The Last Thing Mary Saw: Movie Review

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But now onto the review! I kept this review spoiler-free, so read without fear!

The Movie

Winter, 1843. A young woman is under investigation following the mysterious death of her family's matriarch. Her recollection of the events sheds new light on the ageless forces behind the tragedy.

- The Last Thing Mary Saw IMDb page

Written and directed by Edoardo Vitaletti, The Last Thing Mary Saw is a horror thriller period piece starring Isabelle Fuhrman, Stefanie Scott, Judith Roberts, and Daniel Pearce.

Set in 1843, the movie starts at the interrogration of Mary, a young girl who has been blinded and accused of witchcraft. Her interrogator is trying to find out what happened to result in her entire family ending up dead.

Mary reveals what happened to her in three parts, like a play: Chapter 1: The Temple of earthly Desires, Chapter 2: A Monstrous Birth, and Chapter 3: The Old Lady of Bethabara. These chapter titles are taken from a strange book that appears throughout the movie and plays a pivotal part in the plot of the film.

The movie revolves around Mary and her gloomy family, who have decided that she and a housemaid need “corrections” after it is discovered that Mary and the maid are involved.

The family is managed by a cruel Matriarch, who seems to have strange abilities.

As the punishments increase in severity, the girls decide they’ve had enough.

The Review

Heavy with atmosphere and suspense, The Last Thing Mary Saw is populated by spectacular acting, sinister happenings, and a shocking conclusion.

Visually, it’s a stunner — lit by candles and lanterns, shrouded in a persuasive darkness. I was completely in love with the film’s aesthetics. It was very similar to The VVitch.

The acting adds so much to the flavour of the film as well. It’s hard not to root for Mary and her lover, Eleanor, who are trapped in Puritan hell. It a well-written tragic love story wrapped in a dark occult shroud. No one can be trusted.

As the film builds to its explosive end, so does the suspense. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and the end left me breathless!

I think the only possible issue is the fact that there were a lot of subtle clues that were easy to miss, which were important to the overall plot. I’ll not call them out so that I don’t spoil anything, but I did have to rewind a few times to catch certain things.

I would just recommend that you play close attention as you watch.

7/10

x PLM