Larry Fessenden's The Last Winter presents an even more frigthening vision of things to come than M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening. Both films focus on the idea of a new sort of horror villain: nature as a complex force, something we know less about than we think and whose mysteries have begun striking against mankind in the worst of ways. 

In The Last Winter, after years upon years of debate, Congress has passed a motion to allow drilling for oil in an untapped wildlife refuge in Alaska. Such a decision sparks the ire of people like environmental activist Jim Hoffman (James LeGros), but oil company representative Ed Pollack (Ron Perlman) couldn't be more pleased. However, before drilling can commence, there's the matter of some mighty strange goings-on at the outpost where the men are stationed. Hoffman discovers that the rise in temperature has caused the permafrost to start melting, something  Pollack refuses to let stand in the way of getting to that precious ocean of oil. This melting  has unleashed a mysterious force.  Be it a patch of sour gas or some sort of strange virus, something appears to be messing with the minds of everyone at the outpost and inspiring them to violently turn on one another -- as if to prevent mankind's meddling with the environment from going unpunished. 

The Last Winter grasps a sense of intimacy missing in  The Happening. Shyamalan's film seemed theatrical to a fault, at times more focused on its shocking suicide scenes than on the people caught within them. With  The Last Winter, Fessenden is all about human drama first and scares second, enabling him to concoct a much more consistent combination of the two. He filmed his story with a meager budget of $50,000, but a lack of finances doesn't hinder this movie as much as boost it. The barren, wintry landscape enhances the characters' shared isolation. The Last Winter doesn't need to be big, since it depends not so much on effects as on an already tense atmosphere made worse by the presence of a force nobody can understand. Fessenden succeeds in casting a shadow of doubt over the whole story. Is there something weird affecting those at the outpost, or could Pollack's claims of Hoffman's message of doom and gloom messing with their minds be true?

So yes, The Last Winter takes its time in setting up all the pieces of the story. It might be a little too slow for some viewers, but the movie pays off in a number of freaky sequences, including one in which a videotape  shows something lurking in the night. Unfortunately, that something turns out to be one of the film's few detractions, as the revelation behind what's been causing all the trouble comes across as  underwhelming and, thanks to some dodgy CG, laughable. Still, Fessenden manages to make a resounding success out of at least two of the film's acts, aided by a convincing cast of characters who earn the audience's interest and sympathy. It's always great to see Perlman onscreen, and the scenes where his business-minded oil man goes toe-to-toe with LeGros's wary activist provide enough tension on their own.

The Last Winter works because it strikes close to the heart with the idea that mankind's demise isn't directly caused by any outside force but rather, inadvertently, by ourselves. Break out all the Freddys and Jasons you want, but the prospect of us bringing about our own doom may very well be the scariest concept of all.

MY RATING: *** (out of ****)

(Released by IFC; not rated by MPAA.)