Los últimos días / The Last Days (2013)

News report: "We're dealing with a case of mass hysteria."

By David Pastor and Àlex Pastor
With Quim Gutiérrez, José Coronado and Marta Etura

I always get excited when I see there is a movie called The Last Days because I really enjoy apocalyptic, end-of-the-world films. This one didn't look too good, until I realized that it was made by the same directors who made Carriers (2009) which though far from being amazing, pleased me and had some interesting ideas. That is the reason I gave The Last Days a shot.

The movie begins in what appears to be an improvised survivors camp in some building's office. People are stranded there and are served food and water in rationed bits. While doing so, some of the men are trying to break the wall to reach the underground metro that passes by. Through flashbacks we also learn more about the life of Marc, a young employee of the office and his meeting with Enrique, the man who was hired by the company to restructure the company and possibly fire Marc. Needless to say that the two don't like each other much but when Marc sees that Enrique is planning to leave and that he stole a GPS, the two of them become linked in their escape through the sewers as they encounter other stranded survivors in their quest to reunite with their loved ones.

The premise of the movie is pretty good and I enjoyed the idea of an agoraphobia taken to such extremes that people actually die of heart attacks when they go out. Sadly, I think it could have been used to a much more potent effect than it was. For example, it could have been left open as to whether it was all simply so ingrained in the mind of everyone that going outside would kill them that this, alone was the factor of their heart attack... and not some chemical weapon, volcanic reaction or others toxic airborne event. This brand of sci-fi apocalyptic scenario is nothing new, as The Omega Man (1971) already had a very similar base idea, where more recently movies such as Blindness (2008) also played with the fact that one single change in our modern routine lives could potentially trigger devastating effects.

The journey of the two men is entertaining, predictable and full of clichés maybe but it is enjoyable, and the town of Barcelona also offers such great sights with the deserted streets and only a few animals walking amongst the carcasses of dead traffic jams. Speaking of deserted streets, the climatic scene of the movie which is a slow (imagine old zombie-like) street crossing comes from very good intention I'm sure, but what was supposed to be a dramatic epic scene is so slow and over-the-top that I simply couldn't help but laugh. Some other scenes were also a bit ridiculous, while others were really interesting. I think this is characteristic of the film which was quite uneven resulting in a truncated experience. I have to say I found it too long and my interest which was grand at first slowly got chipped away.

I liked: Beautiful town shots. Great base idea.

I disliked: Tries a little too hard to be all epic. The ending is a let down. Acting was okay but the dialogues were forgettable.

52/100
If you are into the sci-fi end of the world, catastrophic scenarios this is a pretty interesting one. Otherwise it doesn't have much to carry through.