Films that deal with characters that are down and out can be very difficult to like. As opposed to films where we can relate to the characters and root for the heroes, movies about characters such as junkies, petty thieves, and general losers sometimes have difficulty pulling the audience in. There are exceptions with movies like Requiem For A Dream, Panic In Needle Park, Barfly, H, and a number of Abel Ferrara's titles coming to mind. More often than not, however, films of this genre can have difficulty eliciting any kind of sympathy for the lead characters. This emotion is essential to making a film engaging because if there is nobody to root for, what's the point? I thought Last Exit completely missed the boat on this level and, as a result, I found it to be a hyperactive mess that had me alternating between having a borderline seizure and taking an afternoon nap.

The film opens with the lead character Nigel (Morten Vogelius) buying some porn and returning to his home. This is intercut with scenes of his wife Maria (Jette Philipsen) shooting up in their greenhouse. We know that we are way out of Hollywood territory here and this is not a perfect marriage by any stretch. Soon, Nigel gets involved with the local crime boss named The President and he also starts a relationship with a local prostitute named Tanya (model/singer Gry Bay). As with most films of this nature, eventually things get ugly and we end the film feeling downbeat and thankful that we are not in the shoes of the characters.

The difference between this film and others of the genre is that in Last Exit, I couldn't care less what happened to the characters. I had no feelings at all for Nigel, Maria, or Tanya and found that the movie completely lacked direction. Although it seemed to focus on Nigel, it didn't really indicate what he was feeling for anybody as he came across as being completely self-centered. Maria and Tanya were both well acted but were underdeveloped and we never got a chance to get to know them. There were no solid relationships existing and therefore it was difficult for us to care too much when the film took some dark turns. There were a few times where this movie reminded me of Buddy Giovinazzo's Combat Shock but that was a far superior film both in the story and its execution. Furthermore, Combat Shock pulled no punches when it came to horrifying us with its inevitable conclusion. Last Exit acted like it wanted to deliver some kind of shock value but got scared and took the old off-screen approach which can be very effective if done right. In this case, it felt more like Sindy from Nebraska getting cold feet at a Playboy shoot.

When poor storytelling is combined with an abundance of film school experimentation, it makes for a tedious experience. The editing was cutting all over the place and the camera was flying around so much that at times it almost felt as though the operator wasn't even paying attention to his job as the framing was usually wherever the camera happened to land. In addition to all of this, they felt the need to throw in a philosophical drug dealer who was spouting off lines about existential matters that made me feel like I was watching Mike Leigh's Naked again. Saying that it was a chore getting through this movie is an understatement as I repeatedly had to wake myself up and rewind to see what I had missed. The result was always the same... nothing.

On a positive note, I did enjoy most of the music in the film even though a lot of it was inappropriately placed. A couple of the songs were performed by co-star Gry Bay. Still, when all you are looking forward to is the next background song, you know you are in trouble. I wish I just got the soundtrack and I could have saved the four hours of my life that I wasted on this movie and the DVD extras. (Josh Pasnak, 8/20/06)

Directed By: David Noel Bourke.
Written By: David Noel Bourke.

Starring: Morten Vogelius, Jette Philipsen, Gry Bay, Peter Ottesen.

Picture Ratio: Full Frame.

Picture Quality: I was quite disappointed with the transfer on this one. After seeing Shockheaded, I was very impressed by the output of Heretic Films but Last Exit was extremely dark and grainy. At times, I could not even see people's faces. This is not enough to put me off the company but the combination of a dark transfer and uneven sound design was a little unsettling. In their defense, I suppose a DVD company can't be blamed if the print source is shoddy.

Extras: Heretic has delivered again in this department. Too bad I found watching them more tortuous than enjoyable due to my dislike of the film at hand. First up, we have a commentary from director David Noel Bourke and stars Morten Vogelius and Peter Ottesen. I found this track to be as boring as the film itself with a number of long gaps between comments. I was hoping for much more information about shooting on an extremely low budget in Copenhagen. Next, we get about 17 minutes of deleted and extended scenes with a mildly amusing performance of a Tom Waits' "Lucky Day" by Vogelius. The rest of the extras consist of 16 minutes of behind the scenes footage and a few trailers for the film.

Visit Heretic Films for more info.