The Last Thing Mary Saw (2021) Review

The Last Thing Mary Saw is the first full-length feature from writer-director Edoardo Vitaletti.

Shot entirely in candle-light and oozing with atmosphere, the film takes us back to America in the late 1800’s and specifically the household of a devout household that lives by strict rules and punishes any impure behaviour.

Life for these early settlers is harsh and unforgiving. Prolonged hardship has bred mistrust in outsiders and a lack of reliable sources of food and medicine means that the fate of the members of the household is placed more in the hands of their faith. The older members of the family are the one source of truth and the particularly creepy Matriarch (Judith Roberts, Eraserhead, You Were Never Really Here) has a supernatural stranglehold on those that live with her, making them terrified of straying from the path.

To make matters complicated the youngest female member of the family, Mary (Stefanie Scott, Insidious Chapter 3) has fallen in love with the maid, Eleanor (Isabelle Fuhrman, Orphan) and as a result the pair are subjected to punishments. But their feelings for one another are too strong to suppress and the lovers soon find themselves on a path with bleak prospects: a life of chastity, silence, and joy or to risk their lives and try to escape.

The Last Thing Mary Saw is for the most part a subliminal experience. On the surface, not an awful lot takes place. Dialogue is minimal and stilted, adding to the feeling of repression and isolation. Soon it’s very clear why a life of risk and passion would be irresistible when the only alterative is bleak boredom and darkness.

It’s easy to connect with Mary and Eleanor who are essentially penalised for having very natural thoughts and feelings by modern standards. So as the viewer hides in the shadows as a silent accomplice to the romance that blossoms in secret, they feel even closer to the action when things turn sour and the Matriarch starts her unrelenting pursuit.

For the most part, glimpses of horror or unnerving peculiarity are minimal, but in the final act, the slowly building elements collide and come to a rapid, dark climax, bringing superfluous elements into focus.

The rigid, unyielding characters are expertly portrayed, and the desperate, inexorable love affair is beautifully enacted by the main players, Scott and Fuhrman. The wild, unpredictable element coming courtesy of the ‘intruder’ played by Rory Culkin (Signs, Scream 4).

The Last Thing Mary Saw an unassuming film. Subtle in its horror notes but haunting and impactful.

Though it doesn’t deliver jump-scares, guts, or haunting spectres, it’s portrayal of the dark aspects of human nature and the impact of subjugation speak loud. It makes for a memorable film with unique qualities which will stand out from a mixed medley at Frightfest this year.

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