The Last Winter (2006)
A team working to exploit the oil resources of Alaska find themselves succumbing to unknown fears amidst warnings that the Arctic tundra is thawing.
Wendigo director Larry Fessenden has pulled off another brilliant piece of man vs supernatural force cinema. Much in the style of Wendigo, The Last Winter's evils are largely unseen, possibly not even real, just the disorientation of each team member as they succumb to unknown forces. Throughout the film Fessenden gives us the explanation that we are destroying our own planet and this is nature's way of fighting back.The films final scenes showing the spirits of long dead animals now back roaming the tundra's as the melting ice free's their fleshless corpses is extremely eerie and superbly executed. Its clear that Fessenden blames global warming and he backs up his arguments with filmed proof throughout which may irritate non believers but to me its a small price to pay for a fascinating film.
As with Wendigo, The Last Winter is a slow paced film, patience from the viewer is required but your time is suitably rewarded with breathtaking photography and brilliant performances from leads Ron Perlman, James Le Gros and Connie Britton. The Last Winter is a beautiful piece and extremely haunting, it's Arctic landscapes both vast and yet claustrophobic at the same time. The unknown threats unraveling the minds of the crew whilst slowly working its way under the skin of the viewer.
With snow and ice everywhere, last night seemed the perfect time to revisit this fine film.
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