The Last House Review
Director: Louis Leterrier
Date Created: 2026-08-07 21:18
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The Last House Review: Directed by Louis Leterrier and written by Matthew Robinson, Netflix’s latest horror-drama that blends post-apocalyptic survival with psychological tension. The film stars Wagner Moura as Jason Delgado, Greta Lee as Ann Delgado, alongside Gabriel Barbosa, Emma Ho, Riley Chung, Noah Alexander Sosnowski and others. The movie has a run time of around 110 minutes.
The Last House Review
Netflix’s The Last House revolves around the Delgado family, which finds itself stuck inside their own home due to a bizarre rainfall that creates horrifying monsters, making the external environment uninhabitable. The initial sense of a temporary crisis gradually transforms into years of isolation due to the lack of food resources, disappearance of the neighbours, and the deterioration of their own house. Although Jason and Ann try to do everything in their power to keep their kids alive, the survival process gradually makes each member of the family a changed person. Instead of becoming a monster horror story from the very start, the movie primarily focuses on the evolution of a normal family under extremely tough conditions.
Indeed, I really liked the first half of Netflix film The Last House, and that is what makes the second half of this movie such a disappointment. The first hour of the movie creates such an atmosphere that made me interested in it, not because there were jump scares, horror scenes and the like, but rather because the danger was present all the time without being overplayed. Instead of moving quickly to action, the director of the movie lets us see how the Delgado family gets used to this new reality.
Jason’s ingenuity in survival, Ann’s transformation of the house into a place for growing vegetables, and the efforts of the kids to somehow maintain some normality make the life of this family quite interesting to watch. What stood out to me most about the movie is the fact that it sets up emotional stakes so easily. The death that is taking place throughout the neighbourhood is not presented as an event that is meant to shock but as something that is constantly reminding you that the Delgados are slowly becoming the only people who remain alive.
It is the way the family keeps having dinner together or celebrating the small victories and tries to occupy their minds with something else in order not to be afraid of what is going on outside that gives an emotional undertone that is better than the horror itself. Unfortunately, this is when the movie starts losing its momentum as the storyline takes a leap into the future. Instead of developing further from the emotional experiences that have been so carefully crafted in the previous scenes, there is a sense that everything goes back to square one.
The difference in the pace of the plot becomes evident right away, and there are many instances where the character arcs are not being developed anymore. In particular, the rebellious attitude that Graham shows seems to be contrived rather than a logical development of his isolated life circumstances.
The character of Ann is also becoming frustrating to observe in the latter part of the movie. Before, she was seen as a person who can do many things to keep her family united in times when everything around them seems to be falling apart. In the latter part of the film, on the other hand, she starts doing some things that are inconsistent with what has been established about her character up to that point. She makes certain decisions which are not driven by her being desperate, but rather to lead into some suspenseful scenes.
One character who continues to make The Last House film work is Jason. The actor who plays him convincingly is Wagner Moura. Jason is not just another hero trying to save the day because this actor does not allow it to be so. You get the sense of fatigue that is felt by the father who has tried to convince himself for all those years that things were going to be alright despite having known otherwise. Whatever he does, from fixing the roof to coming up with new ideas about hunting and whatever else he says to his kids, is done in such a sincere way that it is hard not to like him.
This is sadly not the case for everyone else. Greta Lee actually does have some good acting moments within the quieter scenes of the family, especially early on when Ann is the emotional support of the family. However, once the story gets into the action mode, her character turns into someone who reacts to what’s going on rather than causes it. This works against not only Ann but also the entire family’s dynamics.
Ruth is still the most fascinating of the children as her curiosity about the strange people adds a different point of view that’s not entirely based on fear. While everyone else assumes that these people are nothing but senseless monsters, Ruth continuously wonders about their motive, adding an interesting element to the film. Sadly, it’s left unexplored throughout much of the screenplay.
One more reason why the second part does not appeal to me is the choice to unveil the threat in bits, but still avoid answering questions that really matter. It is fine with me that movies leave things unclear, but still, there should be some kind of progression in them. However, in this movie, all new information that is given looks like it should be really important, but it does nothing essential to the plot of the movie. More creatures appear, the danger becomes more palpable, and the movie resorts to chase scenes rather than suspense. It seems that the more I see of the threat, the less scary it becomes.
The script also has many intriguing concepts that do not gel in the end. The movie has many aspects related to the human-nature connection, survival and living, loneliness, even forgiveness, but these concepts are never given enough time to leave an impression. Rather, they are conveyed using dialogue instead of letting the story itself convey these emotions. I was always waiting for the story to bring all these concepts together in some form of a climax, but it is never done.
However, from a visual standpoint, Netflix movie The Last House is commendable. The production design successfully ages the Delgado residence as time passes, allowing it to appear well-lived in and dilapidated due to loneliness. Seeing normal rooms gradually turn into survival rooms that require many fixes is a story in itself and does not really require many words. The sound design of the movie is also worth praising, especially those moments in which the rain turns out to be the cause of fear.
Netflix The Last House Review: Summing Up
Overall, The Last House turns out to be a frustrating experience because I know there is a great movie underneath the weak filmmaking process. The film has an interesting premise, a gripping start, and an amount of emotion necessary for drawing your attention to the problem of the Delgado family. However, as the plot unfolds, the screenplay loses that grip and focus it had at the beginning. The characters turn into inconsistent beings, the mystery seems not that interesting anymore, and all the emotions start fading away. While I never lost interest in the family, I started losing faith in the direction of the whole film.
