If the third world war were to begin, what would you do? The characters in director Drew Mylrea’s latest thriller, Last Survivor, have been living off the grid ever since the fighting began. As father and son they’ve learned to live off the land, and avoid humanity to survive. But only one of them knows the truth about the world they live in. That’s about to change however.
Jake (Drew Van Acker, Titans) was only a young boy when his dad Troy (Stephen Moyer, True Blood) woke him up in the middle of the night and took him to safety when the war began. They fled to the middle of nowhere, living in a cabin up in the mountains. For 20 years they hunted and fished for food, and survived off the land. When an outsider would appear in their territory they would kill them, scavenge his possessions and bury the body. One day however one of the outsiders gets off a lucky shot, wounding Troy. This forces Jake to head out into civilization to find medication. What he discovers however is something he doesn’t expect, forcing him to question everything Troy tells him and to seek the truth of why they are living the way that they do.
The premise of Last Survivors is intriguing, but unfortunately, it isn’t executed particularly well. It’s a slow burning drama with a very expected payoff. With a limited number of actors in the film, it’s up to them to make it interesting, but they all seem to be phoning it in. Of course part of it could be because their characters’ motivations and actions don’t make a lot of sense.
Alicia Silverstone’s character for instance discovers a man breaking into her house to steal from her. Later on, he returns and points a gun at her. And she invites him to take a shower and have a meal with her. At one point she even becomes his romantic interest. Either she’s got a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome. Or, it’s been a while since she talked to another human. This means that doesn’t know that’s not a proper response to that type of thing. No matter her reasons for doing these things, they don’t make a lot of sense, which is really the problem with the entire movie.
In the end, Last Survivors suffers from the problems of illogical, cardboard characters, poor writing, and actors who appear to just be collecting a pay cheque. It could have been much better than it was, and viewers will watch it through to the end hoping that it gets better. Unfortunately it never does.
