The Last Winter (2006)

The Last Winter (2006)
Director: Larry Fessenden
Writers: Larry Fessenden, Robert Leaver
In the Arctic region of Northern Alaska, an oil company's advance team struggles to establish a drilling base that will forever alter the pristine land. After one team member is found dead, a disorientation slowly claims the sanity of the others as each of them succumbs to a mysterious fear.
'Larry Fessenden the low budget guru behind the horrors Wendigo, Habit and No Telling seems to be as happy these days to step infront of the camera to act in other peoples movies, as much as he his to get behind it for his own, which is somewhat of a shame because with film after films he's been getting better and better.
The Last Winter though not without its flaws is again a finely crafted thought provoking and beautiful to look at movie. Featuring the ever great Ron 'Hellboy' Pearlman who it has to be said steals every scene he's in, not to say the other actors do a bad job as they all do well. The story's about an oil company's small setup crew for a drilling station in a Arctic feeling northern outskirts of Alaska. Only one by one the crew seemingly break down go crazy and end up dying in the freezing elements. Its alot like a cross between Carpenters The Thing and Kubricks The Shinning with a bit of an ecological twist thrown in for good measure. It's got a wonderful buildup as we see the crews characters as they work at setting the station up and as said earlier looks amazing with swirling cameras around the actors during the station scenes and gorgeous tracking shots of the harsh freezing landscape outside. The downside to the film is the pace is slow and could be too underwhelming for some viewers though I found it really good. A few people also seem to suggest the CGI creatures which could be real or just a figment of a mind gone crazy are badly done I didn't agree for film with a $50,000 budget they're stunning. For me the films real problem is it never really feels it reaches its goal in showing the viewer that man as got to respect the environment or be treated as badly as he treats it. So by the end I was left confused in how I felt about it and not sure if its a truly great film or pointless gloss pulled off well. All credit to Fessenden though for the look and feel of the film why none of the big studios have beaten down his door by now is beyond me.'

(7½ out of 10)