by In my opinion horror films thrive on three things; scenario and characters. I’m generally a bit more open to those that approach these aspects in a unique manner, but not just for the sake of being different. The new angle actually has to play into the film in a meaningful way or else it’s just using cheap ploys to trick the audience. That’s even worse than being a copycat in a sea of ‘me too’s in my opinion. I wasn’t quite sure where Last Ones Out would land. I saw it on Shudder (later leaning it’s a channel exclusive no less) and given my penchant for zombies I decided to give it a watch one night. It’s not one of the best zombie films around, but it does manage to use some of its unique ideas in a meaningful way. This saves it because the film is otherwise a bit of a slog.
Our story starts as a young wise cracking American man named Henry (Greg Kriek) is in a hospital in Africa in line to get his appendix removed. He misses his first chance of surgery due to an unknown skirmish, but the staff soon puts him under for another attempt at the procedure. Henry awakens hours later to find that not only does he still have his appendix but he has been left alone in a dark room strapped to the operating table. Despite his cries no one comes running, and the otherworldly noises outside of the room aren’t exactly reassuring. What he doesn’t know is that a virus has spread like wildfire across Africa turning most of the population into flesh eating zombies.
Eventually Henry is saved by the only people left alive in the area; his newbie doctor Sunet, the resident doctor named Siseko, and a staff member named Vincent. They narrowly escape becoming a meal, and even manage to remove Henry’s appendix in some back road billiards room. Following the chaos he manages to make a call to his girlfriend who clues him in on a convoy headed for safety in the small town of Harbel. The catch is there’s room for just him. Knowing he won’t be able to make the treacherous journey alone he lies to his new friends by making them think there’s plenty of room. Before they meet up with the convoy they must rescue Siseko’s son, and thus they set off on a journey through Africa’s wilds which are now teaming with the hungry undead.
Okay so yes I admit it; the whole ‘anti-hero lies to the group and later makes up for it’ plot has been done a million times before. Worse yet, I can think of countless examples that did it better than Last Ones Out. It’s downright difficult for me to be cynical about this film however. It is an obvious labor of love from someone who loves the genre. Just the mechanics of the zombies, and the emphasis put into highlighting them shows that this director really cared. Even the moment we see the first zombie up close we see which stares hungrily at the group while breathing heavily had a lot of thought and work put into the encounter. Another thing I really like is the setting. I can’t name too many modern zombie films set in Africa, and yes I know that’s where the idea behind the undead comes from in the first place. While they aren’t any big expositions toward the setting here (no zombies attacking elephants or anything like that) the setting comes through in the small villages and few moments related to culture.
Unfortunately the pacing is a little out of whack. The film is either fast paced and intense or slow and boring. There’s no happy medium, and more often than not there’s nothing happening. This is yet another film that wastes too much time trying to make us relate to and like the characters. No one I know watches horror films for meaningful dialogue; protagonists exist only to fight off or be eaten by the undead denizens. The director didn’t seem to realize this simple fact and what we’re left with is a zombie film that doesn’t quite have enough ‘bite.’ Worst of all the protagonists simply aren’t all that likable. Henry takes the honors here as being the most relatable and funniest character, but when he’s at his best he’s just average. The rest had some backstory but honestly it must not have been that interesting considering I already forgot it.
I realize that this review has been very mixed up to this point. Last Ones Out does a few things right, and a few things wrong. Neither side really outdoes the other, and I’m going to have to mark this one down as strictly average. It sounds a lot more interesting than it really is; all of the unique elements are countered by more traditional aspects that are all too familiar to anyone who has watched a zombie film before. Still, there’s a love for the genre that oozes from this film, and I really feel like the director should be commended for putting so much into the project. I recommend watching it, but only if you’re serious about your zombie films.
Pros
- Neat setting
- Decent zombie designs
Cons
- Boring story
- Unoriginal
