Will this be the last we see of The Last House?

Netflix’s The Last House has an interesting, fairly original premise and is one of those stories that make you wonder: what would I do in this situation? Would I be able to turn my entire home into a greenhouse and build elaborate traps to ensnare unwitting critters that stray into my yard (The answer on both, btw, is probably a resounding no)? It’s a taut Sci-Fi/Horror picture that brings you along for the ride until its ultimately questionable climax.

            Jason Delgado (Wagner Moura) an out-of-work engineer and fisherman who, along with his wife Ann (Greta Lee), and two children, becomes homebound after an unnatural rainstorm blows in. When they try to leave, they find they can’t, as they are literally sealed into the house, the bizarre raindrops coalescing and resealing any holes they make in windows and doors. Looking outside, they see that all their neighbors also can’t leave, and it is pretty clear pretty quickly that something otherworldly is amiss.  Eventually, it is revealed that there are things out there in the ring, likely the same ones that have sealed everyone into their homes. Cut off from all technology, the family doesn’t know if this is just their neighborhood or the entire world. What starts as sort of a game, the family stretches their food and supplies, first for days, then weeks, then much longer as the crisis continues.

            I am a fan of taut storylines, ones that either take place in a single location or over the course of a very short time period, and The Last House certainly has the first, and while the house the Delgado family lives in is nice, it recalls the claustrophobia we all felt during COVID, made much worse by the supernatural aspects of the phenomenon. It also, as all good apocalyptic stories do, gets you thinking: How would I fare in this situation? Would I be able to turn my entire home into a giant greenhouse,  or build elaborate traps to ensnare unwitting creatures to turn into my dinner (the answer to both is likely a resounding “No”)?

            While over time, the solidity of the family unit starts to crack and break down under the incredible weight and stress of the situation, but what I think the filmmakers get wrong is how long exactly that might take. The Delgados manage to hold on (slight spoiler alert …) for years, while anyone with small kids or teens or both knows that sometimes, even getting stuck with your kids for a single Snow Day can be sheer torture.

            One of the strengths of the film is in its mystery. While we know there are things out there in the rain – bipedal octopi-like creatures – we don’t know why they’re here, what they really want, and if they’re good or evil. There are some highly effective scenes involving said monsters, especially when they’re still in the shadows, and the isolation and desperation of the situation draws the viewer. The actors, all four of them, are good in their roles.

            The movie draws to a sudden, slightly bizarre, and while not entirely unsatisfying conclusion – it is a questionable one at least. Much is made of the family’s last-ditch effort to escape the house and when the climax arrives, it’s a little weird.

(SPOILER ALERT! I will be discussing the climax of the movie for the next paragraph)

Much is made of the monsters and the build-up to the inevitable confrontation between the Delgados and the monsters, and when it comes, it starts out good enough. They manage to kick the ass pretty good of one of the creatures, even trap it, but when they show mercy and let it go, it tells its friends to let the family pass, as if they're all right, as if they didn't just jack it up something royally. From there, the family sails off to what is now a water world, and the movie ends on a strange note - a dash of hope and spirit of adventure. Are there to be more houses? Only time will tell.

            The movie is somewhat in the vein of A Quiet Place, The Silence, and Birdbox, and fans

of those pictures will probably enjoy this one.  I did not need a solid explanation for everything in the movie, but the glimpses we get of the Big Bads left me wanting more.