The Last Thing Mary Saw – Fantasia Review (4/5)

THE LAST THING MARY SAW is a horror movie that premiered at Fantasia 2021, but now it’s out on Shudder. The horror, thriller, and drama hybrid is a tense and intriguing story with amazing performances. Read our full The Last Thing Mary Saw movie review here!

THE LAST THING MARY SAW is a new horror movie that enjoyed its world premiere at Fantasia 2021. It seems like the perfect film festival for this horror, thriller, and drama hybrid. Amazing performances all around in the tense and intriguing story with heartbreak.

Just as it was the case with Fear Street on Netflix, the core story revolves around two young women in love. Not shown in any sort of overtly erotic (though it is that too) or fairytale way. Instead, their love is all about a very pure and earnest concern for one another’s well-being and making the other happy.

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Our review of the Fear Street 1666 which has a lot in common with this one >

However, to be fair, this new movie has less action than part 3 of Fear Street. That’s not to say it doesn’t have plenty of creepy moments. Also, it sports a crisp runtime of 89 minutes which is used rather perfectly.

Continue reading our The Last Thing Mary Saw movie review below.

Pray away the gay!

Just like in Fear Street 1666 on Netflix, the love between two women is swiftly punished. With The Last Thing Mary Saw, the story plays out quite differently. It’s the winter of 1843 and the term “pray away the gay” seems to be the mantra of those around these women in love.

Well, prayers and punishment. Of course!

However, the prayers and punishment doesn’t really seem to take. The two young women continue to be in love and want to escape from this household which is (in general) a rather dismal experience for everyone. Since it’s told through flashbacks, you’ll know (part of) the terrible outcome from the very beginning.

Powerful performances by a strong cast

In the title role of Mary, we have Stefanie Scott (Insidious 4: The Last Key) in a very impressive portrayal of a young woman who is part of a rather well-off and pious family. However, Mary is also very much in love with Eleanor who loves her back.

Eleanor works in the house as a help, but really, her status is of little importance. Only her gender is.

Eleanor is portrayed by Isabelle Fuhrman who absolutely blew my mind (and most others) with her performance in Orphan (2009). Fortunately, Isabelle Fuhrman and Stefanie Scott have wonderful and very natural chemistry as Eleanor and Mary. They simply love one another and want to be together.

You’ll probably notice Rory Culkin’s name as well. He’s credited as simply “The Intruder” and accidentally (well, to a point, anyway) plays a huge part in how the events of the day in question play out. As always, Rory Culkin (Lords of Chaos) delivers a performance that works exactly as required for this story!

Also in the cast is Judith Roberts as “The Matriarch” and she is, of course, brilliant as always.

Check out The Last Thing Mary Saw on Shudder!

The Last Thing Mary Saw is written and directed by Edoardo Vitaletti. This is his feature film debut after his short film (which he also wrote and directed) called God Is Busy Somewhere Else. That one takes place during WW2 and is certainly one I’d like to check out now.

It seems that religion and God tends to play a part in his stories but often in unexpected ways. Mostly, it seems that he focuses on how terribly human beings can treat one another all while claiming to live by and follow the word of God.

I was extremely impressed with the story of The Last Thing Mary Saw and while the LGBTQ element hits close to home for me, I also enjoy the movie as a whole in general.

Impressive performances, a simple story, and some very well-timed turns of events. I don’t want to call them plot twists because you simply see things evolve along with the characters. You should definitely check out this one if you enjoy storytelling at its finest.

The Last Thing Mary Saw had a world premiere at Fantasia 2021. It will also be out on Shudder on January 20, 2022.

Details

Director: Edoardo Vitaletti
Writer: Edoardo Vitaletti
Stars: Stefanie Scott, Isabelle Fuhrman, Judith Roberts, Rory Culkin