The Last Cabin is a decent low-budget horror film that features inventive kills and keeps the audience on edge. Director Brendan Rudnicki adopts a simple yet creepy approach, which is exactly what you want in a film like this.

A group of location scouts, Hope (Isabella Bobadilla), Ben (Brendan Goshay) and Shawn (Tanner Kongdara), are under pressure to find the perfect creepy location for their horror films’ final day of shooting. After persuading the property manager of the cabin with a cash-in-hand deal, they are warned to stay inside as the locals are not a happy bunch. As their night continues, a masked group reveals themselves to bring the film crew their own horror movie.

Sometimes, the best approach is to keep it simple, and that is what Brendan Rudnicki brings us with his last indie horror, The Last Cabin. Violence is the order of the day, and he is ensuring we are going to have those creepy masked killers on our minds at night as we settle down for bed. There is a creepy feel to the film that never leaves, and with the great costume designs for our killers, it’s hard not to be affected by the chills he is sending our way.

At a tight 69 minutes, the film has no unnecessary scenes; however, it could have benefited from a few moments to showcase the psychological torment the characters experience while trapped in a nightmare. ou get that Rudnicki wants to throw his audience right into the action and leave us feeling tetchy as the tension ramps up. But, the odd moment of allowing the film to breathe sometimes isn’t bad, and giving us a bit more with these characters and their thoughts as the terror is ongoing is missed.

While we would want to see more of the psychological impact our trio is having, Rudnicki, quite importantly, makes sure that we know as little as possible about our attackers. We are given the standard basics, and that is enough. There is no big dramatic reason why the group want Hope other than to kill her (as the pile of DVDs can attest to; watch out for that lawnmower scene). They just want to do it, and that’s enough. As mentioned, keeping it simple allows you to keep it creepy.

A continual grievance, though, is with the score of the film. For the entirety of the film, it is played low and ominous, but it never rises when we do get those horror moments which slightly deflate them, stopping them from being as impactful as they need to be. It’s a creepy score for sure, but rising that volume level just a touch during those moments would have made the scares and horror all the more effective than they were.

In truth, it is little grievances like that that impact the full enjoyment of The Last Cabin. Nothing major hurts it, but enough small issues that you wish would be fixed to bring the full potential out of what Rudnicki has made to the audience. However, what we do have is a good low-budget horror film with a director who knows how to get the most out of his story.

A part of the film’s success is that it has been cast well. Bobadillo and Goshay are the two main leads, and they do not do much wrong here. As mentioned, with a few more scenes of tension about their situation and getting to know them as characters a little more, we could easily be more in on them as a duo. Bobadillo excels more in the quieter moments of The Last Cabin, allowing her body language and action to do the work. You buy into her and actively root for her as she tries to figure out how to escape this hell. Goshay has a difficult task in being the emotional support to Bobadillo’s Hope while also trying to be an effective masculine force. He is able to keep the performance balanced without teetering on being over the top and wanting to protect people.

The supporting cast also performs admirably, with Benjamin L. Newmark playing the eccentric producer to perfection. His character is intentionally unlikable, and he is clearly revelling in the role, leaving audiences eager to see him meet a grisly fate. Tanner Kongdara’s Shawn may not have much screen time, but he convincingly captures the essence of a deer caught in headlights.

The Last Cabin is an easy watch that brings us some low-budget but inventive kills. While not trying to reinvent the trapped in a cabin story, it is unique enough to hold its own and not be too generic. It is an entertaining horror that surprisingly gets you with a few of its jump scares. It is a film that is well worth your time.

★★★

The Last Cabin will be released on Digital 29th April.

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