Netflix released the sci-fi thriller film The Last House on August 7, directed by Louis Leterrier. The 112-minute movie stars Oscar nominee Wagner Moura and Past Lives star Greta Lee as parents trapped inside their home during an apocalyptic disaster.
The story follows a family of four in Seattle who become locked inside their house after a rainstorm with mysterious properties of unknown origin seals all surrounding doors. Phone service is cut off, leaving the family unsure of how long their water and electricity will last.
Jason, played by Moura, returns from an early morning fishing trip while his wife Ann, played by Lee, and their children sleep. Storm clouds gather in his rearview mirror, but he ignores them because Seattle is frequently rainy near Christmas.
The couple is trapped with their eight-year-old daughter Ruth, played by Riley Chung, and twelve-year-old son Graham, played by Noah Alexander Sosnowski. Neighbors quickly use chalkboards and marker boards in windows to communicate, though no one has information about the cause beyond theories involving aliens or the government.
The family has accumulated canned food to last a couple of months, but problems soon begin. Medicine runs out for their old retriever dog Cassidy, and threatening cracks appear in the house, which the couple paid a mortgage on before the cataclysm. Outside, flooded windows reveal wolves, bears, and initially hard to distinguish monsters.
Los Angeles Billboard Promo Campaign
Promotional efforts for the movie included a living room installation built inside a billboard on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. The room featured furniture, maps, books, and a whiteboard allowing an occupant to interact with pedestrians over a three-day period.
The United Kingdom, France, and United States co-production combines home invasion horror, disaster movie elements, and a family saga. Action remains strictly inside the family home until the finale.
Director Louis Leterrier and London Filming
Leterrier filmed the Seattle setting in London, creating an Old World gothic atmosphere where heavy weather covers deceptive maneuvers. The French director previously launched The Transporter franchise starring Jason Statham before directing The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans, and Now You See Me, which featured five magicians.
Leterrier also produced Lupin for Netflix and directed the latest Fast and Furious film featuring circus-style action from Jason Momoa. In The Last House, Leterrier relies on directorial skill to expand and contract the domestic space.
The screenplay draws inspiration from Herbert George Wells' book The War of the Worlds, John Wyndham's book The Day of the Triffids, and Gareth Edwards' debut film Monsters. Viewers expecting a variation on A Quiet Place will also encounter broader sci-fi influences.
Cast Details and Production References
Inside the home, the family entertains themselves with a dusty vinyl record collection led by David Bowie's album Let's Dance. They also watch DVDs of John Huston's film Annie and the Harrison Ford movie Air Force One, opting to watch the cheerful musical Annie more frequently.
Leterrier connects the shrinking space with ecological motives, beginning with the dog Cassidy and extending to wildlife like a skunk, fox, and squirrel outside. The characters slowly navigate what they are willing to do to survive.
Kingsley Ben-Adir was originally cast as Jason before Moura took the role. Ben-Adir, who played Bob Marley in a recent biopic and Barack Obama in the series The Comey Rule, is ten years younger than Moura. Moura portrays a handy head of the household transitioning to exhausted despair, while Lee plays an initially unlikable but authentic heroine alongside young actors Chung and Sosnowski.
Pandemic Themes and Streaming Release
The 112-minute runtime packages a narrative that could extend across an eight or twelve episode television season. Smartphones are removed from the frame, giving the production a timeless quality despite clear references to pandemic isolations.
Disaster movies about non-human invasions existed before COVID-19, including A Quiet Place in 2018. However, streaming of Steven Soderbergh's film Contagion surged during 2020, and similar audience interest could develop for Leterrier's new release.
