The Last Victim – Movie Review
Director: Naveen A Chathapuram
Writer: Naveen A Chathapuram, Ashley James Louis (Screenplay)
Writer: Doc Justin (Story)
Cast
- Tahmoh Penikett (The Devil Has a Name)
- Ron Perlman (Hellboy)
- Ali Larter (Final Destination)
- Ralph Ineson (The Witch)
- Kyle Schmid (10 Minutes Gone)
Plot: The Last Victim is a Neo-Western thriller set in the American southwest, following Sheriff Hickey trying to solve the worst case he has seen in his small town, likely caused by a violent local gang led by a fearsome criminal.
Runtime: 1 Hour 52 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Last Victim starts when ruthless gangster Jake (Ineson) commits a public violent crime, taking the bodies with him. Sheriff Hickey (Perlman) and Deputy Gaboon (Legg) are investigating what happened. Meanwhile, Susan (Larter) and her husband are traveling across the country, they find themselves clashing with Jake.
With Susan needing to go on the run, she finds herself being hunted by Jake and his men. Elsewhere, Sheriff Hickey is looking to get to the bottom of the people behind the murders before more people end up going missing.
Verdict on The Last Victim
Characters
Susan is relocating with her husband and dog, the journey is taking a long time as they keep stopping off along the way. She is getting frustrated with this but spending time together is important to her too. When they run into Jake, she is left to fend for herself and elude the gang that is covering up their tracks.
Sheriff Hickey has teamed up with his deputy as they search for answers about the murder scene. Why aren’t there any bodies and who is behind them? A lot of his sequences include him waiting for more information to come out and taking his time to find the truth.
Jake is the psychotic gangster who starts everything off. He kills a man, and it is his cleaning up action that starts to see the bodies pile up. Jake doesn’t care who you are or why you are there.
In the supporting characters, we get to see the different people working for Jake and others helping try to solve the crimes. Not many stand out on the same level as the main three.
Performances
Ali Larter and Ron Perlman are both strong in their leading roles, however, it is Ralph Ineson that steals the show. His cold-hearted killer brings plenty of unease to every scene he is in. It might not reach the same level as others in other films but it is the most interesting part of the movie.
Story
The story follows three groups of people as they get caught up in the middle of a murder. We have the gangster who is trying to cover up his tracks, the sheriff trying to solve the crime and the woman who is trying to escape.
This all works well for the basic side of the hunt to cover up a crime, added with survivalist material. In the end, it doesn’t seem to get enough going forward, keeping too much separated until a conclusion that rams it altogether too quickly. Nothing ever feels as tense as the story wants it to be, which leaves a lot of the story falling flatter than it could have been.
Themes
The Last Victim is a thriller that takes us to the open American small town, that has crime running through it, with the criminals on the outskirts. Passer-by going through and learning the troubles and needing to adapt to survive. It does feel very open and the criminal doesn’t seem to give enough motivation to why he is doing everything.
Where to Watch: Signature Entertainment presents The Last Victim on Digital Platforms on 10th October
Final Thoughts – The Last Victim is a slow-moving thriller that lacks any tension.
