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The first thing you think of when you hear or read the synopsis for The Last Winter is John Carpenter’s The Thing. While the film contains a tension level comparable to The Thing, the two films couldn’t be further apart, despite both dealing with a group of isolated blue collar types stuck in an icy wilderness with the only source of help miles away. The film is actually a startling piece of environmental propaganda, cleverly disguised as your run of the mill horror flick. This combination of tension, solid ideas, and an actual intelligent and meaningful approach to filmmaking is altogether too rare within the horror genre.

The film starts with a little back-history and propaganda about oil drilling in Alaska, an idea that had been shelved for decades for some unknown reason. Apparently, everyone in the world forgot why as well, because there is a new group of people ready to plunge their twisted bits into the icy virginity of the Alaskan tundra. A ragtag group of researchers and oil company people are living in the tundra and performing tests to see if the whole venture is even viable. The odd weather changes and strange happenings in the area start to point to no, and when the happy workers start dying one by one, the answer becomes an even more resounding “definitely not.”

The best part about The Last Winter is its ideology which is comfortably and logically wrapped around the skeleton of your typical isolation horror story, where a group of people are trapped in the middle of nowhere and are destroyed by an unknown force. The Last Winter, at its heart, is a film concerned with environmental issues and, while it gets its point across, it never becomes overly preachy. The film manages to keep its message from destroying the importance and credibility of its characters which are fully developed and interesting in their own right. Even if you didn’t give a flying fuck about the environment, the film’s message is so well handled that world-rapers everywhere would not find themselves exasperated by the message of The Last Winter.

Larry Fessenden does a fantastic job with the film in every aspect. Fessenden creates a world full of home-like isolation within the confines of one tiny research facility. Even with the sparse environments of the Alaskan tundra, Fessenden manages to make the environment pop with life and character, and truly the environment is a character in its own right. The flow of the film is excellent and the film unrolls at a pace that is satisfying and even throughout. Fessenden’s ability to treat the characters’ story and the film’s environmental subtext with equal gravity is an added bonus.

The acting in the film is top notch with both some familiar faces and some unfamiliar ones. Ron Perlman brings his trademark caveman gruffness to bear as Pollack, the unrepentant worker willing to do anything to get the job done. Perlman is excellent throughout the film; his performance is reminiscent of the work he did in The Last Supper. James LeGros plays perhaps the most realistic/jaded environmentalist in cinema. LeGros’ brings a real quality to his character, who isn’t your typical tree hugging loser, but a person grounded in reality. He makes an excellent counterpoint to Perlman’s character. The rest of the supporting cast is just as good and the whole cast has a nice family feel, that makes their deaths all the more pertinent.

The special effects in the film leave a little to be desired, but even with some of their CGI bullshit, they manage to have a certain level of unpolished coolness to them. The deaths in the film are largely unimpressive and a few of them take place off camera, but for the most part the aftermath of those deaths is displayed in frozen glory that makes up for the hide and bleed techniques used during the film’s more violent moments.

The Last Winter is a solid flick all around. Apparently, movies are cooler and more tense if you make them all take place in the snowy wilderness… so uhhh… let’s make more horror movies in the snow. Wait… nevermind, I just remembered 30 Days of Night.

Final Synopsis: Cool enviro-horror with some solid performances and an excellent job by Director Larry Fessenden. Give it a rent, you won’t regret it… unless you’re a dumbass.

Points Lost: -1 for not showing some kills, -1 for lame CGI in a few parts

Lesson Learned: Always build your landing strip a few miles away from your camp.

Burning Question: How much jacking off do you think those guys did while they were up there?

The Last Winter
8/10

Tags: 2006, horror, horror movie, james legros, kevin corrigan, larry fessenden, latest movie reviews, recent2, ron perlman, supernatural, supernatural horror, suspense, thriller