Three escorts are held hostage in a fancy house at the perverse whims of a psychopath named Hate (really), his ladyfriend and their pet dimwit, all escaped from a mental hospital. Classy hooker Love (also really), with her smart mouth and brain gets, the worst of it, just as she was planning on quitting the profession, too. Her smitten boyfriend Jason Mewes (still really) tries to track her down while Love and Hate go at each other in a sinister game of cat and mouse.
That’s The Last House in a nutshell, although there’s no nutshelling a movie as unusual as this. Simultaneously smarter and less smarter than it appears to be, it’s a Funny Games-type thoughtful torture movie and silly murder/revenge film all at once. A hot mess of idiosyncrasies – from its mild foot fetish to its borderline racism (hi black kid playing American Pie with a melon) – it’s intriguingly demented, even as much of it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
Like its lead antagonist, The Last House is a little too in love with the sound of its own voice, but is at least well cast enough to hold its audience’s interest. Lauren Walsh is likeable and sparky as Love, while Ezra Buzzington steals the show as Hate, his fantastic ears doing much of the work. Jason Mewes is… well, Jason Mewes, but his cute little subplot keeps us from getting too bogged down in the occasionally pretentious shenanigans back at the house.
Ignore the by-the-numbers title and premise; The Last House is more original than that – a smart, inventive psycho thriller that just as many will Love as they do Hate the thing. Really.
THE LAST HOUSE / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: SEAN CAIN / SCREENPLAY: WES LAURIE / STARRING: JASON MEWES, EZRA BUZZINGTON, FELISSA ROSE, JOANNA ANGEL / RELEASE DATE: VOD OUT NOW
