Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The Last Winter


Filmmaker Larry Fessenden has happily shunned the Hollywood system to make films exactly the way he wants to. His past feature-length efforts "No Telling," "Habit," and "Wendigo" were horror films with themes of ecological awareness and class struggles. His latest work, "The Last Winter," continues along those same lines. Despite writing the script in the earlier part of the decade, the film´s messages about oil and energy still remain topical. Arguments about global warming and oil drilling may play an integral part in the film, but "Last Winter" never gets preachy at all.

"The Last Winter" begins with a mock promo by North Industries as they prepare to drill in the untapped Northern Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the Alaskan wilderness. The man they put in charge of the project is Ed Pollack (Ron Perlman). Gruff and no-nonsense, Pollack is a company man through and through. In order to put a friendly face on the controversial project, North Industries also brings in two environmental consultants, James Hoffman (James LeGros), and his assistant Elliot Jenkins (Jamie Harrold). Of course, Pollack and Hoffman butt heads on various issues. The major problem comes from unseasonably high temperatures that have made vital ice roads impossible to transport heavy drilling equipment across. Hoffman warns against going through with the project while Pollack could care less. Their schism is widened when Pollack returns to their Alaskan post after five months at company headquarters. He learns that his second-in-command and ex-girlfriend, Abby Sellers (Connie Britton), is now shacking up with Hoffman.

However, ideological disagreements are not the main conflict in "The Last Winter." Strange occurrences begin when the station´s intern, Maxwell (Zach Gilford), wanders off into the middle of nowhere with his radio switched off. When he returns, he rants about something trying to get them. One night, Maxwell is found dead in the snow after wandering off once more without his clothes on. When another team member begins mentally breaking down, Hoffman warns Pollack to pack up and evacuate the station. Hoffman grasps at straws in coming up with theories about "sour gas" emanating from the melted permafrost. Pollack refuses to buy into Hoffman´s cockamamie hypotheses and the results are predictably disastrous. The station loses power and people begin dropping like flies. Hoffman and Pollack are forced to brave the elements in search of help at the nearest town miles away.

The film´s snowy setting will definitely remind you of John Carpenter´s "The Thing." Both movies are about a small, isolated group under attack from something otherworldly. "Last Winter" also has a touch of "The Twilight Zone" with its messages about Mother Nature fighting back and "Evil Dead" with the supernatural threat lurking somewhere out in the wilderness. However, "Last Winter" just isn´t able to put all those ingredients together to create a strong, final product. The film takes a long time to really get going. We´re about fifty minutes into the movie before the spookiness really kicks off.

Filmmaker Larry Fessenden has happily shunned the Hollywood system to make films exactly the way he wants to. His past feature-length efforts "No Telling," "Habit," and "Wendigo" were horror films with themes of ecological awareness and class struggles. His latest work, "The Last Winter," continues along those same lines. Despite writing the script in the earlier part of the decade, the film´s messages about oil and energy still remain topical. Arguments about global warming and oil drilling may play an integral part in the film, but "Last Winter" never gets preachy at all.

"The Last Winter" begins with a mock promo by North Industries as they prepare to drill in the untapped Northern Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the Alaskan wilderness. The man they put in charge of the project is Ed Pollack (Ron Perlman). Gruff and no-nonsense, Pollack is a company man through and through. In order to put a friendly face on the controversial project, North Industries also brings in two environmental consultants, James Hoffman (James LeGros), and his assistant Elliot Jenkins (Jamie Harrold). Of course, Pollack and Hoffman butt heads on various issues. The major problem comes from unseasonably high temperatures that have made vital ice roads impossible to transport heavy drilling equipment across. Hoffman warns against going through with the project while Pollack could care less. Their schism is widened when Pollack returns to their Alaskan post after five months at company headquarters. He learns that his second-in-command and ex-girlfriend, Abby Sellers (Connie Britton), is now shacking up with Hoffman.

However, ideological disagreements are not the main conflict in "The Last Winter." Strange occurrences begin when the station´s intern, Maxwell (Zach Gilford), wanders off into the middle of nowhere with his radio switched off. When he returns, he rants about something trying to get them. One night, Maxwell is found dead in the snow after wandering off once more without his clothes on. When another team member begins mentally breaking down, Hoffman warns Pollack to pack up and evacuate the station. Hoffman grasps at straws in coming up with theories about "sour gas" emanating from the melted permafrost. Pollack refuses to buy into Hoffman´s cockamamie hypotheses and the results are predictably disastrous. The station loses power and people begin dropping like flies. Hoffman and Pollack are forced to brave the elements in search of help at the nearest town miles away.

The film´s snowy setting will definitely remind you of John Carpenter´s "The Thing." Both movies are about a small, isolated group under attack from something otherworldly. "Last Winter" also has a touch of "The Twilight Zone" with its messages about Mother Nature fighting back and "Evil Dead" with the supernatural threat lurking somewhere out in the wilderness. However, "Last Winter" just isn´t able to put all those ingredients together to create a strong, final product. The film takes a long time to really get going. We´re about fifty minutes into the movie before the spookiness really kicks off.

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