‘The Last House’ just doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be

The premise of “The Last House,” the new sci-fi thriller from Netflix, is promising: A family, helmed by the always watchable Greta Lee and Wagner Moura, is trapped in a house by forces beyond their understanding. Days turn into weeks, and then months; a full fridge slowly empties out; hopes of rescue dim into a near-palpable despair. But for as often as that premise keeps you interested in what happens next — What’s lurking outside the unopenable windows and doors? Why won’t it stop raining? Will they survive? — “The Last House” just as often leaves you feeling confused.

Directed by Louis Leterrier from a script by Matthew Robinson, the Seattle-set film (highlighted by establishing shots of the Space Needle, apparently our only recognizable feature) lacks any real focus. It bounces between themes but never allows the individual elements to coalesce into anything resembling a through line.

Once they’re trapped in their home and it begins raining incessantly (there’s a joke about Seattle weather to be made here), dad Jason and mom Ann (Moura and Lee, respectively, and the best part of “The Last House”) emphasize the importance of family and resilience to their children. But that message gets muddled by clumsy execution; it’s hard to identify with a family that’s so incredibly calm, collected and capable that it takes them weeks to freak out about not being able to go outside.

Read the full review at The Seattle Times.

Two waterlogged stars out of five.

Photo caption: From left, Noah Alexander Sosnowski as Graham, Wagner Moura as Jason, Greta Lee as Ann and Riley Chung as Ruth in “The Last House.” (Chris Baker / Courtesy of Netflix)