Have you ever wondered how you’d survive using only what you had in your house? The Last House will have you asking that question and more. The upcoming intense sci-fi thriller follows a family who suddenly find themselves locked in their house with no means of escape — with a mysterious, looming threat that is keeping them trapped. The new trailer above captures the moment when Jason, played by Oscar nominee Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent, Narcos, Narcos: Mexico), realizes that he and his family are sealed inside as rain pours outside.
And there’s no end in sight. A day becomes three, then a week, then years. Jason and Ann, played by Greta Lee (A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE, Past Lives, Russian Doll), have no explanations for their daughter, Ruth, and son, Graham. The children are played by Riley Chung and Noah Alexander Sosnowski, with Emma Ho and Gabriel Barbosa taking on the older versions of the two as the movie progresses, and the situation grows more and more dire. As director Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me, Lupin) puts it, “Food is dwindling, and this family has to rely on each other and try to understand what comes next. What’s locking them in, and how will they survive?”
The Last House is about survival — both physical and psychological. “Growing up, my favorite things to watch and read were survivalist stories with a twist,” Lee tells Tudum. “So I was immediately drawn to this story. I love the questions this movie asks about our world and how we choose to live in it. And I was excited about the possibility of asking these questions in a new and entertaining way.” To help the cast and filmmakers reflect on these questions, they partnered with renowned survival consultant Megan Hine to strategize innovative and believable ways this family could persevere through such a dire predicament.
Minus the supernaturally self-repairing windows and impenetrable doors, the family’s challenges are one that pretty much anyone can imagine — and have nightmares about. “I think people are going to recognize themselves in this film,” says Moura. “Everybody is a parent or son or daughter. We have dysfunctional families or happy families … It goes beyond culture. It’s an animal instinct we all have within ourselves — for protection, love, humor, and conflict, too.”
The house itself is like a main character in the movie. To make the claustrophobic setting feel as authentic as the performances, veteran production designer Kevin Jenkins built a home that would evolve and age alongside the human characters. As their isolation stretches on for years, all the household items — from the kitchen appliances to the kids’ scooters — have to deteriorate, too. “I’ve never seen a set built like that, with all the details and complexities that the house needed,” says Moura. “It was mind-blowing, the details.”
Leterrier and the crew chose an analog route whenever they could. The first half of the movie was shot on 35 mm film, and the crew relied on practical effects as much as possible. “I grew up with Steven Spielberg movies,” says Leterrier. “The Amblin movies where the houses were shot on location. There was that texture that just made it feel quite relatable. That was the idea.”
But don’t get too cozy. There are some terrifying threats outside — and some come from inside the four walls. The Last House slams its doors on Aug. 7, only on Netflix.
