The Last Thing Mary Saw

I continue watching unpopular and low-rated folklore horror films so I can tell you about them. And this time I want to break down, point by point, why this is not a bad movie — in fact, it’s a good one that has been underrated and overlooked.

The movie unfolds slowly, but in my opinion it holds your attention well and never gets boring. There are no jump-scares here — instead, the atmosphere just keeps getting more and more tense as it goes.

As someone who loves everything related to religion, I found it quite interesting. The vibes reminded me a lot of Robert Eggers’ The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015). In one interview the writer/director Edoardo Vitaletti of The Last Thing Mary Saw said:

I had a Christian and Catholic upbringing, so I sort of wanted to expose a lot of things that looking back at the way that I was taught, I wanted to bring up some of the frustrations that I felt against this culture that proclaims itself as inclusive, but then it tends to exclude a lot of folks.

I didn’t recognise many people in the cast — most of them were unknown to me — but the performances were pretty good.

One of the things I liked most about this film is its original and well-thought-out story — at least I haven’t seen anything quite like it. It felt like the creators actually took their time with the writing. And of course, it’s full of symbolism and meaning. Set in 1843, the film has a fittingly dark and distinctly old-world atmosphere.

That said, I think they needed a more intriguing and fitting title, because the one they went with is too plain and forgettable to catch your eye in the first place.