The Last Victim (2021) User Reviews

The Last Victim, will be the audience.

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 5/10 · 28 June 2022]

It's such a shame, this had so much potential, especially with the stellar performances. As a neo-noir wester thriller, this was beautifully shot by Naveen A. Chathapuram in his directorial and writing debut.

But the jointly written story by the three writers was a disjointed convoluted mess, riddled with plot holes, and not as smart or as thrilling as it thought it was. It started off with promise, but the last act became so unbelievably dumb and lazy, that it will leave you feeling you wasted your investment is staring to watch it. I'm baffled how all three writers thought this would be an adequate and thrilling story.

Cinematography was excellent, and the score on point. It's too bad the actors wasted their talents on what could have been really great, but instead was a missed opportunity. It's a generous 5/10, all for the cast and cinematography.

An okay thriller but

[gofockuself · 4/10 · 12 May 2022]

Hate the drag-on slow pace. A thriller should avoid such slow-burn tempo. The totally unnecessary narration is another letdown, couldn't quite understand why the screenplay or the director needed to insert such unwanted blah, blah, and blah. Camera work is fine but too traditionally cliched and formulaic way of shooting, such as shot the person stepping out of the car, the shoes touching the ground, driver-side car door closed, then the camera following pair of shoes walking forward, the camera following them, then gradually raise up from legs, thighs, to upper body, but still only showing the back of the person...That, really sucks big time, man.

Then, there's a scene showing the sheriff and the female deputy sat on the rear of the police truck eating (lunch or supper?) in broad daylight. Then again, same eating scene, but it's totally dark. How long a meal could be last so long and so slow for just couple of sandwiches? Are the eating scenes that dragged so long for the purpose of building up the tension or just for the purpose to make the movie itself longer? So many unnecessary scenes could be smartly cut off and edited, but no, those scenes just have to stay to fill up the empty on-going. Man, why we have to watch a throw-back deadbeat thriller like this? An eatery in the middle of nowhere still opening for business at late night? It even equipped CCTV? One old woman running the diner?

Also, the killing spree is just kinda clueless and totally exaggerated, just to serve the hollow screenplay.

Ali Larter should take over Liam Neeson's action franchise

[A_Different_Drummer · 6/10 · 21 May 2022]

That is my recommendation to Hollywood. If you try it, I think you will find it is win win. As for the film, the cinematographer was in love with the locale, every shot is perfectly framed. Perlman could not give a bad performance even if he wanted to. Larter, in her 40s, still connects with the audience. The dog is well played. Basically the kind of film where you spend more time thinking about how to improve it than actually enjoying it.

No excuse

[ropelawshiel · 3/10 · 12 May 2022]

With so many good TV shows giving us well-written dialogue and original stories in a 45/50 minute episode, Peaky Blinders, Numbers, The Mentalist, Elementary, Fringe, Person of Interest and many others, filmmakers have to pull their socks up. The competition is on. This film dragged for nearly 2 hours, twenty minutes could have easily been edited, but even then, it is nothing that we have not seen a dozen times better; very poor; I don't think this merits anyone's time.

Slow

[FeastMode · 3/10 · 21 May 2022]

The first 90 minutes of this movie aren't horrible, but it's very slow without much of value. It has trouble investing you in the story or characters even though it spends lots of time trying to.

In the last 15 minutes it gets really stupid. And you realize how little you care about the outcome. (1 viewing, 5/20/2022)

Ron Perlman does some....

[Dodge-Zombie · 1/10 · 16 June 2022]

Ron Perlman does some great movies and he does some terrible movies. This is a terrible movie. Bad script, bad acting, bad accents.... Basically the best thing about it is Ron Perlman and he's so wooden in this that I'm surprised a bird didn't land on him to make a nest.

Good story, but flawed

[tkarlmann · 7/10 · 14 June 2022]

As soon as the husband was killed, I thought: Oh good, another film where the woman runs around a kicks everyone's well, you know.

Remember film in Australia somewhere, where three guys push this girl off a cliff, impale her on a tree, and think she's dead? Then she recovers and kills all three Bad Guys (hey, they only wanted to rape & kill her!) Well that film was GREAT; this one ... not as good.

I liked the actress in this role, but she doesn't say much. We also never learn WHY these Bad Guys were so darn Bad that they even had a Mole in the Sheriff's Department!

If films like this a going to be popular, and I hope they do (!), the women who kick-butt need to search & make weapons more -- not relying on a rock, like this film did, to be conveniently within reach.

Typically, I don't care so much for Ron Pearlman; but he was good in this film.

I thought Ali Larter was very attractive and likeable here; but really, script-wise -- she does a little Yoga, and now she's a badass?

I agree with others who said the film-makers were enamored with the scenery; that part was a bit overdone, IMHO.

The film portrays a severe survivalist requirement for our lovely Heroine; but knowing that, the ending is funny, surprising, and unexpected.

Overall, I'd definitely give this film a watch; just don't expect something like "Gladiator" or "Nikita"!

Good job!

[rocer-85580 · 5/10 · 13 May 2022]

It wasn't a movie you had to watch, but it wasn't bad at all. However, it's a bit boring.

Action was a bit slow. But good movie to watch Friday night. Good job!

Not the best nor the worst

[irumiiy · 7/10 · 13 May 2022]

It wasn't the best movie, but it wasn't the worst either.

Of course, it's not a big studio movie, so it's a disappointing movie. But for a low budget, I liked the storyline and the directing with the actors.

Weak

[Draysan-Jennings · 5/10 · 14 May 2022]

This film had the potential to be great. Too bad that wasn't the case. It starts out ok but goes downhill pretty fast. About 30 minutes in I had lost total interest. Basic 5 star film.

Vastly underrated gem.

[Curvedare · 8/10 · 28 August 2023]

This wonderful film is currently rated as under 5 stars on IMDB.

Film, like any art form, is subjective obviously, but notwithstanding this, a rating of 5 is ridiculously low for this excellent, stylish revenge thriller.

I will list the reasons this film is underrated quickly rather than bore people with a long winded review....

1) Great soundtrack ( original neo-folk female singer songwriter) 2) Fantastic acting from seasoned performers like Ron Perlman and Ali Larter from the Final Destination films 3) Absolutely gripping storyline with believable dialogue and a zinger of a twist near the end

The only conceivable negative (and it is a small one) is that it's not that original, but really, who cares? I enjoy revenge thrillers so for me it's not really a negative.

Find this on prime TV and enjoy.

Complain, complain, complain.

[Macfeetie · 6/10 · 25 August 2023]

I'm not sure what people are griping about. I guess they think they could do a better film. (Bloody doubtful) There's nothing all that wrong with this movie. Some good performances, decent soundtrack, effective atmosphere. I think audiences just look for something to complain about.

It's not gonna win any awards but it's an entertaining watch.

Perlman is solid. Larter is strong. And the "bad guys" seem legitimately and worryingly nefarious.

Admittedly, there' a bit of an interesting interpretive scene the puts a speed bump on the road through the action, but it's short and somewhat logical.

The narrative may raise a few questions of continuity, and I can see a lot of grumbling about the writing. But when people site examples like The Mentalist as counter examples of good writing, you have to question the validity of the criticism. And I actually liked the Mentalist.

Again, this ain't palm d'or quality, but it's more interesting than a CBS formula crime drama.

Slow and boring

[windsorenquirer · 2/10 · 18 May 2022]

So they left the diner with the bodies while it was still night and arrived at Ganga at day time when everyone is already up and running. Which would mean the distance between the diner and the place they arrived plus the nature reserve the couple was headding to was at least, I assume, 100-200 miles. And it was patrolled by the same sheriff?

Besides that, this movie is too long, too slow and too boring. No time for such nonsense!

And one more thing, Susan was too lucky for my liking.

Nah, I wouldn't recommend this movie.

Can't get my time back

[katrinatiebel · 3/10 · 12 June 2022]

The premise was good, how it was executed was a bloody (no pun intended) mess. The voice overdid not help the story, it seemed like a 1940s-50's detective show gone wrong. On a bright note, Ali Larter looked great and was the only actor who was actually trying. The cinematography was well done, the writing lazy. It helped us fall asleep though.

We, the viewers, are the last victims of this movie

[supermodelyum · 1/10 · 31 May 2022]

Hard Pass on this film if it shows up for free streaming. It's not worth it. - It's not what you hope it will be.

The movie starts as a solid 9 and immediately plummets once Ali Larter's scenes begin. It's not her fault, the script is just awful. By the end of this unbelievably predictable movie we are left with a syrupy scene in which the two remaining characters stand off comparing each other's pain. (Oh please). Ali's character wins on that front too (of course).

The shame of it all is that the rest of the actors in the film were faces & names that you wanted to see. And had the script (and story) been better, they'd have been interesting, gritty, characters to explore. Unfortunately, this film is just the (much over done) "hunted human triumphs over all", regardless of how ridiculous or implausible it is - shtick. (Yawn). There have been 10 of those in the last 5yrs.

Maybe this movie would have worked 30yrs ago. But it often seems, after watching a film like this, that audiences are FAR smarter than Hollywood writers who get away with this junk. People today "know stuff". Information is easy to find and the level of general knowledge is higher. (Please tell me I'm not the only who catches these massive plot holes and mistakes!). Hollywood writers need to level-up. Audiences need to be less accepting.

Anyway.....Why this film has a rating over 3 stars is beyond me. The film is replete with tired tropes that even kids will recognize, since they show up (these days) in teen television shows on the CW & every Marvel movie.

The first glaring question that came to mind once the plot revealed itself was; How does a history teacher from upstate NY suddenly become a survival expert, strong enough to take out an armed man & knowledgeable about firearms? Hollywood. How does a woman who appears ultra high strung, then gets stoned, become a focussed survivalist? How does a woman, so high on peyote that she can barely move or focus, suddenly become skilled enough to over come a cop, steal a cruiser and flee down the road? - Oy

Honestly, Hollywood should stop putting out movies that have guns in them when they don't know a thing about them or how they work. (Truly ironic that they campaign against them but pump out movies to capitalize on their use)

Firstly; Anyone who knows firearms would have dumped that "dud" round out when they were loading the weapon.

Secondly; A dud does not backfire if it discharges. (There would be no spark). It would either fire normally or the primer would fire and the powder would fail (bullet would not go anywhere) Thirdly; Guns only backfire when something is blocking the barrel or chamber.

Fourthly; If a gun backfires, the user seriously injures their hand or face & the gun becomes unusable. - "It done blowed up yer silly!" Lastly; A person with no experience in firearms would not know that you must pull back the hammer for a revolver to shoot the first round.-Somehow this woman did. (Ugh Hollywood).

If none if that is bad enough, consider this; When Ali Larter's character locks the guy in the trailer she is no longer (legally) in any danger from him. He is no longer a threat. Burning him alive was murder. Plain & simple.

Better than I expected

[retrovtx · 3 June 2022]

I'd like to start by saying that they did an awful lot more right in this movie than they did wrong. I took one look at "Gaboon" and decided I wasn't going to like her (for looking too much like Rick Moranis) but she ended up one of the best characters. Naturally, the camera settles on the most attractive female, who I can say delivers nearly all of the film's eye-rolling moments. In this case it's Ali Larter's character, Susan, who is setup early in the film for new job as a college professor, then spends too-long a portion of the film doing cliche stupid stuff like not running AWAY but staying in the general area of the bad guys, and the always popular leaving guns laying around after various near-death experiences while stumbling off into the wilds defenseless. She miraculously manages to choke some meathead to death in 10 seconds, then leaves him with 2 loaded guns. As in virtually every movie, there's the scenes where she discovers that her cell phone has no signal (suprise!) then waste's the remainder of the almost-dead battery looking at pictures until the screen goes blank. Then there's nearl using up her cigarette lighter to illuminate some graffiti when she could have picked up a burning stick from the fire she just made. Not a strong planner, this Susan. Then finally making it to her nearly new $40,000 truck and which won't start (SUPER cliché eye-roll - bad writer, bad!).

Some of the things done right: * no pointless, cringey sex scenes * no black female detective, police chief, mayor, dean, governor, 5 star military general, or president, a huge relief from the predictable characters forced into virtually every movie or tv program.

* To her credit, Susan is seen running in a couple scenes, and not once does she fall, allowing the bad guy to catch her. She also doesn't scream through most of the film, for which I'd like to see the writer or director given some sort of award.

* most of the movie music is worth listening to.

* Virtually all of the script is well written and believable.

All in all, a pretty enjoyable film, and one I'll watch again in the future.

Another worst action film! Talking too much, and full of annoying overuse scene! Bored to freaking death!

[kwenchow · 1/10 · 9 July 2022]

This film start with a car driving on the road, and a man been killed at the restaurant scene! As turnout, this film is about a woman "Susan" need to survive from the killing of a villain "Jake"! Entire film full of boring conversation, and annoying overuse scene! Such as, overuse of the walking scene, overuse of the searching scene, overuse of the calling names scene, overuse of the arguing scene, overuse of the staring scene, overuse of the talking on the phone scene, overuse of the driving scene, overuse of the eating scene, overuse of the narration scene, overuse of the blackout scene, overuse of the long angle scenery scene, overuse of the song playing at the background scene, and overuse of the smoking scene! Make the film unwatchable! At the end, Jake been killed! Tad refuse to kill Susan at the very end! That's it! Wasting time to watch!

Catch me if you can

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 7 October 2023]

No pun intended - and I do love Ali Larter! As an actress as well as a person. Although I reckon I might feel different if I really got to know her. I have a feeling she is a cool person though. Anyway this is about her fight to survive - well her characters of course.

The cast is quite good, for those who have seen a movie or two. Ron Perlman is a known commodity (no offense, on the contrary meant as a compliment) to name one of the other not Ali Larter people in this. Ok I might give this too much credit - but if you are a fan of hers, you won't question her ability to wiggle her way out of stuff. Or her amazing amount of luck (coincidence?) that seems to follow her ... or is it bad luck when it comes to the other people? Her character is a bit ... well unbalanced I reckon - playing with fire one minute, being forgiving as ... in the next moment. But she pulls it off - if you don't mind low budget thrillers ... there are way worse things I have seen ...

CANNOT trust IMDB reviews any more

[wlevyiii · 2/10 · 21 June 2022]

This garbage a 5 rating?!? This movie is TOTAL crap. I like my stupid B-movies by the Asylum better than this. No explanation. Just senseless killing to be killing. A plot slower than erosion in the Grand Canyon! I mean whoever gave this high ratings is doing so to skew the rating. All I did was forward fast to get through the boredom and ridiculous dialogue. Ali Larter was horribly wasted on this junk.

The Sheriff supposed to be 'chasing' someone, come on. There was no chase. Just plodding along small town cop BS. Do yourself a BIG BIG favor and don't waste your money.

TOTAL SNOOZE FEST!

Did you know?

[keyil-50600 · 6/10 · 13 May 2022]

The actors were in many famous movies. I found out that some of them were in movies that I really enjoyed, such as Hellboy and Green Knight. Good acting movie!

You'll Feel like a Victim Watching this!!!

[Alienmoon · 2/10 · 2 July 2022]

Lacking in Dialogue, Energy and everything else that is supposed to make a movie great!

Two friends had fallen asleep while watching this and I give up watching after 40 minutes,... I came away feeling like I'd been the Victim of a torture chamber experiment!

FARGO like modern western

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8/10 · 17 November 2022]

It seems that the modern western, crime schemes taking place in the deep countryside, more or less in the Cormack Mc Carthy style, has always been used all over decades, and more and more since twenty years now. Cohen Brothers' FARGO, back in 2016, enhanced of course this kind of cinema. It is in the roots of the USA film industry, indie or not; but mostly indie, because not destined to become blockbusters. It is a grade B picture, without any great movie stars, not even an hasbeen. Ron Pearlman played in famous film, but always as a supporting character, never the lead. Here, one more fashion, the main character is a female, not a NIKITA like, not a superwoman - well...just a bit, though - but a simple ordinary young woman, whom many audiences could recognized themselves in. Yes, this is a pretty good time waster, just in the mood of this 2020's period. Period.

That Went South So Fast!

[kban495 · 1/10 · 26 September 2022]

This started out as a, "No Country for Old Men" vibe. But then...I don't know....

Think of a car wreck so implausible that you don't know how it happened. That is this movie.

The tragedy here is it had all the elements of a truly great movie. There was actually some good acting in this car wreak.

The cinematography was outstanding.

It's almost as if great filmmakers put this all together.....then gave it to their adolescent kids to complete.

This is not one of those movies so bad that it's good. And I almost want to recommend you watch it so maybe you have a better way of explaining what happened.

But I'm not that cruel. Only watch it if you have no wet paint on the wall to watch dry.

Great movie

[tfwqmicz · 18 May 2022]

So this what I think of this movie. 9 because as a dog lover I do not now what happened to the dog in the end. I really enjoyed this movie. Great acting, the bad ones got what they deserved. Especially the deputy. Humor, great dialogues, a little bit of action mmmh the pace was ok. So I do not understand the bad reviews. I really do not. So get over it. I am happy and I Watched a lot of bad movies but this is not one of them. So well done director.

I've seen much worse.

[yaknow-15893 · 4/10 · 30 June 2022]

Not a terrible flick. I actually would have given it 5 out of 10 stars if it didn't have Ron "the D'Bag" Perlman's tow headed ignorant face in it. He calls Deputy Gaboon a racial slur the entire movie, well, most of it (hehe). I thought he was supposed to be 'woke'. Guess he's just a big hypocrite.

The first 90% of the movie was pretty slow and the last 10% was weird, but I've seen much worse. The worst part was she replaced her very dependable Toyota FJ with an Audi wagon, which is a rolling pile of junk (I'll put that down as a spoiler alert.)