Release Date: July 22nd, 2008
Running Time: 101 minutes

The Film

Independent horror is very sporadic in quality. Some films are simply excellent (Hatchet), while a gaggle of others are absolute wastes of time. Independent horror used to be a way for filmmakers to make a gnarly film at little cost and gain recognition. Today it seems like most horror films are lacking in quality due to being unoriginal or impassionate. However, every once in a while I’ll read about a niche horror film and get excited, hoping it will be the rare diamond in the horror rough. Despite the heavy praise featured on the jacket, I found The Last Winter to be a very disappointing “horror” film, and far from “one of the scariest movies of the year” as one critic lauded.

The film takes place in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska at an oil drilling base set up to determine how to drill in the area. Ed Pollack (Ron Perlman) returns from corporate to find two new members of the crew: environment engineers sent to make sure the company adheres to environmental restrictions. Hoffman (James LeGros), and his hardcore environmentalist attitude, really bothers Ed, not to mention the fact that he is sleeping with Ed’s ex, Abby (Connie Britton).
Hoffman begins to notice very odd changes in the weather, as well as a certain maliciousness in the wind he has never seen before. Likewise, a younger crew member named Max becomes more and more aloof and distracted, to the point where he wanders off in a stupor and freezes to death. As more members of the crew become emotionally unstable, Hoffman believes that sour gas leaking in the area is the source of their problems, and advises that everyone leave immediately.

Ed isn’t having it. He thinks Hoffman is poisoning the crew with his rhetoric. However, as more horrible events take place, even Ed is forced to believe that something is off. After a small plane crashes into their base, Ed and Hoffman must search for help in the stark Alaskan wilderness before they all succumb to whatever is happening.

If that sounds vague, it’s because the film never nails down what is really happening. Over an hour into the movie I still had no clue exactly what I was supposed to be afraid of. Was it just nature? Is there a creature out there? The film lacks an identity, and loses a lot of its impact due to this. Freak weather is only creepy for so long. I found myself waiting for it to get suspenseful, waiting for a great moment, but it never came. Instead I was pelted with heavy-handed environmentalist issues that lacked any subtlety. To top it all off, the film felt entirely amateurish with “scary” camera angles and other artsy moments that fell flat.

I was frustrated after watching The Last Winter because there was so much promise. The Alaskan setting was terrifying, and a lot of focus was put on this mysterious box covering an old oil well valve, but the idea was never paid off in any way. The film also took a creature turn, but even that didn’t make much sense. In short, I felt that The Last Winter tried to be too many things at once, and wasn’t very good at any of them.

The DVD

The video is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. It’s not the prettiest transfer out there. Heavy film grain and some compression artifacts are a constant problem. Also, the outdoor scenes appear to suffer from white crush, with much of the detail being drowned out in total white blobs. I have to imagine there was at least some detail in the Alaskan scenery, not just pure, uniform white throughout.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with English/Spanish subtitles. Dialogue sounded soft at times compared to the rest of the elements, but some decent surround effects were used, particularly to display the ominous wind.

The Extras

Commentary is offered with Director/Co-Writer Larry Fessenden. He feels very strongly about his work and takes the time to explain many of his creative and stylistic choices.

A feature-length documentary “Making of The Last Winter” is offered that also includes Deleted Scenes and an interview with Director Larry Fessenden. I find that documentaries on independent films are far more interesting and passionate that studio-produced ones. This is no exception. I may not like the film, but this is a well put together documentary.

Final Thoughts

The Last Winter didn’t click with me. Perhaps I had the wrong expectations, but this eco-thriller did not connect with me at all.