The Last Battleground Review

Written by: moviemaven   

Sonny Fernandez is an up and coming film maker with a shoestring budget and an imagination as big as my ego. As a matter of fact, I almost couldn't squeeze the two of them together in this little window. But I am Maven so there you have it.

When I first viewed the trailer for The Last Battleground online I thought "oh Lord, watching this could be bad but I HAVE to see it." But then I watched it. And it was terrible. And I laughed my freakin ass off and loved every second of it. Sonny and friends seem to subscribe to the theory that if you can't make it shiny and palatable like the latest summer blockbuster, you should go all out and make it as fun as you can. So that's what they did.

Here's a short synopsis. One night, shit goes down and it's not good.

And now I have a longer one. The Last Battleground follows a rag tag group of individuals whose lives have no reason to cross until all Hell breaks loose on Earth. Literally. Then they find they must band together if they plan to survive the night. People are going nuts, strange creatures seem to be appearing out of nowhere to do nasty things and the dead refuse to stay that way. No, it's not zombies. Not really. But I can't tell you what's really up. You have to see for yourself. Think....Lovecraft.

At first glance, you will start to wonder if you've made a mistake. You haven't. This flick is well worth your time. The story is inventive and there are some great references made. The characters are interesting (again with great refs). You have a couple of inept but ruthless hit men, a battered girlfriend and her ne'er do well bf, a HOT homeless chick, an artist who has talent for more than he bargained for, and more. There are film influences to beat the band ranging from Pulp Fiction to The Boondock Saints.
My one complaint is with some of the acting. I honestly feel this movie deserves solid performances and unfortunately we don't get that from everyone and some of the more clever dialogue suffers because of it. I think that if that had been a priority, this flick would make it to cult status in no time...at least among the stoner crowd. But it's already there for me. I rank it right in the middle because it's loads of fun but I have to subtract for the acting. No choice there, really.

And my favorite part....the special effects. They are sooooo special. I had to do a double take when I spotted the first dead body. Then a triple. Then it hit me what I was seeing and I cheered. I LOVE it. I never thought I would say this about a film, but The Last Battleground has the most creative use of brown paper, cardboard, packing tape and string that I have ever seen. There are even a few scenes that hearken back to the Evil Dead days and we all know what happened to the guy who made that movie. Sam Raimi or some such? ;)

I am in no way attempting to insult Sonny Fernandez Films by anything I've said. I am a fan, no doubt. I love my "good", "serious" flicks but I know when and how to have fun. And so do the good people at SFF. He will openly tell you this movie "has a few warts" and "smells bad" from time to time. That's the beauty of it. It doesn't pretend to be anything it's not. The only thing it sets out to do is entertain with imagination, creativity and a rockin' sense of humor. Check.