A serviceable home invasion thriller, Barret Mulholland's Last County unfortunately makes every effort to cover its Canadian roots and play to a larger American audience. While the filmmaker demonstrates proficiency at his craft and derives some solid performances, especially from Kaelen Ohm and Gord Rand in leading roles, Last County falls flat due to its overwhelming eagerness to pretend to be something it's not: a big-budget Hollywood thriller.
A shaky first act establishes that Abby Gardner's (Ohm) addiction issues have exiled her to Ontario cottage country posing as a nondescript part of Middle America. During her exile, she reluctantly partners with a wounded drug mule (Rand) after discovering the local police force are in on the drug trade and less interested in serving and/or protecting.
Last County's story of redemption fails to create any type of tension, which regrettably is an absolute requirement for the subgenre. Some subtle black comedy is introduced near the midway point, helping to distract from the many clichés and allowing for some much-needed levity against the lack of thrills rendered to that point. The climax of the film does mark a notable improvement from the opening, when exciting twists and turns — plus and an impressive ending — demonstrate a great sense of pacing that was nowhere to be found at the beginning of the movie.
While Mulholland seems entirely capable as a director, the lacklustre script by Matthew and Sean Kohnen is mired with predictable tropes and mostly poor dialogue.
The home invasion thriller subgenre makes sense from a production standpoint. As a single-location movie, it's a great way to utilize a small budget, but many standout films have raised the bar exceptionally high (Cape Fear, Panic Room and Don't Breath are great examples). It's an extremely competitive space that requires innovation, creativity and stellar performances, and Last County fails to take any creative risks or try anything new, reducing it to a carbon copy rather than an homage.
The biggest issue with Last County is one that plagues most of the Canadian film industry in general: it's another example of a Canadian production that tries to mimic what's happening south of the border and compete despite its severely limited resources and budget, rather than working effectively within its restraints.