[Film Review] Fantasia Film Festival 2021 - The Last Thing Mary Saw

Mary (Stefanie Scott) and Eleanor (Isabelle Fuhrman) are young and in love. Both beautiful, enigmatic, intelligent women… and therein lies the problem. At night they sneak around in secret - their soft embraces illuminated only by the warm glow of flickering candlelight - as they tell each other stories and dream of a future they will never see, because this is 1843, and someone is always watching from the shadows to ensure that no sin goes unpunished. 

As The Last Thing Mary Saw opens, we’re immediately taken aback by the horror of what is in front of us - Mary, eyes bound and bleeding - facing interrogation for the death of her grandmother and matriarch of the family (Dead Silence legend Judith Roberts) under suspicious circumstances. 

Edoardo Vitaletti’s debut feature film is reminiscent of Robert Eggers’ folk phenomenon The VVitch with its period timing and slow pacing, and more recently of Rose Glass’ Saint Maud with its strong female leads and religious terror.

Split into three chapters, the film explores Mary’s relationship with the matriarch, as well as the rest of the family around her. Her affair with the ‘help’ is discussed within the family – her mother is scared for her daughters’ soul, and her father is almost resolute to what will become of her - and punishments are agreed and doled out accordingly. However, this doesn’t stop the young lovers from scheming to spend time together.

Through flashbacks to the days and hours before, we begin to understand the events that led to Mary’s capture, including one particularly sinister scene where her grandmother discovers the women together, and we start to wonder if there is more to the family’s devout beliefs than it seems.

The subdued volume and even long periods of complete silence won’t be for everyone, but they work effectively to create a sense that you’re witnessing private moments that you shouldn’t -  as though you’re privy to something you really want no part of - and a cold sense of dread creeps down your neck with every meaningful glance and disappointed scowl.

The quiet is only magnified by the house they all share – large and ornate with high ceilings, but clean and sterile, suggesting that not a single moment of joy has ever resided there. The kitchen where Eleanor is often seen is bathed in darkness and seems to reflect her loneliness and unhappiness as an outsider to the family – the woodfire burning is her only light, and perhaps a reflection of her love for Mary.

Scott and Furhman are no strangers to horror, with Scott leading in Insidious 3 and Furhman playing the most perturbing of all ‘children’ in Orphan, so it should surprise no one that they both shine in their roles here. Fortunately, The Last Thing Mary Saw is no typical horror, and you won’t find two melodramatic hysterical women screaming or running for help here.

Instead, they’re unwaveringly delicate and, as expected for the period they are living in, their interactions are reserved, with the two lovers often expressing a whole exchange with just a fleeting look. Mary and Eleanor are solemn but resilient in taking their punishments, and it’s clear that their love means too much for them to give up the fight despite the threats and warnings from others, and the ageless forces that seem to be against them. 

When an unexpected intruder arrives in the form of another horror royal Rory Culkin (Scream 4, Lords of Chaos) things take a turn and before you know it, the taut silence is shattered and your ideas of where the plot may go are turned on their head.

The Last Thing Mary Saw takes a rapid descent into terror in the final act, with disturbing revelations coming to light which pack a heavy punch. It’s safe to say that the slow pacing in the previous acts lends itself to a successful payoff when we finally find out the last thing Mary saw. Fans of hardcore films with lots of scares, action and violence may not love this one, but honestly, when truths of the conclusion hit, there was certainly enough horror to send a chill down my spine and a tear down my cheek. 

The Last Thing Mary Saw is now available for streaming on Shudder - go and watch it now or you’re missing out!

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