Sometimes real-life horrors are far more terrifying than any fictitious ghost or monster, especially when they’re under the guise of something righteous. For centuries now, people have done heinous acts in the name of religion, and the damage that has been done worldwide is devastating and widespread. In Edoardo Vitaletti’s The Last Thing Mary Saw, we see a prime example of this, and while it’s not without its supernatural elements, the true monster lurking here is religion.
The film takes place in New York during the winter of 1843 when stringent puritanical beliefs still had their stronghold across New England. Teenage Mary (Stefanie Scott) is having a forbidden love affair with her maid Eleanor (Isabelle Fuhrman) under the roof of her strict, religious family, who learns of their relationship and punishes them severely for their “sinful” coupling, mentally and physically torturing the girls. Mary and Eleanor are miserable hiding their love amidst their joyless household and begin to conspire against them in the hope that they can someday be free of their draconian rules and beliefs. The estate’s guard (PJ Sosko), who has also been tortured by the family, agrees to help the girls commit this heinous act, but Mary learns that killing her cruel family is not without its challenges.
The Last Thing Mary Saw is rich in atmosphere that captures the gloomy, overbearing environment Mary’s forced to endure. During the day, the film’s colors are drab and muted, while the shots at night are warm from the light of the fire, yet overwhelmingly drenched in the blackness of heavy shadows and the black clothing the family wears. While the exterior camera shots are liberating and expansive, the interior shots are often tight with a stifling quality about them — almost claustrophobic in some instances. These visual choices help paint a picture of the world Mary lives in: it is a melancholy place where she feels trapped by the house she lives in, surrounded by the very literal shadows of her family.
Like many folk horror films that bear a resemblance to this film, the pacing is slow and steady, emanating an almost meditative, somber energy that pulls the viewer into an almost hypnotic state. It is a restrained film that has a tendency to show, not tell, and it withholds just enough to be clear with the plot while maintaining a constant sense of mystery. The supernatural aspects of the film are scarce and oftentimes subtle, but they’re undeniably effective. There are moments of pregnant silence skillfully placed between Keegan DeWitt’s moody score which enhance the film’s immense heaviness and leave the viewer intentionally ill at ease. The pacing is invigorated in the final 30 minutes when a mysterious, disfigured visitor (Rory Culkin) comes to the house; his intentions seem increasingly malevolent, and it’s a welcomed divergence from the previous hour.
While many might have issues with the slow-burn pacing, mostly charisma-lacking characters, and somewhat thin plot, anyone who has enjoyed period pieces of this genre like The Witch should give The Last Thing Mary Saw a watch. There’s enough hiding within the shadows of the film for cerebral horror fans to appreciate, and this dread-inducing portrayal of Christianity at its worst is compelling, albeit horrifying, to watch. Monsters are often man-made, and mankind’s inhumanity manifests within this film in a multitude of truly unsettling ways.
—Andrea Riley