a pretty bonkers little movie. Not perfect but I really enjoyed it. I think the coolest thing is that the story kept changing. I thought things would go one way but boy was I wrong. I really enjoyed that aspect of the film.

I thought the fasmily members was pretty well done and I really felt for the lead girl being put through this crazyness. Now you got to give it up for Ray Wise who is just diabolical in the role of the father with a serious grudge against his kids. Not to be too spoilery but let's just say that they wrecked his polticial ambitions and now he's dyeing and well, he's got scores to settle. All the voice talent was great and hearing Captain Kirk narrate the story was damn cool, I had a Star Trek flashback for sure. Oh and I should mention the score which sounds like it could have been a Terminator sequel,but I mean that in the best way the score is really good.

What didn't I like. Well one character dies kind of early that I really wanted to see more of. You expect that character will come back given the time-travel nature of this film but no. Felt like a cheat. maybe the writers did that deliberately just because people would expect that. I wanted a bit more understanding of who the gambler's are. I think they were like gods or maybe devils. I thought act 3 was pretty cool with a ton of violence and lunacy which I actually laughed at loud because it got so over the top. but I was a bit disappointed by the very end of the film and I cannot say more because spoilers but let's just say I felt that the lead girl's reward would have been a bit less bleak. There were also a couple sequences I felt seemed maybe a bit repetitive but the movie does center around the idea of time travel and do-overs like Happy Death Day.

I should also mention the animation which was really cool. The best part is that it felt like a graphic novel come to life like a motion comic but way way better. The movie was made to look like a comic book even with seeing panel lines in places. I thought this was clever and also it made the handdrawn art look really cool which I really appreciate because this movie would have sucked if it was CGI.

Overall I have to say I really enjoyed this but I would caution not for kids! This movie is bloody and has some serious adult theme's in it. Adult Swim or Netflix I can def see this as a series in fact it seems to lend itself to that because it''s pretty clear this story can continue.

Wow, where do I even begin with this one? Here's what you need to know.

1) The script is freaking GREAT. These writers deliver. This script is SO good. There are so many twists, and all of them I bought because of the depth of character. All the characters in this movie feel dimensional and realistic. They all are complex and have real-world trouble and moral ambiguity. I felt more for these 2D people than I have for a lot of live action horror movies lately. Kudos to the writers big time.

2) The voice talent is through the roof. From the Shat's opening monlogue, to the gorgeous Inara from Firefly as the evil mystery woman, the performances are amazing. Special mention to Ray Wise whom you may remember as Leland Palmer from Twin Peaks as the sadistic family patriarch.

3) The pacing is relentless (in a good way.) I was actually breathless by the end of this movie. My heart was beating fast. It was a ride.

4) The themes. The movie actually has something to say. There's a lot going on here and the movie doesn't shy away from making a few political points at the expense of the monied class. In that way this movie reminded me a lot of Parasite, except I enjoyed this one way more. Another theme has to do with whether or not we are all just pawns of a bunch of degenerate gods. Seriously. Trust me on this, it's awesome.

5) the animation. OK so I'm split on this. On the one hand it reminds me of Metalocalyspe meets Scooby Doo And it works for the story being told. I was never pulled out of the story because the art or animation wasn't cutting it. That said, this is a film that is clearly indie geek supreme to the max and you just know every dollar is up on the screen so no this is not Pixar, so don't expect that. This is a obviously a bunch of geeks who wanted to make the most insane movie they could, and they brought it with the $ they had.

6) Make sure you watch to the very end.

Give this one a chance you will be glad you did. I am still thinking about it two days later!

Definitely not any of the award-hype it promised. If you've seen any of the motion comics that came on the web 15 years ago, this is the same thing, but in a 90-minute movie form instead of broken down into 5-10 minute TV shorts, which was the old format. The story itself is reminiscent of a low-grade '80s B-movie, in that it's a bit out there and convoluted, which is why I would say this is not a modern B-movie. Basically, it's a whacky '80s time-travel B-movie for 12-yr-olds with elements of Saw, so, the two genres don't really work together. The writer should have picked one or the other and stuck with it. Like, if the writer would have cut out the Robocop or Tron, evil corporation, sophomoric cheese, and stuck with the evil-rich-dad thing, kept it standard horror, and been more inventive than ripping Saw, maybe Blumhouse or someone would have ponied up a few mill to produce the script. And with that version of the script tightened, and live-action, maybe I would have enjoyed it well enough.

I was at least willing to give the story a shot, since after the first painful 10 minutes, it started to peak my interest. It's just very hard to get into the After Effects puppet animation, especially when you know it's going to be for 90 minutes, rather than what it's typically used for, which is small doses. Whatever budget they had would have been better spent on a live-action short. I get the sense the writer or director was trying to show what they could do with a budget. The storyboard sequencing, expressed in comic book form was pretty good. I could picture it, and the music was good enough. The voice acting was good or bad, depending on the actor. The writing was mediocre...but, like I said, if some of the other elements are there, I can be perfectly entertained by a B-movie, since my expectations are generally low. So, a silly, mediocre script can work, just not with stiff, puppet animation.

To make this work, the story either needed to be excellent, or the animation had to be a lot better, or good live-action. As a whole, it didn't work for a full movie. I do appreciate the effort. I am a fan of animation, comics, and B-movies, it just didn't work for me. I would say for the director to keep at it, just maybe work harder at the basics before going the full movie route.