WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Trouble. It always finds its way to us, or so it often appears, anyway. When we’re faced with those circumstances that drastically alter our life, there is usually a root cause, a source for it all to have originally manifested from or be initiated by. But, in understanding said situations from the past and how they’ve carried forward into the present–does the knowledge make anything better. Perhaps not when a familial curse is in play. For the Sanders’, forces from beyond have plagued them unto the point of utter desolation to their clan. As those who were privy to these unsettling events now expound upon, the beginnings of all of it centered on their father Jacob (Clay Moffatt), who was a security guard for a big chain store location whose edifice holds dark secrets just waiting to escape. This is his story.
Next, my Mind:
Now, the first thing this critic must fess up to is that I have NOT actually viewed the previous two entries associated with this series, which would be 2020’s The Last Five Days and 2021’s sequel The Last Five Days: 10 Years Later, so the opinions expressed will solely be based on what has now become a PREQUEL third effort from writer/director/editor Clay Moffatt, writer/producer Adam Berardi, and executive producer Ashley Moffatt (Salewski). Having previously reviewed two of Moffat’s “Pocketman & Cargoboy” series (here and here…think akin to “Spy Kids” meets “Agent Cody Banks” in overall style), this time around seems to have the foundational notion to address the ever popular “found footage” approach to the otherworldly horror genre (this time think “Blair Witch” meets “Paranormal Activity”) and ultimately does so with both success and failure for me, the latter perhaps more due to just HOW many films in this specific type of horror realm I have seen, theatrically and via indie cinema, which are SO difficult to capture me with when it comes to the primary intent the projects are aiming for–genuine and truly skin-crawling chills.
The narrative we are presented with here that finds us getting the originating cause of one family’s ongoing curse and the apparent entity that has been wrecking havoc on them since gets illustrated through the aforementioned “found footage” format created by the family patriarch’s video journal while working a nighttime security job that turns out badly during his final shift there (on Christmas Eve much less!). Seems straightforward enough, and the film carries itself firmly and confidently in its purpose with the aim to create that necessary atmosphere of tangible unease, hinting at ominous tidings to be revealed, and trying its best to cause your magnitude of personal fear of the unknown, the dark, and menacing invisible forces controlling it all to rise up as you witness the events unfolding before you.
While I did certainly have plenty of moments which DID elicit that air of disconcert and eeriness that I very much want in this form of horror, I still ended up finding myself disappointed in the ultimate results of sequences that “had me there” but then really didn’t end up delivering what I was hoping for scare-wise. I do feel when watching this style of film, that part of what makes it effective is actually attempting to put YOURSELF in the scenarios at hand and realizing HOW unnerving and/or flat our terrifying it would be to EXPERIENCE the unexplainable like depicted here, and hence that disquiet looms in your mind while viewing. But again, the times I did have this sense of building dread and admitted anticipation of something about to happen, it really didn’t, and that for me was a letdown. I am not remotely saying things have to be predictable, far from it, but there’s just an expectation I personally had here that just wasn’t met in full. By the film’s finale, it has assuredly spelled out what was apparently covered in the previous two films.
What the film does utilize well in this format is the imagery as seen through the lens of a hand-held video camera, with the dark hallways only like by a flashlight, the sounds of things moving in the dark, doors closing, objects falling, specters in the window, footfalls that are suddenly there yet nothing is seen, and the blatant moment malevolence makes itself completely known and the like, all while the ongoing ramifications of its shadowy influence on a poor soul trapped in its sway are showcased, too. I suppose the biggest point here is that ALL of these elements are the facets designed to usher in the terror and your “I’m cringing in my seat and constantly on edge” sensations, but it simply didn’t happen, at least not in a manner that “got me” like I wished for. But, let me say, it is VERY hard for this critic to find many films of this nature that DO successfully “get me” as well. Honestly, it is what it is, and the EFFORT is ALWAYS what I continue to support when it comes to indie films of any sort like here.
Moffat does a fantastic job here through his lead role of Jacob, the father of a family who’ve ended up beset by an unrelenting, unending supernatural spirit that manipulated Jacob from the start and used him to become the passage of escape into their larger world. As seen through a self-shot lens, Jacob’s journey into the abyss and the accompanying madness that ensues does serve its objectives well as we watch him slowly but overtly cave in to something he has NO control over but rather overtakes him even as he desperately grasps onto what sanity and soul he has left before it’s too late. Moffat’s performance solidly infuses the character of Jacob with a level of credibility in how his unravelling takes place and all the factors that are involved with him discovering the building’s checkered past and the entity that haunts it. It’s an “everyman” kind of guy we see, which does make events for what they are more feasible and sincerely creepy in context.
Primary supporting roles arrive from Elise Moffatt as Wanda X, a paranormal investigator and/or fan who has been following the Sanders family’s plight for some time now and who is the interviewee here that sets up what we witness and Adam Berardi as Detective Sanchez, the local police presence who likewise has been a part of trying to resolve the insane happenings the family’s story has brought about. An additional appearances are made by Ashley Moffatt (Salewski), Joe Pacini, Melany Cook, and Jason McCrite. So, in total, “The Last Five Days: The Freak Building” is NOT a BAD film by any means, as it genuinely does provide some beautifully executed chills and an overall disturbing tale that this greater genre of horror offers. It really comes down to personal preference and, frankly, degree of tolerance for what scares you that will determine how impactful the film will be for you as the viewer. I give total merit for the efforts put forth, but when my bar is founded on “The Conjuring” and “Hereditary” among a small handful of others, it really IS hard for other films to measure up, regardless of what level of filmmaking we’re speaking of.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
