The Last Five Days (2020) Review

The Last Five Days (2020) Review

Two college students – Brian (Joe Pacini) and Greg (Clay Moffatt) find evidence connecting a story they are investigating for film class to a series of deaths. Things begin to spiral out of control when an unknown force watching them becomes more violent and bloodthirsty.

I think that it’s only fair to say from the start that I have never been a fan of the found-footage genre. Admittedly that there have been some marvellous movies made within the genre but they are few and far between and many are no better or worse than THE LAST FIVE DAYS. They simply do not float my boat and even at just seventy-one minutes this particular found-footage flicks manages to feel like it’s lasted a lot longer.

I watched until half-way through and then switched off – sorry guys; I just couldn’t spend any more time with the characters. I have read online that the film’s second act is an improvement but I would imagine that, like me, the chances are that you’ll give up watching long before director, co-writer and lead actor Clay Moffatt’s film finally switches out of a very sluggish first act.

To give you a good idea of why I gave up watching THE LAST FIVE DAYS try this on for size. The first half-hour is spent listening and watching two ill-prepared young men obtain evidence for a project for their film class. They decide to film at night-time meaning that much of the film’s first half is simply their camera focusing on wherever the torch light touches upon. It’s hardly enthralling, in fact its patience wearing and hardly compels the viewer to commit wholly to this flick.

It doesn’t help matters that much of what our protagonists say or do is just as ill-thought and uninspired as the footage that accompanies their wearisome banter. They mention product placement and snakes a few times whilst never providing a sensible reason as to why they would venture up a mountain in the dark to obtain footage for their film project. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to tackle a mountain during daylight hours? Apparently not, and there’s only so many shots of a city lit up under a night sky, that one can stomach in the name of entertainment.

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