Sometimes I come across completely unknown horrors that do not receive much publicity and soon after the premiere, everyone forgets about them very quickly. Nevertheless, in some cases this situation is completely unfair, and although I can not call “Last Stop” one of the special values in its genre, this does not detract from the fact that this mystical tape is worth paying attention to. First of all, this applies to viewers who have reviewed everything possible in horror and ponies are in search of something unknown and unusual.
This story begins with the most ordinary friendly trip. Jack, Tracy, and their friends decided to spend the weekend away from the city in a picturesque hotel, where you can not worry about work and completely relax. The road, of course, is not very close, it will not work so easily to go back, which means you need to merge with nature and get maximum pleasure from it. But as soon as the heroes arrived, something went wrong.
The entire hotel staff is missing and there are no guests either. Phones in these places are not caught, and gasoline is not so easy to get, because access to it is available only to specially trained personnel, who, of course, disappeared. But the most terrible thing is that soon the heroes themselves began to disappear, literally in the blink of an eye. And now the survivors need to understand what is happening, because the clock is ticking and soon there will be no one in the hotel and its surroundings!
In general, the film was not very scary. There are no monsters or monsters, but there is a very intense atmosphere. You watch a movie and you think. So what's going on in this hotel, why is everyone missing, and where are the animals and the banal little insects? But I'm not going to tell you if there are answers to all the questions or not. After all, such films as “The Last Stop” should be watched independently.
From the cast I can distinguish Brian Austin Green, ex-wife Megan Fox and the star of “Beverly Hills 90210”, as well as Mena Suvari, who the male part of the audience, as well as a fair female, perfectly remembers “American Pie”. They may not have shown anything phenomenal, but their familiar faces were just nice to see on the screen.
Thus, “Last Stop” refers to the type of little-known horror that fuels intrigue and keeps the story in constant tension. Of course, a slightly more experienced director would make everything more confident and dramatic difficult, but Trevor Oates did not disappoint, shooting a good story in which there is someone to worry about.
6 out of 10
Um, "Last Stop"? I wonder what our translators thought when they decided to call the film that way, embarrassed by the original title? How many movies have there been with a similar title? Dilogy "Stop", countless "Turn the wrong way", several "Deadlocks" and all of them were united by one thing - another psycho with an axe, a jigsaw, a tablespoon that chased teenagers through ravines and forests and refused to die from a shotgun shot at point-blank range. Nice, of course, but what is the chance that the viewer will be interested in the adventures of another crazy lumberjack that cleans the human gene pool? I don't think that's too big. At the same time, "Don't blink" sounds more than intriguing. And then you remember the Angels from Doctor Who or the time jumps from Langoliers. I don't know about you, but I'd get a name like that right away. But the sellers know better, yes.
In any case, the story in the film is that students, in the number of ten human bodies come to the country house to relax, relax and indulge in carnal pleasures. It's young, yeah. And when the teenagers arrive, they face another piece of shit. Honestly, was there ever a horror movie in which everything didn’t go out of hand almost from the beginning? “There’s nothing there” throws my memory, but this film was watched by a digger and a half, so it doesn’t count. Teenagers and forest deafness are made for each other. I was distracted, though. When students arrive, they find ... and they don’t find anyone. The house is there. There's food. There's water. No people. Weird, we should figure it out. And while the heroes understood, several people disappeared without a trace. What do we do? Try to escape from this damned place, even though there is hardly enough gasoline for it, or wait in an abandoned house hoping for a chance? Is the second option preferable? Well, we'll stop there.
And yes, the idea of the movie isn’t new, but it’s interesting — as long as people see each other, they can’t disappear, but once you turn your back, that person is gone forever. It's like he's being pulled out of this world. Although it is strange that the memory of the disappeared among those present is preserved ... however, then the movie would have become a drama, and not a horror movie, well, come on. More importantly, did the creators have anything other than an idea that has already been repeatedly played out? Well, ooh, they had a dark and oppressive music that's responsible for the atmosphere, the benefit of half-screen scrims in the film will not. We also have actors who, oh horror, play well within the defined genre. And as for the characters, we have a swagger, a fool, a dagger, a knuckle and other representatives of teenage minorities. And we also have far-fetched explanations for why teenagers can't leave their homes -- do you see that this could have happened all over the Earth? And yes, it could happen, who argues, but the virus/aliens/demons or whatever kind of thing didn't leave this house and it takes the young people one by one, so isn't it easier to try the net in the car, look at each other and drive until the gas runs out and then go? You can take food and water with you, this is not a problem, and the chance that young people will stay alive is greatly increased. But no, stupidity pills are the solution to all problems. Thus, the film turns into another manual - how not to behave one on one with the paranormal.
Outcome? Well, the movie with the audience is honest - it is a dark and rather cruel horror movie. No, really cruel, because only a very cruel doctor is able to apply gauze bandages on the wound without bothering to remove a t-shirt from the injured person. This is a film where the main characters are faced with evil that can not be punched in the face or shot at him with a gun. How can you defeat something you can’t see? Mmm? Would the Winchester brothers be okay? Oh yes! I have no doubt about that. Let's get Buffy Summers to have some fun. But jokes, but with the logic of the characters of the film refuse to be friends, as always. However, if you are willing to come to terms with this siege, you can watch this movie with one eye. I will continue to look for a horror story in which all aspects of the picture will be brought to mind. Will I be lucky? Time will tell.
“Do not blink” – or how not to fall asleep for 1.5 hours.
This film caused me mixed associations - in terms of acting, the work of the operator, the production, the interiors - everything is good, in terms of the plot and script - everything is not that bad, but rather unclear. Everything in order.
A large group of friends in three cars are heading to some remote ski base. Arriving at the place, they are given a diva - there is no one on the base! How come? It seems to have booked rooms in advance, and there is no administrator, staff, or other skiers at the base. And it looks like they've all just gone somewhere - the food is untouched, the things are left, but where? And our heroes begin to beat around the bush, they have no gasoline left, because it was like going to the base to China, and local gas stations refuse to give them fuel. The lake near the base is frozen!! How come? In general, the heroes, not jokingly frightened, close on this notorious base, hoping that the police or any other special staff will come to their rescue, but that’s not all. Intrigue... Suspense... Tension... Heroes begin to disappear without a trace - disappeared and all - thereby putting the remaining in an awkward position.
In short, following from my synopsis, watching this “masterpiece” did not give me pleasure, except that it caused bouts of laughter in some places.
Actors: the big name of the star of “American pies” Mena Suvari on the poster in the end does not give anything - her heroine was given too little screen time, so that fans of Mena can be disappointed immediately - she never had time to reveal the character of her character, although the makings were, because she looked much better than others.
About Brian Austin Green I want to say one thing - the actor from him about nothing, all the emotions (!), which were not particularly, were played, in short, out of hand played badly.
About the rest and do not want to talk – informal, concerned teenager, blonde, stupid naive chicken, six, psychopath, friend of a psychopath and part-time husband (or boyfriend) of six, a strange type – the husband of a blonde – that’s how I saw the others, especially nothing they did not stand out, but their failed game I also would not call – played the average for the same film.
Operator's work: everything is filmed well, there are no complaints - the angles are interesting, the interiors are beautiful, the picture is clear, the camera does not shake - a comrade of the operator would be sent to another movie, the prize would immediately receive.
Director and Screenwriter: Dear Travis Oates. I want to tell you, because it is boiling - if you do not know how to make a movie, it is better not to stick - without you there are plenty of such "masters". Don’t write these scripts anymore.
Speaking of the script, it seemed that the creators were guided by only one notebook piece of paper, on which only the idea was written, and they, inspired by it, gave instructions to the actors: So you came to the ski base, and there is no one there. Now go and goundite - Where is everyone? Why is this here and this here? Where is it? What's up there? Does the phone catch? Nope? Why? etc. And now, after an interval of 5 minutes, start taking turns to “disappear”. All right? Oh yes, there is a lake near the house frozen, you yourself come up with something about it.
In the end, I would like to express my condolences to Mene Suvari, because she is slowly sliding into tartars because of her participation in such projects. Verdict: if you like such films, where the stupidity of the main characters is off the scale, there is no clear script and any logical conclusion (by the way, there will not be the slightest hint about the disappearance of all these idiots) – look, you will like it. Lovers of higher-quality cinema, I advise to bypass this "masterpiece" side - there are better projects.
3 out of 10
The genre of horror films continues to attract into its bosom more and more enthusiasts who want to try themselves as a director, but if their picture is expected to be an unfortunate failure, then this will not affect their career so much, because often horrors of the most diverse caliber are shot for obviously not much money, so that their creators will be much easier to earn on such projects than to lose outright. So it is not surprising that such a rather amusing personality as Travis Oates eventually decided to independently lead the creative process, personally inventing and directing a new horror film called "The Last Stop". Watching the filmography of this filmmaker is surprised that he still decided to master the intimidating genre, because almost his entire career he built on second-rate children's animated films like a series of films about the adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which never even claimed to be rolled in cinemas around the world. Moreover, Oates participated in their creation as a voice actor, but not a writer, producer or director. However, as you know, geniuses can for the time being hide behind the guise of an average layman and perhaps Oates lost talent, which he spent all these years misdirecting. In addition, the new director really tried and created a story, which, judging by the description, must intrigue all fans of the genre, since its plot sets up the appropriate tense mood and promises something original. But Oates was able to withstand his film from beginning to end in the proper rhythm and whether he reduced all efforts to a simple repetition of the past, I will describe further.
So, the plot of the film introduces us to a group of old friends led by Jack (Brian Austin Green), who go to relax on the tourist base “Last Stop” abandoned in the mountains. The guys have been waiting for this joint trip for a very long time, and therefore they clearly couldn’t wait to get to their destination as soon as possible, especially since the last gas station was left far behind, so the only opportunity to relax and have a snack remains exactly where they are going. At first, nothing foreshadowed trouble, but only after getting to the “Last Stop” the characters understand that something mysterious and painfully frightening happened here! As it turns out, the entire staff of the base, as well as the guests disappear without a trace. That is, all people in an instant evaporated, leaving behind half-eaten breakfasts filled to the brim baths and ignition keys in cars. However, with all this, no trace of struggle is visible. It seems that the local inhabitants simply took and disappeared in the air. Deciding to explore the nearby area, Jack and the company discover an even more disturbing fact - all the insects and animals also left the territory, and the nearby giant lake iced so quickly that it even left a boat with fishing rods. But here the fishermen, as well as tourists, can not be seen. At first, the frightened heroes decide to leave as soon as possible, only they can not get the desired gasoline, and therefore there is only one option - to barricade themselves in the central building of the base and wait for the arrival of rescuers. There is no Internet here, wired and cellular communication are also absent. And the worst thing is that from time to time, the heroes themselves begin to disappear! This is happening right in front of my friends. The situation is heating up to the limit and there is no way out of it. So there is only one thing left - to follow the instruction, which is written on the mirror in one of the rooms - "do not blink".
Honestly, before watching this film, I thought that it would not go beyond an intriguing synopsis and the film would later slide into a hole from which it would not get out. I was pushed to such thoughts by the fact that the main role in the project was played by Brian Austin Green, once known for playing in the popular TV series Beverly Hills 90210, and now is just the husband of the sexy Megan Fox. Greene's career is now too faded and, I'm not afraid of this word, hopeless. Often, the actor is invited to small roles in television projects and is sometimes allowed to appear in inexpensive full-length horror crafts like Buried 2, which do not honor any of the performers taking part in them. However, in every rule there are exceptions and “Last stop” although it did not become a world-wide event, but it is still worthy that fans of extraordinary horror films, for which rivers of blood and torn bodies are not as important as a high-quality, detective story and the gradual infusion of suspense, turn their attention to it. It was on these elements that director Travis Oates relied to create his debut film. The director first of all made a bet on mystery and allowed his actors to play at the maximum of opportunities, deciding not to limit them and did very well, because they were able to quite reliably convey a whole palette of emotions from depression to real madness. And Brian Austin Green is no exception. The star of the series still managed to prove that he is not deprived of talent. And even though his hero, Jack, is not the brightest character in the film, he looks quite organically in the story told and the impression does not spoil.
Travis Oates, as was clear from the outset, couldn’t get a decent budget at his disposal, but that didn’t stop him from making a really interesting film in the best traditions of limited-site stories like 10 Negroes. A group of friends is imprisoned and tries to logically explain what is happening. Of course, the answer will not be simple. Or maybe he won't be at all. In the "Last Stop" there are no special effects at all and there are only a couple of scenes with active actions for the entire timekeeping, but this is quite enough to warm up the necessary audience interest to the production. It is difficult to remember such tapes that could be so intrigued by their plot inaction. So Last Stop is a unique project that is very easy to miss due to its relative unknown. Of course, I cannot call the film perfect, since in some places there are quite serious shortcomings associated with the logic of the characters’ behavior, and the general concept as a whole. In this sense, "Last Stop" is somewhat reminiscent of the intriguing "Disappearance on Seventh Street" starring Hayden Christensen. The common trouble of the two projects is that its creators wanted to put in the frame of the frightening unknown, but could not fully withstand the atmosphere and mood of the production, and in the end reduced them to a somewhat disappointing void. However, despite all the disadvantages, I vote for "The Last Stop" with a finger up!
The movie starts very standard. A group of people who know each other go banal to relax in a hotel located in a quiet, secluded place. Arriving, the main characters noticed that there is no one in the hotel, not anywhere else, but the presence of things, food in the kitchen, a bath filled, an unmade bed indicates only that people were here recently, but suddenly disappeared somewhere. No staff, no one, but their belongings were fine, but there was no sign of a struggle or anything. A little later, the characters learn that there are no animals, no insects, no birds and dramatically changing weather conditions, which is certainly not typical for the environment. While tourists begin to argue how best to do: stay in the hotel and give a logical explanation of what is happening around or leave, but this is not the task, they will not have enough gasoline for a quarter of the way back, and while they find out what will be best for their benefit, here begins the game called "Do not blink". The bride of the main character disappears literally out of the blue - Tracy, everyone seemed to be nearby, but for some reason did not notice her disappearance. I'm going to put the ellipsis...
It's been a long time since movies in the genre of mysticism. Ninety minutes of the film flew incredibly fast and I seemed to be on par with the characters of the film did not want to blink to find out what was happening and then again put the ellipsis. Because many probably at the end of the picture will say: “I’m sorry for the time spent”, but personally I, even with such an ambiguous ending, I want to say thank you to the creators that they were able to create a very good product in the period of one stamp. Now the horror/mystic paintings are all cloned, without any highlights. And this film is like a breath of fresh air in the last 5 years. I don’t know why people have forgotten how to think, or just don’t want to. Remember, this is just a subjective opinion.
The actors play well, without question. There is no musical accompaniment as such. The idea of the film is a huge plus. The meaning and philosophy of the picture lie much deeper than you can imagine, you just need to think and use another tip. Don't blink!