Last Kind Words (2012)
17-year old Eli moves with his family to the isolated farm of reclusive Waylon, a man whose dark past threatens to overtake him. Eli’s family works to restore the desolate fields, while he becomes fascinated with the forests. While on the farm, Eli meets the mysterious Amanda when she gives him an apple. The next day she extracts a promise from him to avoid the deep woods. Reeling from a violent encounter with his father, one night he breaks this promise and finds her body hanging from a tree.
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How sad is this?
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
While some of the issues explored in this have elements that can cause cringing, I don't consider this a horror movie. This is more of a drama with some paranormal and uncomfortable aspects. It's not a bad movie. I just didn't get the "horror" I thought I was going to see.
A glance at the DVD cover and blurb of "Last Kind Words" would have anyone believing they were about to watch a sort of generic teen horror movie full of gore and jump scares but that's a long way from the truth. This is a slow-burn coming of age drama and a supernatural love story. It has a haunting, almost hypnotizing southern-Gothic sensibility that's really quite beautiful.Eli, a 17 year old boy, finds himself moving with his abusive father and meek mother to the remote farmstead of family friend Waylon - played by the ever entertaining Brad Dourif - when the father loses his job. Eli ventures into the woods that surround the farm and meets a strange, alluring young girl called Amanda. As he begins to fall for Amanda he gradually uncovers a story of past tragic events on the farmstead and a rather sad haunting in the woods that goes all the way back to the days of the Underground Railroad. The only real downfall of this otherwise beautiful movie is a script that's a little unsure of itself and ends up feeling a tad messy and confusing in parts. The pace might bore some - it really is a slow one - but personally I think it just added to the feels. I enjoyed it a lot and for an indie, it's a very strong piece of work.
Image Entertainment always gives independent filmmakers an outlet to get their projects out to the masses. Many of these movies fall into the extremely competitive genre of horror and suffer from collapsing into the realm of cliché. "Last Kind Words" is one of the rare exceptions to this unfortunate trend.17-year-old Eli (Spencer Daniels) and his family move to the Kentucky backwoods after the father (Clay Wilcox) loses his job. He decides to work on the secluded farm of a childhood friend and recluse (Brad Dourif). Upon exploring the woods near his new home, he meets a girl named Amanda (Alexia Fast) and feels an instant connection to her. His journeys also expose him to a dark secret the dead want restitution for from beyond the grave.It's always a treat when you put in a movie expecting nothing more than a one-dimensional horror yarn but you get so much more. Looking at the cover of "Last Kind Words," you'd think it was just another typical angry ghost flick. Instead, Director / Screenwriter Kevin Barker and Storywriter Amy Riherd Miller fashioned a touching feature that takes a coming-of-age tale and gives it more depth by combining it with an old- fashioned Southern Gothic ghost story. It keeps the viewer's interest and slowly leads them to the answers to their own queries without losing any potency along the way.The acting in independent or low-budget films can be questionable at times. That's not the case with "Last Kind Words." You can tell every actor in the movie was dedicated to the film and put their best foot forward. Brad Dourif completely embraces his role as the enigmatic hermit and landowner. Spencer Daniels commands every scene he's in. You can see the emotional depth he invested in the role in his eyes. Alexia Fast is passionate as the character of the mysterious and tragic Amanda.I have a hard time using the term "horror movie" to describe "Last Kind Words." There's so much more to it than the usual jump scares we're used to getting these days. While the film does provide adequate thrills and chills, they're accompanied and spread throughout a grievous tale of isolationism, selfishness, loss, and the quest for closure.
I do not understand the low rating. The film is enjoyable and valuable in several respects. The photo is very beautiful and the actors recite their part in proper way, through a history that goes smoothly until the end. Perhaps it is not a masterpiece of cinema, but it deserves more than 4 stars. It 'a nice love story, with a good pinch of mystery with a remarkable soundtrack. Come on! There are many other films out there that deserve 4 stars or less, yet exceeding the sufficiency according to the reviews here. Maybe nothing new or surprising, but certainly a nice movie, worth to be enjoyed. Just do not expect a horror movie that makes you scream and squirm, or a breathtaking thriller, although it has some interesting moments for those who does not disdain a chill: relax, put on the DVD, enjoy the tale and judge for yourself.