★★★★☆
There was a time when you knew what you were getting into, going to see a horror film: there’d be some unlikeable characters getting horribly killed, plenty of blood ‘n’ guts, a few cheap jump scares, and maybe some nudity if you were lucky. Nowadays it’s all haunting New England landscapes, antiquated linguistics, and slowly creeping religious paranoia. Blame The VVitch.
Very much in the mould of that vvitchy film is The Last Thing Mary Saw, a slow-burning tale of forbidden love and mortification of the flesh. The film boasts strong supporting performances by Isabelle Fuhrman (of Orphan and, latterly, Orphan: First Kill) and one of those danged Culkins as – shockingly – a creepy guy; however, the plotting is frustratingly vague and the pace impossibly agonising for a picture only 89 minutes in length. The most patient and ardent fans of religious/witchy horror may have the patience for The Last Thing Mary Saw, but for most, it’s likely to be the last thing they wanted to see.