The Last Man on Earth
Survival has always been humanity’s top priority, the survival of the fittest as we always say. We use more than our basic instincts to defy the odds of natural disasters, plagues, and man-made hazards and catastrophes. Though there are natural and unexplainable causes of human defect we maximize our thirst for knowledge and discovery and turn to scientific explorations in order to fill a void and standardize and control human civilization.
As we resort to extreme measures to diminish or eliminate these conditions that don’t fall on the standard form of a normal human being, would it expose us to more risks of the unknown that is yet to make its way. As we try to eliminate these certain inevitable conditions that we encounter today for the benefit of the future generation? Aren’t we discriminating and implicating more obverse reaction, and make these conditions unacceptable in the eyes and understanding of the human race? Today, my dear readers, we will take a turn to the southwest of the pacific ocean and visit New Zealand, where our feature film is set, in one of the darkest days of the human race in the amazing sci-fi suspense thriller film “Last Man On Earth” by super talented writer, director, and actor April Phillips.
Can you imagine being the last man on earth? Surviving the chaos of human annihilation? Having the whole world all to yourself? Frightful huh, seems all gloomy with an all-out of absolute silence, sadness, and frequent sanity check, well, make sure you’re ready to experience that life after most of us humans are deceased and be all that is left of humanity. Because director April Phillips made sure that we’ll be able to contemplate on who is the better human, and what is left of the future of humanity. Are we certain that we leave out the best of our kind and eliminate the otherwise, or maybe it is the other way around?
I won’t talk much of the story folks, it’s a pretty good one to spill some beans on. However, I am very glad to tell you all that the conceptualization of the whole story and the integration of it through film was the work of a creative genius. I know many of us had already seen movies of human extinction and/or being cast away from the rest of the human race, but this one is different. It has a human touch. Director April Phillips tells more than just the story of someone being alone in the world, but the greater cause behind the reason why this person was left alone other than the virus, pandemic, or whatever plague that instigated the extinction.
To sum up my experience in watching this film, the “Last Man on Earth” is the kind of movie to keep a close lookout. It is very timely with our hunger for standardization and classification of human life. Other than that, I love the moral of the story, something very unexpected but has a great sense of humanity, of what should we live for and what should be left of us. And lastly, certainly not the least, kudos to the amazing cast led by the incredibly impressive performance of Duncan Armstrong, Greer Phillips, and Shane Bartle. Impressive work to the team behind this film, Cheers to more!
Director Biography – April Phillips
April Phillips is a Master’s degree graduate in Creative Writing (Scriptwriting) from the acclaimed International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University in New Zealand. She was the 2010 recipient of the Michael Hirschfeld Scholarship in Scriptwriting. Her short film “R.E.M.” received 7 nominations at the Short Film Awards, New York where she won Best Director. She received a Best Director nomination at the Ouchy Film Festival in Switzerland. “R.E.M.” received official selection at several festivals including the prestigious genre festivals Fantasia (Montreal), Horror Hound (Cincinnati) and Fantastic Planet (Sydney) where it received the Independent Spirit award. The film won a Platinum REMI at the 50th Worldfest in Houston and Best Horror Foreign at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival together with several Awards for Excellence in numerous film competitions. Phillips wrote and co-produced the award-winning short films “Letter for Hope” and “Utu Pihikete” which were screened at several film festivals in New Zealand, China, and in the U.S. including the U.N. “Through Women’s Eyes” section of the Sarasota Film Festival. Her latest film “The Last Man on Earth” was a finalist at the Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival. She is one of New Zealand’s most licensed playwrights with a focus on writing and directing for film.
About the Film Reviewer
Helena Zurc has been a contributing writer to the Utah International Film Festival for several seasons. As a professional film critic Zurc has reviewed thousands of films over the years. Her love of cinema shines through her reviews to highlight the accomplishments of amazing storytellers.
