The Future Is a Thirsty Place

Look, if your film is set in a post-apocalyptic future, I'm going to watch it.

'Nuff said.

Quick Plot: A few years from now but years since the last rain (yes, I'm confused too) the world has fallen into a The Road-like existence of hunger, thirst, and violence. Holding up strong on an abandoned Oregon farm are Kendall and Dean, a pair of teenage orphans who have watched the world crumble around them.

The smart and resourceful Kendall spends most of her days scavenging old vehicles for a part to help fix a plane that her and Dean have declared their ticket to a better life. Ill from kidney failure, Dean is confined to the indoors while Kendall reports back with less and less hope. Meanwhile, a man named Carson has found a way to tap into the remaining well water supply in the general area, offering his band of rovers as a sanctuary for those who have given up.

Well, the healthy ones who have given up.

The Last Survivors does very little new with its post-apocalyptic setup, but thankfully, it also does almost everything quite well. Directed and co-written by Thomas S. Hammock, the film looks astonishingly perfect. I wasn't surprised to learn that Hammock was the production designer on All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, You're Next, and The Guest (especially when the always welcome Barbara Crampton stops by). While we're not on Fury Road or even Gallowwalkers levels of Namibian desert glory, The Last Survivors is beautifully shot and goes a long way in establishing its dried out rural setting. Even the costume choices show a keen eye, as Kendall's torn clothing often blends right into the landscape.

The other biggest strength in Hammock's hand is lead actress Haley Lu Richardson and her (and the film's) take on Kendall. Wisely, The Last Survivors is more show than tell, and we don't need flashbacks or loaded exposition to understand exactly who this young woman is and how she came to survive where so many others haven't. She's also, refreshingly, a heroic but not saintly person. Kendall and Dean are good people in a world where such a trait is a weakness, but the film doesn't feel the need to hammer down their niceness on us. We get a few examples of how their actions define them while also clearly showing that these are people who will let their conscience go for self-preservation.

There's something that holds The Last Survivors back from being on the same level as, say, Carriers or Stake Land. It's not quite as ambitious, but that's also to the film's credit. Hammock doesn't take on more than his resource permitted, and as a debut film, it's quite strong.

Also, it might make you a tad thirsty.

High Points
Aforementioned cinematography and location choice, as well as its strong, believable female protagonist

Low Points
Aforementioned minimalism

Look! It's -Aside from the lovely genre goddess Crampton, we also get a small turn from Rena Owen, an incredibly gifted New Zealand actress best known for Once Were Warriors (and lesser known, though still affectionately by me, for Alyce Kills)

Lessons Learned
Many things will be extinct should the earth experience a devastating drought in the future, but none more missed than hair ties

Though the majority of personal hygiene will be less valued with the impending apocalypse, eyebrow maintenance will always be key

Respect the carpenter

Always keep a katana in easy reach. You just never know when you'll be decapitating nouveau Tusken raiders

Rent/Bury/Buy
The Last Survivors is streaming on U.S. Netflix Instant, and it's certainly worth 90 minutes of your time, particularly if you appreciate watching quality films made on smaller budgets. Or, you know, if you dig end of the world stuff like a normal human being.

Eat Me (says the ecstasy)

There has, and probably always will be, an eagerness for film fans to declare that there are no good horror movies being made in the present day. Horror is dead! grumpy bloggers cry, waving their fists in defeat and citing theatrical releases as their evidence of doom. 

Man do I hate cynical horror fans.

There is, in my annoyingly sunny opinion, never a bad time for cinema. There is, quite often, a bad time for mainstream cinema heading marquees, but anyone relying on theatrical releases in this day and age--particularly when it comes to horror--is denying themselves access to some truly fantastic and unique independent filmmaking. 

Courtesy of Bloody Disgusting Releases (a label with a patchy but sometimes positive track record), Alyce Kills is yet another example of how if you dig a tiny bit (or just scroll through Netflix Instant long enough), you'll find something worthwhile.

Quick Plot: Alyce is a sullen twentysomething barely making rent by fudging numbers at a hedge fund company for a supervisor who hates her (and happens to be the badass star of Once Were Warriors, Rena Owen). The only real happiness she seems to have in life comes courtesy of her best friend Carroll (Hatchet's first Marybeth, Tamara Feldman), a sexy free spirit drama queen who once pushed Alyce away when she felt her pal was getting a tad too Single White Female for comfort. 

Now reunited but not without their history, Alyce and Caroll embark on a night of drinking ruined by Carroll's discovery that her boyfriend has been cheating on her. To soften the blow, the gals do the sensible thing: see a skeevy drug dealer, take some ecstasy, and bring a bottle of champagne on Alyce's apartment building roof. 

What can possibly go wrong?

When a drunken Carroll makes a pointed jab at Alyce's obsession, things get very, very messy.

Literally.

Miraculously, Carroll survives her fall only to be bedridden with a mangled face and irreplaceable jaw. Alyce has it worse.

Guilt-ridden and unable to cope, Alyce begins a downward spiral down the rabbit hole, enjoying the wonderland offerings of horny but well-educated drug pushers, awkward funeral actions, unfulfilling sex, and a whole lot of unrestrained violence.

Written and directed by Jay Lee, Alyce Kills follows an interesting pace all of its own. Lee gives us long conversations between Alyce and Carroll to open the film, nearly lulling us into the rhythms of modern mumblecore on a whole lot of booze. Once Carroll takes a tumble, the tone rather drastically changes as Alyce becomes increasingly unstable. It keeps us on our toes as viewers, particularly when we go from quiet hauntings to all-out beheadings.

In the titular role, Jade Dornfeld has the challenging task of carrying the film on petite and very conflicted shoulders. Much like Najarra Townsend's in the recent Contracted, we never REALLY get to know Alyce. We see bits of her in a cold, empty daily life and see how quickly it all falls apart, but it's hard to truly know what's going inside her troubled head. Thankfully, Dornfeld is engaging and intriguing in her performance. Rather than get us on Alyce's side, she seems to keep the character just out of our reach. It works.

Alyce Kills is an uneven movie, but that's part of its charm. I never quite knew what to expect, and in an era where movie fans continuously complain about the lack of originality, that's as big a compliment as one can give.

High Points

Alyce Kills is a weirdly funny film, one that kind of drags you down a completely different tone than what you started with. So long as you're along for the ride, you might find yourself laughing out loud, and that's a good (or maybe, sick) thing

Low Points

I suppose some viewers will take issue with Alyce being a rather unlikable character, but her mousy neediness and cowardice is ultimately what makes her so interesting to watch

Lessons Learned

Intensive care patients are woefully undersupervised in urban hospitals

Just because your drug dealer throws out terms like pre-war German expressionism does not mean he's a standup gentleman

No matter how smart it seems in the moment, hanging out on the roof of a high building is not, contrary to popular belief, the best idea you've had while high on ecstasy 

Rent/Bury/Buy

Alyce Kills will probably polarize a lot of viewers, which is the kind of statement that makes a film fan like me jump to add it to my Instant Queue. The film has a unique tone that won't work for everyone, but those looking for something new in horror might be quite pleased with what they find. Once again, I'm just happy to discover another fairly new filmmaker giving us a fresh look at the genre. Cheers to all.