'The Well' was the opening film at the inaugural Other World's Austin Sci-Fi festival this year. Directed by Tom Hammock, the film is set in a post-apocalyptic Oregon where we are informed that 'the rains' have simply stopped some ten years ago (from the not too distant future) and the last remnants of a once fertile valley struggle to survive as their most precious resource - water - systematically becomes more and more scarce. Teen Kendal is one of such survivors that hides out in an abandoned farmhouse with a character whose name I forget. Meanwhile we learn that there is villainous figure surrounded by his many zealots that scour the valley, hunting for survivors who he claims are using his water without his permission (as he has claimed the remaining water in the valley and thus the land). As one of these few remaining holdout survivors, Kendal scrounges for water and supplies why searching fruitlessly for a distributor cap to aide in the repairs of an old airplane (that her group dreams of escaping in). The film itself started off fairly slow though it kept my attention with an intriguing plot and a fairly convincing performance by Haley Lu Richardson. She grows to be a bad-ass through the film battling her foes with her trusty shotgun and eventually a katana. It isn't outrageous or over the top like you'd see in a Tarantino or Rodriguez style film but it still has that 'this is still a low budget sci-fi' charm to it. She gives a decent performance that is not only mildly genuine, but also just felt right for this type of survival flick. The cinematography is decent and gritty at the same time and really lends itself to feeling the sparseness of the wasteland. Other than Kendall and maybe the villain played by Jon Gries, the characters and their development aren't too memorable, but it isn't glaringly sub- par. It's a solid little movie with some fairly decent suspense and action sequences as well as the much needed creepy-factor from both the landscape and the gas-mask wearing henchman.At any rate, I enjoyed The Well for what it was and what it was not. It's clearly not a big budget film, but yet it still manages to capture the magic and intrigue of films like The Hills have Eyes, Mad Max, The Road, as well as a host of other post-apocalyptic films. Like I said the dialogue isn't all that great and some of the supporting characters are occasionally painful in their deliveries and screen presence, but overall it was still a fun little movie to watch. If you're like me, you'll probably get annoyed by some of the hiccups in the 'attention to detail' category as well as the fact that in a completely barren wasteland, the main character has inexplicably fantastic hiding skills. Seriously, she just runs across the desert and no one spots her or thinks to check behind the door-frame when she's hiding out in a house.
34 Reviews
Post Apocalyptic Sci-Fi For Teen Girls?
mr-thousand2 October 2016
I guess. If beautiful teen models struggling to survive a violent, widespread water shortage isn't silly enough, the dialogue and acting in "The Last Survivors" are too weak to convey believable struggle. The actors just don't have the chops to offer much more than their beautiful faces as entertainment. Put a little makeup on the male lead and he'd be kissable too.
No offense, but based on most of the reviews on Amazon, young viewers enjoy it as a beautifully shot post apocalyptic teen romance. Fair enough, but I can't imagine any intelligent person over 30 sitting through this vapid chain of artfully composed scenes. I had to fast forward through almost half of the film to see if there was any payoff by the end of this uninteresting, slow moving, cliché ridden story. Nope! And, "better than the "Road," as one reviewer wrote? Not even close.
I generally enjoy the low budget post apocalyptic sci-fi sub genre. However, the lack of grittiness and believable survival savagery made this movie too lightweight to sit through.
No offense, but based on most of the reviews on Amazon, young viewers enjoy it as a beautifully shot post apocalyptic teen romance. Fair enough, but I can't imagine any intelligent person over 30 sitting through this vapid chain of artfully composed scenes. I had to fast forward through almost half of the film to see if there was any payoff by the end of this uninteresting, slow moving, cliché ridden story. Nope! And, "better than the "Road," as one reviewer wrote? Not even close.
I generally enjoy the low budget post apocalyptic sci-fi sub genre. However, the lack of grittiness and believable survival savagery made this movie too lightweight to sit through.
Some Things I learned from The Last Survivors (2014)
AlexanderAnubis16 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
May Contain Spoilers
01. Large, attention-getting bonfires may be started in dry sand with one charcoal briquette propelled from a slingshot. The tactic is sound, provided you have access to a slingshot and a charcoal briquette.
02. Even if water is so scarce you need to count every drop, you will never have to worry about appearing dehydrated or suffer the indignity of chapped lips. Furthermore, dry cleaning of the hair, nails and clothing will keep you looking snappy, even if H2O becomes something the next generation only knows about in legend.
03. If you do all the work and fighting, give all your water to the annoying emo guy who does nothing but look pale and whine about his kidneys shutting down. Never worry you will offend his sense of gallantry or honor: "don't waste it on me," is not in his vocabulary.
04. Don't add to the annoying emo guy's problems by informing him that the well has been dry for days -- he has enough to worry about already instead, give him more water after all, he has to at least be able to cry if necessary.
05. Food and water are not strictly necessary for human survival, they are really addictions. Hence hunger and thirst are cravings and may be overcome with enough patience and determination. This revelation awoke gooey, nostalgic memories of the film Ghost (1990) which demonstrated that death is just a disability that can be mastered if you only try hard enough.
06. About every 5-20 minutes, introduce characters who sequentially speak in lower and lower registers. Your audience will thank you for distracting them from your film by having to regularly play with the remote.
07. About every 5-20 minutes, be sure to have the screen go dark for what appears minutes at a time. Your audience will thank you for providing them with opportunities to imagine that something interesting is actually happening even if they can't see it.
08. Ten years without rain will make Oregon look like the Lucerne Valley of the Mojave Desert. Even at Crater Lake and along the Pacific coast. Apparently Alaska, points North and the Great Lakes will have evaporated as well. In fact, it is well known that a single tanning booth turned the Sahara from a rain-forest into a wasteland in one afternoon.
09. If you see strangers in the distance, leave your weapons lying on the sand as they approach so you don't hurt their feelings by implying you might not trust them. When they arrive and start killing your people, continue to not go for your weapons and stand in a line to make it easier for them to shoot you one by one. This is known as etiquette, although some unrefined types who don't know any better call it idiocy.
10. Costuming the Big Bad Guy in a cassock, or at least a ministerial collar, for no particular reason adds layers and layers of subtle nuance, depth and dimension to the character and is not, by any stretch of the imagination, just a clown-like, ludicrous and trite cinematic cliché.
11. When hiding from bad guys, look in the direction opposite from where they are so they won't be able to see you. For added protection, turn your face away as well. It's best not to know where they are.
12. Some bad guys like to bag their heads in burlap and lay buried supine in the sand on the off chance someone will pass by. In case none of the other 8 or 9 people in the cast comes along, it's always possible a spontaneous remake of Mad Max will occur instead.
13. In the future, anything viewed through a telescope or a pair of binoculars will be distorted and blurry. This is known as DystopiaVision or ApocolypseScope. The technique has had a profound effect on film-making, equivalent to the effect Citizen Kane (1941) had on Francois Truffaut, or the effect Racket Girls (1951) had on Ed Wood.
14. In the future, telescopes will be rectangular, even though the optimal shape for high-quality optical lenses is circular -- a fact discovered by glass-makers even before the invention of the telescope. On the other hand, a rectangular case has the added advantages of being bulkier and more difficult to hold and focus.
15. As already noted by the alert reviewer randall-50: In the future, internal combustion, prop-driven, light civil aircraft will dispense with magnetos in favor of distributors. Such crisp screen writing and attention to detail is worthy of Kubrick, or at least Microsoft Flight Simulator.
16. After ten years without rain there will not be anyone left in Oregon with an IQ greater than 35.7. Exactly.
17. When making a dramatic film, never hire someone who is clinically depressed to be your location scout.
18. When making a dramatic film, be sure to use 100% genuine actors.
XYZ
01. Large, attention-getting bonfires may be started in dry sand with one charcoal briquette propelled from a slingshot. The tactic is sound, provided you have access to a slingshot and a charcoal briquette.
02. Even if water is so scarce you need to count every drop, you will never have to worry about appearing dehydrated or suffer the indignity of chapped lips. Furthermore, dry cleaning of the hair, nails and clothing will keep you looking snappy, even if H2O becomes something the next generation only knows about in legend.
03. If you do all the work and fighting, give all your water to the annoying emo guy who does nothing but look pale and whine about his kidneys shutting down. Never worry you will offend his sense of gallantry or honor: "don't waste it on me," is not in his vocabulary.
04. Don't add to the annoying emo guy's problems by informing him that the well has been dry for days -- he has enough to worry about already instead, give him more water after all, he has to at least be able to cry if necessary.
05. Food and water are not strictly necessary for human survival, they are really addictions. Hence hunger and thirst are cravings and may be overcome with enough patience and determination. This revelation awoke gooey, nostalgic memories of the film Ghost (1990) which demonstrated that death is just a disability that can be mastered if you only try hard enough.
06. About every 5-20 minutes, introduce characters who sequentially speak in lower and lower registers. Your audience will thank you for distracting them from your film by having to regularly play with the remote.
07. About every 5-20 minutes, be sure to have the screen go dark for what appears minutes at a time. Your audience will thank you for providing them with opportunities to imagine that something interesting is actually happening even if they can't see it.
08. Ten years without rain will make Oregon look like the Lucerne Valley of the Mojave Desert. Even at Crater Lake and along the Pacific coast. Apparently Alaska, points North and the Great Lakes will have evaporated as well. In fact, it is well known that a single tanning booth turned the Sahara from a rain-forest into a wasteland in one afternoon.
09. If you see strangers in the distance, leave your weapons lying on the sand as they approach so you don't hurt their feelings by implying you might not trust them. When they arrive and start killing your people, continue to not go for your weapons and stand in a line to make it easier for them to shoot you one by one. This is known as etiquette, although some unrefined types who don't know any better call it idiocy.
10. Costuming the Big Bad Guy in a cassock, or at least a ministerial collar, for no particular reason adds layers and layers of subtle nuance, depth and dimension to the character and is not, by any stretch of the imagination, just a clown-like, ludicrous and trite cinematic cliché.
11. When hiding from bad guys, look in the direction opposite from where they are so they won't be able to see you. For added protection, turn your face away as well. It's best not to know where they are.
12. Some bad guys like to bag their heads in burlap and lay buried supine in the sand on the off chance someone will pass by. In case none of the other 8 or 9 people in the cast comes along, it's always possible a spontaneous remake of Mad Max will occur instead.
13. In the future, anything viewed through a telescope or a pair of binoculars will be distorted and blurry. This is known as DystopiaVision or ApocolypseScope. The technique has had a profound effect on film-making, equivalent to the effect Citizen Kane (1941) had on Francois Truffaut, or the effect Racket Girls (1951) had on Ed Wood.
14. In the future, telescopes will be rectangular, even though the optimal shape for high-quality optical lenses is circular -- a fact discovered by glass-makers even before the invention of the telescope. On the other hand, a rectangular case has the added advantages of being bulkier and more difficult to hold and focus.
15. As already noted by the alert reviewer randall-50: In the future, internal combustion, prop-driven, light civil aircraft will dispense with magnetos in favor of distributors. Such crisp screen writing and attention to detail is worthy of Kubrick, or at least Microsoft Flight Simulator.
16. After ten years without rain there will not be anyone left in Oregon with an IQ greater than 35.7. Exactly.
17. When making a dramatic film, never hire someone who is clinically depressed to be your location scout.
18. When making a dramatic film, be sure to use 100% genuine actors.
XYZ
Spend some money on writers, please
randall-5020 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Direction: fine; Acting: decent; Cinematography: good; Plot: WORTHLESS
I stuck it out till the end but alas, no plot was forthcoming beyond just: girl trying to survive in post-apocalyptic desert and fighting greedy murderous bad guys who are stealing everyone's water. SPOILER: In the end, she kills them. That's essentially it: done, finished. Well there is this flawed subplot where she's scavenging distributor caps from wrecked cars so she can fix this airplane and she and her sick boyfriend and some little kid can go... where? Who knows, or really cares. Oh and also, AIRPLANES DON'T HAVE DISTRIBUTORS THEY HAVE MAGNETOS, so no way that would work. I wouldn't bring it up except they kind of make a big deal about that. Why not pick some other thing that could be interchangeable or at least adaptable (generator maybe?) Oh well I suppose it's moot given the lack of a worthwhile plot.
I stuck it out till the end but alas, no plot was forthcoming beyond just: girl trying to survive in post-apocalyptic desert and fighting greedy murderous bad guys who are stealing everyone's water. SPOILER: In the end, she kills them. That's essentially it: done, finished. Well there is this flawed subplot where she's scavenging distributor caps from wrecked cars so she can fix this airplane and she and her sick boyfriend and some little kid can go... where? Who knows, or really cares. Oh and also, AIRPLANES DON'T HAVE DISTRIBUTORS THEY HAVE MAGNETOS, so no way that would work. I wouldn't bring it up except they kind of make a big deal about that. Why not pick some other thing that could be interchangeable or at least adaptable (generator maybe?) Oh well I suppose it's moot given the lack of a worthwhile plot.
A Realistic Take on the Post-Apocalypse
gavin694223 July 2015
A teenage girl (Haley Lu Richardson) fights to protect the last working well in a drought-stricken valley from a greedy water baron (Jon Gries).
What I like about his film is that it concentrates on building a world. Although the location used was probably relatively small, we are given the illusion that the entire world -- or at least enough of it -- has completely dried out. And it is very effective.
We do not have zombies (thank goodness) or unbreathable air. Just the simple idea of a drying up world and the increasing value of water. It works. By gosh, it works. Add in a few guns and a samurai sword, and we have a nice plot. Is it horror? Not really. Science fiction? Sort of, but it is so close to reality it almost gets around that, too.
What I like about his film is that it concentrates on building a world. Although the location used was probably relatively small, we are given the illusion that the entire world -- or at least enough of it -- has completely dried out. And it is very effective.
We do not have zombies (thank goodness) or unbreathable air. Just the simple idea of a drying up world and the increasing value of water. It works. By gosh, it works. Add in a few guns and a samurai sword, and we have a nice plot. Is it horror? Not really. Science fiction? Sort of, but it is so close to reality it almost gets around that, too.
Not good enough for this genre of movie
deloudelouvain16 April 2017
I think the ratings on IMDb for this movie are for once spot on. It doesn't deserve more than an average 5. It's not that I didn't enjoy watching the movie or so because this is one of the genres I really like, apocalyptic movies. But the story-line is sometimes really stupid and that brings the movie down. For example when the bad guys visit the farms for multiple times over and over again and they need heat sensors to see if there is still somebody living or hiding there is just too ridiculous. The house is almost totally destroyed and is a dump, you really don't need a heat sensor to figure out if there are survivors. It's little things like that that are not good for the movie. Otherwise Haley Lu Richardson as the main character does not do a bad job. She's just not helped by the poor script. The last half hour is also not that great. They clearly ran out of imagination and didn't put too much effort in it.
Won't Satisfy Everyone
Theo Robertson12 May 2015
Considering this site lists this movie as being made for television* I was expecting something along the lines of what you get on the SyFy Channel . Warning sign number one . I read the synopsis on this page and saw it featured a ballsy heroine in a post apocalypse scenario which conjures up images of teen marketed speculative action thrillers similar to THE HUNGER GAMES and THE MAZE RUNNER . Warning sign number two . On top of that this film is known by the dual title of THE WELL and THE LAST SURVIVORS which is never a good sign of a film so it looked like three strikes and your out but still decided to give it a chance and while I wasn't blown away in amazement I was occasionally surprised by THE WELL
Set in the near future mankind faces extinction due to a lack of precipitation making the land surface of the planet arid . Now human life is dependent on water , a human being can't live for four or five days without it and one wonders why governments haven't embarked on a crash program of building of water desalination plants to solve or at least lessen the problem . Perhaps they have but the film doesn't really give details of this and is left open ended and mainly unexplained . That said the enigma of the drought doesn't really damage the story and unlike the recent Brit flick HOW I LIVE NOW the apocalypse is fairly convincing and well done . The film concentrates on the trauma of teenage girl Kendal as she tries to survive against a gang of scavengers who want to rule the desert valley she lives in by stealing all water resources and murdering anyone who is of no use to them . In some ways it plays out like a revenge Western . I was taken aback in how gritty and gloomy the story was and it's not afraid to kill off characters . Haley Lu Richardson makes a somewhat uneven heroine and while Kendal is written and cast to audience identification for a female teen audience she wasn't really someone who I could relate to though I did appreciate the downbeat mood of the piece . That said - and I hope am not being patronising - the people who can identify with Kendal will probably be put off THE WELL / THE LAST SURVIVORS by the gloomy tone . In other words despite some strengths it won't satisfy all the audience all the time
* It was until I wrote this review I realised "TV" beside the title was IV . I should have gone to Specsavers
Set in the near future mankind faces extinction due to a lack of precipitation making the land surface of the planet arid . Now human life is dependent on water , a human being can't live for four or five days without it and one wonders why governments haven't embarked on a crash program of building of water desalination plants to solve or at least lessen the problem . Perhaps they have but the film doesn't really give details of this and is left open ended and mainly unexplained . That said the enigma of the drought doesn't really damage the story and unlike the recent Brit flick HOW I LIVE NOW the apocalypse is fairly convincing and well done . The film concentrates on the trauma of teenage girl Kendal as she tries to survive against a gang of scavengers who want to rule the desert valley she lives in by stealing all water resources and murdering anyone who is of no use to them . In some ways it plays out like a revenge Western . I was taken aback in how gritty and gloomy the story was and it's not afraid to kill off characters . Haley Lu Richardson makes a somewhat uneven heroine and while Kendal is written and cast to audience identification for a female teen audience she wasn't really someone who I could relate to though I did appreciate the downbeat mood of the piece . That said - and I hope am not being patronising - the people who can identify with Kendal will probably be put off THE WELL / THE LAST SURVIVORS by the gloomy tone . In other words despite some strengths it won't satisfy all the audience all the time
* It was until I wrote this review I realised "TV" beside the title was IV . I should have gone to Specsavers
low budget neo-western
SnoopyStyle4 September 2017
It's been 10 years since the last rainfall. Kendal (Haley Lu Richardson) leads a group of kids guarding one of the few functioning wells against marauding bandits. As the surrounding wells dry up, their neighbors attempt to leave only to be killed by bad guys looking to take over the entire valley.
This is basically an apocalyptic western and a low budget indie. The leads are functional actors. The premise isn't that difficult. It isn't able to elevate beyond that.
This is basically an apocalyptic western and a low budget indie. The leads are functional actors. The premise isn't that difficult. It isn't able to elevate beyond that.
not bad for a low budget dystopian grinder
bob-larrance27 October 2017
I ran across Last Survivors by accident and I can safely recommend it. It stars Haley Lu Richardson and Booboo Stewart and it's set in Oregon. All about a future without water. So many of the Dystopian films are just poorly done, on small budgets. This one from a few years ago is well done on a small budget and the two leads are kids on their way up. The camera loves them both. The other players are all forgettable, too bad for them, but hey they got a few minutes in the sun with two representatives of the real future. I'm not sure what type of SciFi you like, this isn't a FX extravaganza and it doesn't feature a cameo by any of the living cast members of the original Star Trek. But, it's got a tight script and quite of bit of angst, pathos and violence. Wow, the big three!
Pretty much sucked
spiritchaser-264779 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
The well wants us to believe that Oregon is out of water....here's a hint go left to the ocean and start desalinating....it's a post apocalyptic movie that revolves around a girl that does everything except eat for 40 days...in which case she would be dead...she is trying to take care of a guy named Dean that you really begin to hate about 15 minutes into the movie....all he does is sleep and complain, when he finally dies I actually yelled hooray!......She eventually finds a means to escape, but does the the stupid thing and opts for revenge. Overall this entire movie sucked, but I will give props to Haley Lu Richardson for actually trying to make this an interesting movie.....she's a good actress, but just got cast in a horrible movie. I mean come on, all they want is water...and one guy eats half a peach 40 days later....it's not a survival movie...it's a joke.
Desolated post-apocalypse situation, yet interesting developments and surprisingly capable protagonists to stand up against worsening circumstances
JvH4824 February 2015
Saw this at the Leiden film festival 2014 (LIFF), where it was selected for the American Indie Competition. Given is a post-apocalypse situation, after all water disappeared from a large area. Some farm houses are still more or less intact, with a few sparse inhabitants who try to survive with limited resources and nearly defective equipment. Our main character is 17 year old Kendal, involuntary head of a household that consists of herself and her handicapped brother with ailing kidneys. At the other end of the spectrum we have a greedy water baron, who claims all of the (little) still available water, collects it underground in water tanks, and is supported by a small army that doesn't shy away from lethal violence. As a result, he makes it more and more difficult for everyone in the area to pump up the water they need for their survival.
Our main character Kendal has lots of luck, she is resourceful and armed with plenty of determination. As the story progresses she remains standing, contrary to many others with ill intentions. Kendal even has her way with a sword. Moreover, along the line of sheer luck, her brother with the ailing kidneys who can only walk with crutches, succeeds in shooting three men in a row, in spite of the latter being armed and normally impose their will by means of those armory. It shows desperation all right, but it stretches our belief that this can happen for real.
Beautiful shots of a desolate area, leaving us wondering how this situation came about. I'm not sure, contrary to another reviewer, whether it would have improved our viewer experience if we had known more about the background of brother and sister, and similarly about the reason of the water shortage. The background is hidden along the story, and is revealed sufficiently for us to understand a bit of the context. The message we take away is that there is no hope for the nearby future.
Another irrational element in the plot is Kendal's desperate chase for a distributor cap of the correct type, that fits a plane in a hangar seemingly belonging to no one. She goes at every length in finding the distributor cap, checking every car or van within reach, in order to get the plane in the air. She hopefully assumes that the rest of the plane is in perfect order (it does not look that way from our viewpoint). This chase for missing motor parts is a constant theme throughout the running time.
The label Horror is not correct by my standards, due to missing creepiness throughout. Yet it has all the elements of a slasher movie, that maybe being the reason for the Horror label, coming from the continuous killing that seems necessary in the survival of the fittest process as demonstrated here.
None of the flaws summed up above keep us from intensely following what happens on screen, and feeling along with Kendal and her brother. They seem the only ones standing up against the greedy water baron, in short a perfect candidate for a young female heroine to sympathize with. Due to their lone position we cannot expect them to survive until a final solution is reached, nor do we see a viable strategy to leave the area. Yet, they come a long way, much farther than we could have assumed. For spoilers sake, I cannot tell more about how this story works out eventually, but anyway it is different from what I had expected.
All in all, depressing landscapes, mixed with little hope for some form of escape from the harsh reality due to defective equipment and limited resources all around. From the "post apocalypse" situation that is the center of the action, we cannot expect an "enjoyable" experience. Nevertheless, the believable acting, the camera work in and around the abandoned farms, and the desolated landscapes, all of that cooperates nicely to let us leave the theater satisfied. Also, no action or violence for the sake of it, but what we get perfectly fits in the story line. In conclusion, I am fully prepared to overlook the flaws that I summarized earlier.
Our main character Kendal has lots of luck, she is resourceful and armed with plenty of determination. As the story progresses she remains standing, contrary to many others with ill intentions. Kendal even has her way with a sword. Moreover, along the line of sheer luck, her brother with the ailing kidneys who can only walk with crutches, succeeds in shooting three men in a row, in spite of the latter being armed and normally impose their will by means of those armory. It shows desperation all right, but it stretches our belief that this can happen for real.
Beautiful shots of a desolate area, leaving us wondering how this situation came about. I'm not sure, contrary to another reviewer, whether it would have improved our viewer experience if we had known more about the background of brother and sister, and similarly about the reason of the water shortage. The background is hidden along the story, and is revealed sufficiently for us to understand a bit of the context. The message we take away is that there is no hope for the nearby future.
Another irrational element in the plot is Kendal's desperate chase for a distributor cap of the correct type, that fits a plane in a hangar seemingly belonging to no one. She goes at every length in finding the distributor cap, checking every car or van within reach, in order to get the plane in the air. She hopefully assumes that the rest of the plane is in perfect order (it does not look that way from our viewpoint). This chase for missing motor parts is a constant theme throughout the running time.
The label Horror is not correct by my standards, due to missing creepiness throughout. Yet it has all the elements of a slasher movie, that maybe being the reason for the Horror label, coming from the continuous killing that seems necessary in the survival of the fittest process as demonstrated here.
None of the flaws summed up above keep us from intensely following what happens on screen, and feeling along with Kendal and her brother. They seem the only ones standing up against the greedy water baron, in short a perfect candidate for a young female heroine to sympathize with. Due to their lone position we cannot expect them to survive until a final solution is reached, nor do we see a viable strategy to leave the area. Yet, they come a long way, much farther than we could have assumed. For spoilers sake, I cannot tell more about how this story works out eventually, but anyway it is different from what I had expected.
All in all, depressing landscapes, mixed with little hope for some form of escape from the harsh reality due to defective equipment and limited resources all around. From the "post apocalypse" situation that is the center of the action, we cannot expect an "enjoyable" experience. Nevertheless, the believable acting, the camera work in and around the abandoned farms, and the desolated landscapes, all of that cooperates nicely to let us leave the theater satisfied. Also, no action or violence for the sake of it, but what we get perfectly fits in the story line. In conclusion, I am fully prepared to overlook the flaws that I summarized earlier.
The well falls short
silverfoot_49318 October 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This movie was on the verge of being a very good one but didn't have quite enough to push it the extra mile. It was a simple story but well made, the original score was my favorite part of the movie. The sets were also a great addition to the movie especially since it used actual farms that were abandoned due to the drought in California.
In the last half of the movie the main villain mentions how he feels about his job. It felt out of place but if they had more background story for the main characters, and sooner in the movie, it would have been more interesting. I understand the directors point on why we don't need back story for post apocalyptic films however in this case some back story for the main characters would have helped.
Another aspect that didn't work in this film was the child actor, granted as I stated before, it would have been better with some background.
I would personally wait to rent this movie or watch it on demand. And while this is under the horror tag, I would personally put it under a Thriller.
In the last half of the movie the main villain mentions how he feels about his job. It felt out of place but if they had more background story for the main characters, and sooner in the movie, it would have been more interesting. I understand the directors point on why we don't need back story for post apocalyptic films however in this case some back story for the main characters would have helped.
Another aspect that didn't work in this film was the child actor, granted as I stated before, it would have been better with some background.
I would personally wait to rent this movie or watch it on demand. And while this is under the horror tag, I would personally put it under a Thriller.
Dont waste your time
jdocksey16 April 2020
Very boring and uneventful, that much so that i created this account to leave my first ever review. Very slow and uneventful with an uninteresting story.
Most of the film involves the main character scurrying around abandoned houses in the desert hiding from some people with guns.
Does not deserve 5 stars at all more like 1 star
Most of the film involves the main character scurrying around abandoned houses in the desert hiding from some people with guns.
Does not deserve 5 stars at all more like 1 star
Please. For all that is holy ... skip this P.O.S.
Rat_2722 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
There is nothing redeemable about this awful piece of tripe. Holy isht was it bad. The whole movie is about some 17-year old girl trying to fix a Cesna. She goes through some hard times trying to find a distributor cap for the plane. ... That is the ENTIRE synopsis. Eff the Cliff's Notes. That's the movie.
Seriously, skip it. It's ... HORRIBLE. Bad acting, bad casting, bad story, bad cinematography, bad ... everything. THe final boss- monster fight is her and another chick fighting with a (I isht you not) katana. Yup.
Bad in EVERY way possible.
Now, if you are a North Korean prison warden ... you should put this movie in your inventory, and play it on repeat. Everyone else? ... Avoid at ALL costs. If someone puts this DVD in your Christmas stocking this year ... burn their house to the ground, and go pee on the ashes.
Couldn't POSSIBLY be worse, unless it was made in Nigeria, by some random prince. I am angry that I watched the whole thing. Granted, about halfway through, I realized it was in a flat spin, losing altitude, but I stuck it out. I suffered so that you don't have to. Eject. Eject. EJECT!!!
Seriously, skip it. It's ... HORRIBLE. Bad acting, bad casting, bad story, bad cinematography, bad ... everything. THe final boss- monster fight is her and another chick fighting with a (I isht you not) katana. Yup.
Bad in EVERY way possible.
Now, if you are a North Korean prison warden ... you should put this movie in your inventory, and play it on repeat. Everyone else? ... Avoid at ALL costs. If someone puts this DVD in your Christmas stocking this year ... burn their house to the ground, and go pee on the ashes.
Couldn't POSSIBLY be worse, unless it was made in Nigeria, by some random prince. I am angry that I watched the whole thing. Granted, about halfway through, I realized it was in a flat spin, losing altitude, but I stuck it out. I suffered so that you don't have to. Eject. Eject. EJECT!!!
A low-budget action/thriller that has its flaws, but its still captivating enough.
peterp-450-29871620 August 2015
"There was a time when a man owned the land, he controlled the water. But things are different. The water's mine, so the land is mine."
The feeling I had after watching this post-apocalyptic film, was an irresistible urge to drink. Just as in "Mad Max" there's a scorching drought. Earthly life is reduced to a struggle for survival in a world that hasn't seen a drop of rain in more than 10 years and the survivors search daily for some precious water. Similarly, the courageous and very young Kendal (Haley Lu Richardson) who goes on patrol every day to get a few sips of water for herself and a few survivors in the area. She's also looking for a particular component that's required to make a defect airplane so she and the sick Dean (Booboo Stewart) can escape from the dead and dry Oregon valley.
First the positive comments about this movie. The dreary, parched landscape is truly brilliant portrayed. The decaying houses buried by sand and the endless sweltering desert ensure, as I mentioned earlier, that you soon need something to quench your thirst. To create this miserable, desolate world, the Mojave Desert was used. The isolation of the scattered remaining inhabitants, is filmed in an adequate way. More than once the images made me think of an old Western movie. Also the performances were, especially that of the youthful Richardson, admirable. Quite an achievement at that age. She plays the role as protector and guardian of the spring with skill. The role of Booboo is limited, partly due to his illness, which means that his action space is confined to the attic. And the most adorable part is played by Max Charles as Alby, a brave little boy who sometimes turns out to be more mature than we thought in the first place. And third, despite the lack of action, the tension is tangibly present.
Unfortunately, there were also some negative points. First, the bad guys are not very original. Obviously, there's again the religious whining. And when push comes to shove, they turn out not to be that clever when it's about defending themselves. After a while it even started to be a bit monotonous. Over and over again the back and forth running in between the various buildings and abandoned vehicles, really started to irritate at a given time. And seeing this fragile girl using a samurai sword as if she has done this already for years, was also hard to believe.
But still it managed to fascinate me and it all looked intriguing enough, despite the limited budget. The desperate situation in which the individuals found themselves and the insane plan of Carson to acquire dominion over all the available water, so his daughter Brooke would become heiress of an empire, created a nerve-wracking cat-and-mouse game. "The Well" is a typical low-budget film that nevertheless managed to surpass other similar films, just by the appropriate use of limited resources, its authenticity and some decent acting.
More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT
The feeling I had after watching this post-apocalyptic film, was an irresistible urge to drink. Just as in "Mad Max" there's a scorching drought. Earthly life is reduced to a struggle for survival in a world that hasn't seen a drop of rain in more than 10 years and the survivors search daily for some precious water. Similarly, the courageous and very young Kendal (Haley Lu Richardson) who goes on patrol every day to get a few sips of water for herself and a few survivors in the area. She's also looking for a particular component that's required to make a defect airplane so she and the sick Dean (Booboo Stewart) can escape from the dead and dry Oregon valley.
First the positive comments about this movie. The dreary, parched landscape is truly brilliant portrayed. The decaying houses buried by sand and the endless sweltering desert ensure, as I mentioned earlier, that you soon need something to quench your thirst. To create this miserable, desolate world, the Mojave Desert was used. The isolation of the scattered remaining inhabitants, is filmed in an adequate way. More than once the images made me think of an old Western movie. Also the performances were, especially that of the youthful Richardson, admirable. Quite an achievement at that age. She plays the role as protector and guardian of the spring with skill. The role of Booboo is limited, partly due to his illness, which means that his action space is confined to the attic. And the most adorable part is played by Max Charles as Alby, a brave little boy who sometimes turns out to be more mature than we thought in the first place. And third, despite the lack of action, the tension is tangibly present.
Unfortunately, there were also some negative points. First, the bad guys are not very original. Obviously, there's again the religious whining. And when push comes to shove, they turn out not to be that clever when it's about defending themselves. After a while it even started to be a bit monotonous. Over and over again the back and forth running in between the various buildings and abandoned vehicles, really started to irritate at a given time. And seeing this fragile girl using a samurai sword as if she has done this already for years, was also hard to believe.
But still it managed to fascinate me and it all looked intriguing enough, despite the limited budget. The desperate situation in which the individuals found themselves and the insane plan of Carson to acquire dominion over all the available water, so his daughter Brooke would become heiress of an empire, created a nerve-wracking cat-and-mouse game. "The Well" is a typical low-budget film that nevertheless managed to surpass other similar films, just by the appropriate use of limited resources, its authenticity and some decent acting.
More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT
No longer fertile and green
bkoganbing5 October 2016
Life's not been easy for brother and sister Haley Lu Richardson and Booboo Stewart since the drought came. A drought unlike any other. Oregon where they live is no longer fertile and green. Instead it's looking very much like the Mojave Desert where The Last Survivors was shot. It stopped raining there 10 years earlier in a natural world wide disaster.
But in their own corner of the world a man named Carson played by Jon Gries is pushing out all of the people who are and have dug wells to survive. He's got the men and muscle to push them out and kill the survivors. Gries wants the whole valley for himself and to pass on to his daughter Nicole Ariana Fox who's as much a human predator as her father is.
This quickie which only took days to shoot is decently done and the ensemble cast give good performances. It's one bleak picture of a possible future. One thing I could not figure out, water was the big issue here, but I never saw anyone eat anything, where was all the food?
Make note of Max Charles who played a kid also trying to survive that Richardson and Stewart kind of adopt. He and Richardson stood out in this cast.
But in their own corner of the world a man named Carson played by Jon Gries is pushing out all of the people who are and have dug wells to survive. He's got the men and muscle to push them out and kill the survivors. Gries wants the whole valley for himself and to pass on to his daughter Nicole Ariana Fox who's as much a human predator as her father is.
This quickie which only took days to shoot is decently done and the ensemble cast give good performances. It's one bleak picture of a possible future. One thing I could not figure out, water was the big issue here, but I never saw anyone eat anything, where was all the food?
Make note of Max Charles who played a kid also trying to survive that Richardson and Stewart kind of adopt. He and Richardson stood out in this cast.
Last Survivors aka "Drinking" problem
kosmasp29 July 2015
The way we see the future is really depressing most of the times. Even if it's a great movie like "Mad Max Fury Road", it's very dark (dusty and dry too). As is the case with this low budget movie. It might have its issues along the way, but for its budget it is more than just decently made.
Surviving in a hostile environment is not easy. Especially if you have bad guys like the ones in this movie. Still you long for the standoff you know will be coming, sweating along the way (sorry for the pun) and really feeling for the main character and what she has to go through. Which is a nice touch to have a female character being in the middle of all of this.
Surviving in a hostile environment is not easy. Especially if you have bad guys like the ones in this movie. Still you long for the standoff you know will be coming, sweating along the way (sorry for the pun) and really feeling for the main character and what she has to go through. Which is a nice touch to have a female character being in the middle of all of this.
Teenagers surviving in the desert, but contains lots of blood and gore killings.
TxMike19 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Maybe the writer/director is a wannabee Quentin Tarantino, taking this post-apocalyptic setting with stranded teenagers to ward off the plan of a murderous water baron. The difference is Tarantino's scripts are always semi-serious, but this script is dead serious and the kids end up having to shoot and hack a bunch of adults to death. That to me really detracts from an otherwise fine effort.
A bit over three years ago I saw a very mediocre Christmas-themed movie but I recall the one highlight was a very young actress named Haley Lu Richardson. She had a good role in that earlier movie and I was anxious to see how she has progressed, nearing the age of 20 but still a teenager.
She plays Kendal, a very confident and self-sufficient girl in the Oregon desert (actually filmed in California's Mojave desert). It hasn't rained for about 10 years, all the homes are just shells of their former forms, people are trying to get any water from the drying wells. Kendal wants to escape the desert and her hope is they will find a suitable replacement for the broken distributor cap of the small airplane's engine. She searches among all the wrecked and abandoned cars and trucks she can find. As her own meager water well is just about dry.
She shares her space with teen Booboo Stewart as Dean. They have made a small room in the corner of the attic so that they will not be found by searchers. It isn't clear to me what their relationship might be but near the end they kiss so he must be a boyfriend. But he is dying of kidney failure and the lack of water just exacerbates the problem.
The big problem is a water baron who is using water scarcity to usurp all the properties for himself, and resorting to point-blank shooting of people he considers excessive. This is the enemy that Kendal must finally eradicate to assure their safety, and hopefully find a repair part to allow them to fly out of the valley and to a more hospitable place.
Saw it at home on Netflix streaming.
A bit over three years ago I saw a very mediocre Christmas-themed movie but I recall the one highlight was a very young actress named Haley Lu Richardson. She had a good role in that earlier movie and I was anxious to see how she has progressed, nearing the age of 20 but still a teenager.
She plays Kendal, a very confident and self-sufficient girl in the Oregon desert (actually filmed in California's Mojave desert). It hasn't rained for about 10 years, all the homes are just shells of their former forms, people are trying to get any water from the drying wells. Kendal wants to escape the desert and her hope is they will find a suitable replacement for the broken distributor cap of the small airplane's engine. She searches among all the wrecked and abandoned cars and trucks she can find. As her own meager water well is just about dry.
She shares her space with teen Booboo Stewart as Dean. They have made a small room in the corner of the attic so that they will not be found by searchers. It isn't clear to me what their relationship might be but near the end they kiss so he must be a boyfriend. But he is dying of kidney failure and the lack of water just exacerbates the problem.
The big problem is a water baron who is using water scarcity to usurp all the properties for himself, and resorting to point-blank shooting of people he considers excessive. This is the enemy that Kendal must finally eradicate to assure their safety, and hopefully find a repair part to allow them to fly out of the valley and to a more hospitable place.
Saw it at home on Netflix streaming.
Inconclusive
gianmarcoronconi14 July 2022
This film has a huge flaw: it is inconclusive beyond belief, the plot is banal but nice and also the setting is beautiful and even the atmosphere that the film generates is beautiful but the ending is horrible and above all it concludes absolutely nothing leaving in suspended almost everything in a ridiculous way.
Shortage of water, surplus of bullet
quincytheodore10 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
For a post-apocalyptic movie, The Well has the environment right. It's entirely set in rustic desert settlement where water has become a rare commodity. The lead female character is certainly identifiable, and Haley Hu Richardson's good performance makes it easy to root for the girl survivor. However, the narrative might be lacking and some parts of the movie are irritatingly flawed such as the hazy scene when it's dark and its increasing number of inconsistent details towards the end.
The world is suffering from perpetual dry season as the rain stops pouring. This unfortunate calamity has changed the city into just a few barren houses and the people into vagrants. Kendal (Haley Hu Richardson) is one of the survivors and she has to deal with the barren wasteland as well as some of its volatile occupants. While the lead is pretty good on her own, majority of the supporting characters might not be appealing to audiences.
The film intents to draw sympathy as Kendal is struggling for her survival as she ventures into the real equipped with boldness and occasional luck. The film succeeds on doing so, but only partially. The little boy character seems off putting as he is detached from any interaction. If this is an attempt for a strong lone wolf character, the result is far from that. Dean as a sick companion feels doomed and depressing from the start while some of the antagonist are too overbearing in their zealous quest.
Visual is pretty good, the movie plays with the setting to create a believable land plagued by drought. Color is mostly sandy brown with plenty of bright light for panoramic shots. Sadly, it doesn't translate well when the scenes turn to night time or any place covered by darkness. These are excessively vague and while these sequences are not that many, they are enough to hamper the quality.
Some details are jarring for the post-apocalyptic world, which is unfortunately since the movie invested a lot on the setting already. Female characters are looking like models, which is hard to believe when even basic need such as water is scarce. At some points Kendal is supposed to be stealthy, but she merely struts in an open field for all to see. Not to mention at latter half she becomes one woman army, dispatching foes with shotguns and a katana like it's a Walking Dead episode.
The Well delivers an intriguing premise with the teenage girl lead and it makes good use of the barren land, although the entirety of her journey might feel inconsistent and contrived.
The world is suffering from perpetual dry season as the rain stops pouring. This unfortunate calamity has changed the city into just a few barren houses and the people into vagrants. Kendal (Haley Hu Richardson) is one of the survivors and she has to deal with the barren wasteland as well as some of its volatile occupants. While the lead is pretty good on her own, majority of the supporting characters might not be appealing to audiences.
The film intents to draw sympathy as Kendal is struggling for her survival as she ventures into the real equipped with boldness and occasional luck. The film succeeds on doing so, but only partially. The little boy character seems off putting as he is detached from any interaction. If this is an attempt for a strong lone wolf character, the result is far from that. Dean as a sick companion feels doomed and depressing from the start while some of the antagonist are too overbearing in their zealous quest.
Visual is pretty good, the movie plays with the setting to create a believable land plagued by drought. Color is mostly sandy brown with plenty of bright light for panoramic shots. Sadly, it doesn't translate well when the scenes turn to night time or any place covered by darkness. These are excessively vague and while these sequences are not that many, they are enough to hamper the quality.
Some details are jarring for the post-apocalyptic world, which is unfortunately since the movie invested a lot on the setting already. Female characters are looking like models, which is hard to believe when even basic need such as water is scarce. At some points Kendal is supposed to be stealthy, but she merely struts in an open field for all to see. Not to mention at latter half she becomes one woman army, dispatching foes with shotguns and a katana like it's a Walking Dead episode.
The Well delivers an intriguing premise with the teenage girl lead and it makes good use of the barren land, although the entirety of her journey might feel inconsistent and contrived.
Boring and Pointless
ltilander26 March 2016
This movie has one of the most lame plots that I have ever seen. People are living in a valley somewhere where it hasn't rained in four years and some nuts thinks it is his valley so he is killing everyone. There is no hint to explain why it hasn't rained in four years, why the people don't just leave the valley or where the government services went. The acting is neither good nor bad; there just isn't much of an opportunity to really act. The scenery is desolate and the buildings are pretty much just ratty abandoned shacks. The camera work and technical stuff is good, but just a waste of time. Hopefully we'll see those involved show up in a more interesting plot somewhere down the line.
Fallout meets Lord of the Flies
larry-degala21 December 2016
I enjoy Fallout-themed features like "The Book of Eli", "Snow Piercer" and "The Hills Have Eyes." For its independent film budget, "The Last Survivors" delivered good production quality and intense drama with well-paced scenes. The film director depicted hardships and life-and-death struggles that were very convincing. Carson and his daughter make formidable villains (think "Neegan"). I can empathize with Kendal's day-to-day struggle to hide from the hunters, scrounge enough food and water for her group, and eject stragglers from their land, with the hope to find the correct distributor cap to fly their plane a better place. For its originality and fine execution, I give it high ratings.
A Surprising Netflix Find
williamdickey24 January 2016
The last survivors otherwise known as The Well I discovered endlessly searching for something new on Netflix. The poster of this movie is horrible, it's like the distribution company is trying to market it as a teen survival movie ala Hunger Games, Maze Runner. This film is nothing like that. It's a slow burn indie film about a horrible future where there is hardly any water. The cast is made up of teenagers and even children. I found this aspect of a survival post apocalypse movie to be quite interesting. We know that these children didn't have a chance to be children. The situation demanded for them to grow up and learn how to survive. The Villain is typical megalomaniac attempting to purge everyone from stealing his water by going to farm to farm killing almost everyone. The hope in the film comes from looking for a distributor cap for a small airplane so they can leave and go, um
Not sure where they're going? We know nothing of the world except from this localized desert. This movie has a lot of flaws, some ify writing mixed with some plot twists that may not fully satisfy. However the movie, for what it is, is very good and entertaining. I cared for the characters and wanted to know what was going to happen. What happens in the end may not amuse everyone, but I found it to be pretty solid. For a movie I've never heard of I was quite impressed.
Doomsday classic...almost
allyriver21 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
For a low budget Mad Max it had so much potential. Now there's many unbelievable or knick pick Post Apocalyptic details missing or just wrong.
But, the movie does have a sense of surreal eerie charm with the vast dried farm fields going off into the distance with this little waif wandering the wasteland so determined to survive. Searching the farm ruins for a missing part for a derelict plane. The evil farmers' co-op warriors of the farmland always just over the horizon or lurking outside broken window panes gives it ghostly feel. Pumping out the last drops of the aquifer as everyone else dries up and dies. The young actress grows into her part and than sadly at the end the movie went full on Hunger Games...how many movies will that B movie ruin? Now I would give the movie a 9 considering the budget until the final ten minutes when it Jumps the Shark & the brake pads get ripped off Quentin "Mongo" Tarantino Kill Bill Gungan Style .
Guess he felt the tug of Quentin pulling the stick. Real shame as it was heading toward greatness.
oh well, it almost flew
But, the movie does have a sense of surreal eerie charm with the vast dried farm fields going off into the distance with this little waif wandering the wasteland so determined to survive. Searching the farm ruins for a missing part for a derelict plane. The evil farmers' co-op warriors of the farmland always just over the horizon or lurking outside broken window panes gives it ghostly feel. Pumping out the last drops of the aquifer as everyone else dries up and dies. The young actress grows into her part and than sadly at the end the movie went full on Hunger Games...how many movies will that B movie ruin? Now I would give the movie a 9 considering the budget until the final ten minutes when it Jumps the Shark & the brake pads get ripped off Quentin "Mongo" Tarantino Kill Bill Gungan Style .
Guess he felt the tug of Quentin pulling the stick. Real shame as it was heading toward greatness.
oh well, it almost flew
Can you give a negative number?
dalla-0711510 August 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I usually don't write reviews, but this thing was so bad I actually joined just to pan it! Worst piece of junk I've ever seen. The acting was terrible, the characters totally unbelievable. What maxed my stupid meter was the search and attempts to modify a distributor cap for an old Cessna. Minor technical problem here.
The aircraft engine does NOT use a distributor as found in a gasoline car. It uses a magneto, which is totally different.
Then the girl goes searching to a wrecked military 5 ton truck. She pops the hood and you can see that it has a Cummins diesel engine, complete with the high mounted dual fuel filters characteristic of that model. Then she grabs some wires and a set of spark plug wires with attached distributor cap hangs out from under the hood. She removes the cap and leaves. Please explain how a diesel engine comes to have a distributor and spark plug wires? Between the aircraft BS and the diesel engine having spark plugs, the movie has just made every military person who ever worked around military trucks, every big truck driver and every pilot, or person involved in the aircraft industry retch up their lunch.
Congratulations on producing the first movie that I ever walked out on! This must be geared for the 12-14 age group in "Special Ed" class. (and that is probably an insult to the students in the "Special Ed" class for which I will apologize.
The aircraft engine does NOT use a distributor as found in a gasoline car. It uses a magneto, which is totally different.
Then the girl goes searching to a wrecked military 5 ton truck. She pops the hood and you can see that it has a Cummins diesel engine, complete with the high mounted dual fuel filters characteristic of that model. Then she grabs some wires and a set of spark plug wires with attached distributor cap hangs out from under the hood. She removes the cap and leaves. Please explain how a diesel engine comes to have a distributor and spark plug wires? Between the aircraft BS and the diesel engine having spark plugs, the movie has just made every military person who ever worked around military trucks, every big truck driver and every pilot, or person involved in the aircraft industry retch up their lunch.
Congratulations on producing the first movie that I ever walked out on! This must be geared for the 12-14 age group in "Special Ed" class. (and that is probably an insult to the students in the "Special Ed" class for which I will apologize.
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