The Last Thing Mary Saw (2021) User Reviews

Hopefully this movie isn't the last thing Mary saw...

[Jblum5 · 5/10 · 22 January 2022]

The Last Thing Mary saw is a horror film about two star crossed women in love living in an 1800s traditional Christian household. We begin on Mary , bleeding for the eyes reciting the Lord's Prayer in front of men with guns drawn , and head back in time to see how we got there.

This movie is intentionally made to be a very slow burn and in-fact you could sum up this movies entire plot in about 2-3 sentences.

While there is a "twist" so to speak the movie is not a twisty-turny ride of intrigue and it's more about putting you in the shoes of our protagonists fighting an uphill battle in a "backwards" time. Some of it honestly works. Most of it is just too painfully slow with tons of frustrating scenes with that had so much potential. One scene with Rory Culkin's character was setting up to be fantastic, shocking and then it just kind of ends.

The movie isn't awful but it also really lacks a lot of high points that make movies stand up to me. It won't be the worst movie you watch but it also won't be memorable after it wears off.

Could have been much better

[LoupGarouTFTs · 4/10 · 23 January 2022]

The writer and the director wanted to go in too many directions with this story. First, there was the obligatory "anti-religion" theme. Second, there was the obligatory class disparity theme. Third, there was the obligatory bias theme. Fourth, there was the obligatory abuse theme. Fifth, there was the victimized female theme. Finally, there was the obligatory poorly thought-out homicide theme. All these themes were loosely bound by the frame story in the book Mary' father owned, which in itself was poorly explained. A much better story could have been told with three of these themes eliminated. It doesn't matter which three, as long as there was additional room to explain the frame story of the book.

Better characterization would also have been nice. The only empathetic character in the story was the little boy and he had two very minor scenes before the end scene. One of his scenes was, you guessed it, poorly explained. It seemed to exist only because someone needed to know the boy left the house. Neither Elizabeth nor Mary were pleasant people. It would be impossible for me to explain their attraction to each other, other than they needed to be attracted to move the plot forward in the manner the director desired. The guard did everything that could have been expected of his character, but again, he was a mere plot device. With a tighter plot, his role could have been expanded a bit more to give him enough backstory to make him even slightly rounded as a character. The same for the wandering stranger. He showed up when the writer and director needed for him to show up, without benefit of foreshadowing, with the exception of five seconds display of a book illustration.

One thing the director did well was to create atmosphere. Movies filmed in the dark have been done to death. However, being a period film and many scenes necessarily taking place at night, the candlelight was perfect for scene-setting. I would have liked to see a contrast with bright daylight (continuing the idea of "healing" the girls with sunlight being the best disinfectant), but that's me. I also would have liked to see a better explanation of the end. Mary's twitching finger suggests that she survived the hanging and the mutilation, but was it due to the old woman's/father's book? Or was the connection to Elizabeth's smile and her failure to answer Mary, suggesting that she was more than she appeared to be?

Overall, I think this story had a lot of potential, but suffered due to the convoluted twists and turns needed to fill all the boxes the writer and the director felt obligated to check. It was not a bad effort, and I don't regret watching it, but I feel it could have been a much better film.

Missed Opportunity

[dongillette1 · 5/10 · 21 January 2022]

COULD have been a great film if they'd used some lighting, but they didn't. COULD have been a great film if they'd thrown in a bit of action instead of plodding along, but they didn't.

COULD have been a great film if they had kept the story clear instead of muddying it up, but they didn't.

What they DID do was manage to toss in the obligatory LGBTQ sub-theme in the hopes that would get them a few pats on the back and some great reviews. It didn't.

1800s is rough

[jeroduptown · 5/10 · 24 January 2022]

It's a period piece with minimal sets and lighting that tells the story of illicit love in the 1800s. It's not so much a horror as it is a piece on the crazy ways people dealt with sin and treated the institution of family.

Annoying lighting

[Neptune165 · 3/10 · 21 January 2022]

I still don't understand the finger thing, why that woman was floating because I was very confused. Too dark, can't see a thing. This movie was a waste of almost 2 hours I've never been so incredibly disappointed in a horror movie. Do not waste your time watching this movie. It is absolute garbage. It's boring. You spend the whole time waiting for it to get good. It never does. There's no action. No suspense. No reward. It's just trash through and through. I really regret watching this. It's boring. Kinda sad. And just a bad movie. Not a good watch! Bad movie. Anyone reading this comment, do yourself a favour and don't watch this. Save youre time.

Not Good

[Tweetienator · 3/10 · 26 January 2022]

I don't know where the suspense and intelligent story line are hidden, but what I know is that I was rather bored the whole time. The production is good, the acting okay, but the story itself is a rather boring affair. I guess, someone got the splendid idea to try to ride on the wave of success The VVitch (2015) earned, but The Last Thing Mary Saw never reaches the quality of that one. Only recommended if you can cope with a lot of people looking serious and talking all day - in all seriousness.

Pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie

[manuelasaez · 7/10 · 22 January 2022]

Reading some of the reviews for this movie, I anticipated a slog of a film that tested my patience throughout its running time. What I got a beautifully acted film with an interesting story, great production value, cinematography that was on point, and a great atmospheric soundtrack that was cohesive and well implemented.

The story was interesting and kept me intrigued from beginning to end, the acting was superb from the entire cast (a rare feat for any genre of film) and although it wasn't particularly scary in any way, the matriarch was so creepy every time she entered a scene the hairs on my neck would stand up.

I could have done without another film beating the dead horse of "religious/Christian intolerance" or another movie where it seems like the creators added gay characters to get those precious woke points that they desperately seek, but aside from that, I really enjoyed this movie. There seems to be a lot of movies that want to achieve what The Witch achieved in terms of atmospheric horror, and this is probably the closest anyone has come so far.

Although I don't agree with many of the other reviewers, their points are still valid and should still be considered before going into this film. It's definitely a love it or hate it movie with very little wiggle room.

This is the real price of correction

[nogodnomasters · 2/10 · 31 January 2022]

The film takes place in Southold, NY 1843. Mary is blindfolded, bleeding from the eyes and is being questioned at gunpoint as they believe she may have a demon. She then tells her story about how her and the maid were being punished for loving each other too much.

I was bored with the story. It goes no where until the very end which was not worth the wait. More drama than horror.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

The last thing...

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 18 August 2021]

In 1893 Southhold, New York, dark doings are afoot.

Mary (Stefanie Scott, Insidious: Chapter 3) starts this film blindfolded with blood pouring out of her face, being interrogated in the wake of the death of her grandmother (Judith Roberts from Dead Silence and Eraserhead, known as The Matriarch). There's also the matter of Mary's relationship with Eleanor (Isabelle Fuhrman, Esther from Orphan), the family's maid.

The family has the Word of God on their side and takes the relationship between the two girls as a sin against the Lord, so they've been dealt with incredibly harshly. But when The Intruder (Rory Culkin) arrives, things suddenly take a turn down the Left Hand Path.

First-time feature writer/director Edoardo Vitaletti takes viewers to a time and place they may have visited before, but that doesn't mean that there's any less oppressive dread in this dark tale of religion taken too far, where being unable to say the Lord's Prayer can get you killed.

By the way, have you noticed how many movies feel the need to break down their narrative into chapters these days? I'd opine that it's ore due to the influence of cable narrative than books, but it really does feel like this technique is being used in nearly every modern horror film I've watched as of late.

A dark film that values look and feel over a story that really comes together, this is at the very least a strong vision from a first-time filmmaker that will definitely win over some fans and point to a strong career taking what one hopes are its first steps toward greatness. This has been picked up by Shudder and will debut their in early 2022.

Not super fun for 19th century lesbians

[drjacobgrayson · 3/10 · 4 February 2022]

The 1800s were dark, dreary, way over-religious and not favorable to any sort of gayness. If you didn't know that, well then this film might have something to offer you. For the rest of us, it's just a slow retread of this time in history.

Problematic but highly enjoyable psychological effort

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 8/10 · 23 August 2021]

After a tragic accident at her family house, a woman recounts the events of what happened to her rescuers about how her relationship with the family maid started a string of events leading to a terrifying ordeal with a terrifying encounter with deadly forces aroused by their actions and how it went down.

This was a rather impressive and enjoyable effort with a lot to like about it. One of the strongest factors present here is the highly impressive setup that manages to bring about old-school Puritanical values and superstition with fantastic supernatural genre leanings. The central premise for the way of life shown here, with the strict religious bringing and outright disgust at the thought of lesbianism or other such signs of affection taking place for fear of reprisal from the elders creates quite an impressive counterpoint to the religious paranoia experienced by the rest of the villagers. Shamed into following the will of their law and brutally tortured for failing to comply, the mindset featured here to live in the village is one of oppression and religious persecution that flies in direct contradiction to their freedom living in sin against their wishes. Likewise, once they set the plan in motion to flee their setup and live a more open, freer lifestyle, the persecution and oppression has given way for outright intolerance as the hints of what they're doing start to take shape. The stranger's arrival and almost immediate sketchy behavior and presence that start to interrupt what's happening during the silent funeral being carried out at the same time, signaling a sign of what's to come later on. When they bring upon the plan to cut everyone off and attempt to sneak away for their own lives, this one generates some dark and chilling aspects that become quite fun with the poisoning attempt coming off with some fine twists as to who gets the drugs and who doesn't, a surprise appearance from an unwelcome party and the final reveal which manages to be highly unexpected and satisfying finale which all makes for a lot to like here. There are a few issues to be had with this one. The main issue here is the strangely unneeded reasoning for why the guy comes back at the end of the film for no purpose which is quite weird and unexplained. The idea of it happening is quite confusing considering the treatment afforded to him that initially caused him to leave, and with the return later on to the house, his arrival means absolutely nothing. He does nothing important that couldn't have been accomplished by something else so his arrival means something. On top of that, he just disappears from the film as a whole without any acknowledgment or punishment, making this part of the film quite questionable and confusing. While not a true outright flaw, the films' really sluggish pace and drama tempo over shocks, scares, or thrills might leave some questioning its genre placement overall with the potential of it being seen as dull, can hold this one back for some.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence and Language.

Mary and Eleanor sitting in a tree

[Howling_at_the_Moon_Reviews · 6/10 · 9 August 2023]

I had this movie on my list for a while, but was in no rush to view it for fears it was going to be boring. And while it most certainly had a slow pace, it leaned much more towards tension building over boring.

The story is quite straightforward and one could pretty much give a full synopsis in one sentence. While it had a slow pace and not all that much happened, it was so atmospheric and captivating that it made up for its shortcomings. The acting was fine, not all that much dialogue happening here but everyone did their job. The boy with the port wine birthmark did particularly well.

With a little more story and the pace picked up a tad I think this could have been something great, but as is it lands slightly above average. Would recommend.

Literally, a sleeper tv flick.

[Horror_Flick_Fanatic · 3/10 · 7 February 2022]

I love slow burn horror films so these types of films are not alien to me. But as I watched this, I began adjusting myself in my seat with the thoughts about how much further it would take to reach the end credits. That's how terribly bored I felt watching this unstimulating, mundane film. I just felt apathy toward the whole story. I wasn't impressed with the cinematography or setting.

The home look like an ordinary atypical Connecticut home from the outside were the cinematographer used some care to not photograph the driveway and street in front of it. YAWN.

The tags are misleading - not a horror movie.

[mre-654-594868 · 5/10 · 24 April 2022]

I watched this movie because of the tags "drama, horror, thriller" expecting a nice horror movie about the supernatural. This movie turned out to be a drama and barely a thriller. There is no horror involved.

If 10 is the scariest movie out there and 1 is spongebob this movie gets 2.5 for horror.

For what it was the movie was decent but if I could turn back time I would watch something else.

Another worst horror film! Full of boring conversation, and annoying overuse scene! Avoid at all cost!

[kwenchow · 1/10 · 24 January 2022]

This film start with a woman "Mary" reading a book, and two men talking with each other scene! As turnout, this film is about a woman "Mary" need to be punish for her sin(being a homosexual)! 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 staring scene, overuse of the arguing scene, overuse of the calling names scene, overuse of the lying down scene, overuse of the holding light scene, overuse of the peeking scene, overuse of the drinking scene, overuse of the reading scene, overuse of the blackout scene, overuse of the quoting Bible scene, overuse of the kissing scene, and overuse of the long angle scenery scene! Make the film unwatchable! At the end, Eleanor been killed, and Mary been blinded for their sin! That's it! Wasting time to watch!

The Last Thing Mary Saw

[marinaant-36217 · 3/10 · 11 March 2022]

I was so excited to finally watch it but sadly I was super disappointed by it. It was super boring to me the entire time, I almost fell asleep during it. Only the last 30 minutes were kinda interesting but that couldn't save the film from the disaster.

The Horror of Ignorance

[nashvillesax · 7/10 · 17 August 2022]

A moody, atmospheric period piece in the folk-horror vein, but the gore is minimal and contrived jump-scares are non-existent (thank goodness!). The real horror here is the ignorance of the 1840s.

BONUS: The creepy old matriarch is played by Judith Roberts, the "Beautiful Girl Across the Hall" from Eraserhead!

Female Suppression

[westsideschl · 4/10 · 19 August 2022]

A mysterious stranger with great & evil forces are at work. A female suppression theme with similarities to the older in that area witch trials. Location is in N. Y., 1843.

Take me to church

[Stanlee107 · 5/10 · 21 February 2022]

This film shares similarities to its superior film the Witch. It is set in the past and in a period in which the words of the church were gospel & desire is a sin. Can the love of 2 people survive such trying times? What price may they pay for such indulgence?

The stories starts at the end & then recounts the events leading to the title (the last thing May saw).

It is interestingly enough to keep you interested until the end. The ending is the best part but the journey felt like it took a long time getting there.

Intelligent Horror with a Fantastic Atmosphere

[scwilli-23115 · 8/10 · 23 January 2022]

Great film with obvious elements of folk horror. Yes, this sub genre is a slow burning one. That's intentional. I believe we are beginning to see a revival of folk horror with this, Saint Maud, and The Witch being the most significant standouts so far.

A great commentary of how destructive conversation therapy can be to both the "participants" and their families.

If you want jump scares, look elsewhere. If you want thought-provoking, intelligent horror, here it is.

As a final note: not once did I find the film to be too dark. Never did I struggle to see a thing. The reliance on candlelight worked very well here. Maybe other viewers do not have properly calibrated screens or they have too much light in the room?

Simple script but inexplicably full of holes

[fabiofrost · 1/10 · 3 February 2024]

The debutant director Edoardo Vitaletti managed to ruin a very simple story, Frankly, I can't give a higher vote than 1 because many events narrated in this film seem to be inserted at random cannot be understood why some people do certain things or because they don't do them, there are too many events that are not explained but in any case If you stop to think, you cannot in any way give an explanation because this thing happened in that situation! So for most of the film the only thing you understand is the load -bearing story of the film but the individual events that should make it plausible or sensible, even at the end there is a scene where at least 4 or 5 things all happen in a few more happen minutes and none of these things has a logical sense , I was very disappointed because they could tell the same story without all these holes of screenplay and various shortcomings!

Movie For The Depressed and Downtrodden

[saint_brett · 1/10 · 28 February 2023]

Intrinsic Value Films.

What's that - like a discount warehouse where movies are subsidized by power brokers who want a seat on the board of a larger company?

What year is this movie? Is this just riding off the back of 'The Witch' (2015) and its success?

We're in Jack the Ripper times where Irish people have fled to NY and God-fearing pilgrims believe in that whole witch hunting nonsense where any rebel was put on trial for having unholy thoughts. Oh, it's one of these movies? (If only this era could see 2023.)

I'm glad I wasn't around this silly period of time as I'm left-handed and no doubt all these soldiers of God would have come for me and put me on trial.

Did this era really exist?

Wow, I think my Nana would love this movie as it's more for her time but she's six feet under.

Hmm, from what I can gather, Mary and the housemaid are attracted to each other and some night guard becomes their sponsor in exchange for cooked bakery products. He even provides them primitive pornography.

God, this movie is like an anvil that just sits there and does nothing.

It's just a clump. A lump of mass. A monolith obstruction of nothing.

None of the other characters have names. There's no electricity. There's no Wi-Fi, or top 40 countdown.

There is not one other variant of emotion expressed by any of the actors in this movie. It's all the same drab, miserable, demeanour by all involved throughout and it is this very expression displayed when I pick up DVD movie covers today as there's no appeal with any available attraction.

It's like today's movies are released with communists in mind only. Nothing is exciting today in this over-moderated, controlled, society we live in. Everything's been formed, or altered, to suit those socialist killjoys.

I guess we can count our lucky chickens we didn't live in this time back then. Was it that bleak?

Why don't they just pack up and book passage to California, or Florida, and catch a wave and get out of this gloomy part of Salem? This movie's so depressing. North Carolina is just down the road a piece. I'm sure a horse drawn carriage would have gotten them down there by two days. Surf City here we come, so long NY.

What's the running time on this? 89-minutes.

This movie will indoctrinate the art of depression on a twit if they were to watch it multiple times, resulting in one becoming the biggest black belt clunk of all time.

Some old ducky passes away, but returns later without explanation. The killer from 'Town That Dreaded Sundown' shows up with a bag of dead chickens. So, the dead mother superior figure is reincarnated as a bag of dead chickens? She starts twitching her finger while feathers are plucked out of dead poultry.

A person runs the risk of being clinically diagnosed with depression from watching this. (At times I found myself staring at the floor of my room and wondering why I still possess a 70's Penthouse magazine.)

The last thing Mary does see is her entire family dying violently from the out of date milk she used in their cup of tea.

The plucked, dead, twitchy chicken woman from earlier comes back from the dead and blinds Mary with her fingernails.

Mary's sent to the gallows at the end and they don't even extend her the courtesy of any final words.

It'd be cool if Darth Vader were to come along and save Mary at the last minute by blazing up his light zapper gizmo and striking all these fool's down. He could be like Mario and save the princess in the castle.

The movie ends peacefully with Mary swinging on a rope, convicted of what again? Um, a silly primitive book of blasphemy, I believe?

To hint that there will be a part two, Mary does the twitchy finger chicken woman thing as well which implies that um, she wants her feathers plucked so she can return as a bag of dead chickens, too.

Do I have that right?

Well, there you go, movie lovers, if you wish to waste an hour and 22-minutes of your time then watch whatever this movie is called.

Who's this movie for? Your dead grandparents if they're still alive. If they are, I offer my deepest condolences.

The question has to be asked - have I watched anything decent in 2023 yet? Anything?

There's no defense against the depression of 'The Last Thing Mary Saw.' It will drag you down Hamburger Hill, and beyond, to a pit of misery, in a time of bible thumpers and self-righteous do-gooders who thought they knew it all.

The sun will shine tomorrow and hopefully wash away this movie's grime that clings to you in its hope of dragging you down to its level.

What a dinosaur of a movie that's not fit for 2023.

[4.9] Sugar-coated "corde de chanvre"

[cjonesas · 5/10 · 19 February 2024]

I wonder for whom and what audience they make these movies, these types of debacle and brainwashing productions. Honestly rated it gets what it gets, but story-wise and entertainment-seeking it gets at best a "2.5 -3".

Good acted, super slow-burn, as mysterious as mosquito larvae emergence and as logical as aliens in each one's bedroom.

Enjoyable? Not at all. Brainwashing pestilence, more like it!

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 4
• Development: 7
• Realism: 6
• Entertainment: 3
• Acting: 7
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7
• VFX: 7.5
• Music/score/sound: 7
• Depth: 6
• Logic: 1
• Flow: 2.5
• Drama/horror/mystery: 4.5
• Ending: 1.5.

"It's Mary, Our Daughters Ears are deaf to the lords preachings"

[Clintborari · 3/10 · 5 April 2024]

The Last Thing Mary Saw can be best described as mediocre. It didn't captivate me with mystery, intrigue, or a deeply compelling story, but it also didn't leave me entirely disappointed, just relatively bored, and disinterested.

This film is difficult to judge for several reasons. While it wasn't a complete waste of time like some dreary, cheap, poorly acted films I've seen such as the "Haunting of Pendle Hill", (shudders) it also failed to engage me or draw me into its story.

It falls into a category I've encountered frequently lately, focusing on older generations and customs that typically highlight the limited rights and subjugation of women. However, to its credit, the film doesn't overly emphasize this aspect at its core, and instead centers on the taboo and religiously illicit relationship between two women who are in love.

What I took out of this movie were how insanely religious folk were back in the 1800's and the way they used to treat people to differed from their own views or beliefs.

Unfortunately, that's nearly all the positivity I could draw out of this film. The acting doesn't stand out, and there's no particular scene in the film that grabs attention or leaves a lasting impression. The film plods along at a steady pace without taking any risks, and the scenery, while intended to evoke a certain time period feels rather bland and uninspired.

The ending lacks impact because there's little connection built with any of the characters, except perhaps Mary, played by Stephanie Scott, who delivers a reasonable, but not a markedly good enough performance for her to be recognized.

At the end of the day, The Last Thing Mary Saw is plain and easily forgettable. It's not something I'll remember, or even want to revisit. I'd recommend giving it a solid pass.

My experience with Shudder, a popular horror streaming service, has been quite disappointing. Most of the films I've watched on it have fallen below a five-star rating for me, and I consider myself generous with my ratings. Often, the makeup and special effects showcased in the shudder introduction, end up becoming the most interesting or best parts of the film, and this is definitely the case with films like" The Power" and now "The Last Thing Mary Saw".

3/10.

Phenomenal, minimalist, creepy story-telling

[konstantinavalentina · 10/10 · 21 January 2022]

If you liked The Witch from 2015, and you don't mind a slow, creeping art-film with actual symbolism, meaning, and some proper writing, You may enjoy this.

Those unfamiliar with the concept of thinking about what a director might be trying to say, or engaging in active interpretation of symbolism and story telling devices will probably fall asleep because this film isn't for people that aren't film geeks.