I've never held back from heaping praise on Apple TV's commissioning team over the last few years because of the way it's consistently taken fun bets on interesting new sci-fi ideas, so it's only fair that Netflix gets a proper nod for unveiling an equally intriguing project. It's just trailed The Last House, which looks like a fascinating blend of sci-fi and horror elements.
The original movie will star Wagner Moura (fresh from an Oscar nomination for The Secret Agent) opposite Greta Lee, as a pair of parents whose life is upended when they discover they can't leave their home one morning. From the looks of the first trailer, though, it's not that they're under house arrest – something far more sinister is actually unfolding.
In fact, it looks like the sealing-in doesn't just happen to our family – it might be happening to everyone, putting their survival skills to the test in a very unique way since they can't get outside. We see a timelapse of how the family manages, including some indoor crop cultivation, but the movie seems keen to underline the fact that it's not just a survival story.
The supernatural storm happening outside the house when it gets sealed is clearly something otherworldly, and it looks fairly heavily implied that the movie might just have aliens in it. These aren't confirmed or even glimpsed on-screen in the trailer, but as it ends we see that the characters might be getting stalked by something in their home.
There are some really arresting images in the trailer, too, including a look at the outside world once nature has reclaimed it after a few years of people being locked inside. That brings up shades of The Last of Us, although this looks like it's going in a different direction.
In fact, when you think about it for more than a second, the film might end up being a fairly direct allegory for the lockdowns we all endured during the height of the coronavirus pandemic a few years ago. Literally being locked in while nature heals outside, and being forced to rely on each other for help and companionship? Horror story stuff!
The Last House arrives on Netflix on 7 August, so it's a little way off, but that might mean we get another look at before too long.
