The Found Footage subgenre has become very popular in the past couple of decades, from 1999’s The Blair Witch Project to 2024’s V/H/S Beyond. Of course, in 2025, the found footage genre seems to be taking over all elements of the larger Horror world. On another note, those not Found Footage, 2008’s The Strangers, 2011’s Cabin in the Woods, and 2012’s Sinister are phenomenal films. However, when someone takes pieces of them and copies their ideas into another film, it does not always come out as you would expect.
Available through On-demand platforms on April 29, 2025, via The Horror Collective, The Last Cabin, directed by Brendan Rudnicki (The Invited 2017, The Haunting of Murder House 2020), attempts to combine three in one, shooting it as Found Footage. Rudnicki takes certain aspects one would find in those three aforementioned films and utilizes them in his own.
The Last Cabin is about a film crew on the hunt for a cabin in the woods to use for a film shoot. When they happen upon a cabin at the last minute, their world turns upside down as they realize that they are being hunted.
While done countless times, Found Footage Horror films can be hard to achieve. In one scene, Ben (Brendan Goshay: (My Husbands Seven Wives 2024, The Forge 2024) attempts to go outside and find a signal on the phone. This particular scene is meant to be one person, yet the camera moves as if the cameraman, Shawn (Tanner Kongdara), followed him out, and this distracts, taking away from the film and what is going on. Needless to say, there are several of these moments, granted, there are moments where the bad guys are filming as well. However, those are obvious.
Additionally, the acting feels a bit much and a bit amateur in The Last Cabin. Though the actors/actresses are not firmly established in the acting world and are still trying to find their footing in the industry, Bobadilla, Goshay, and Kongdara all seem to have established character connections. It is the execution of their characters and their emotions that gives them away. It can pull an audience out of the story for a moment. Goshay’s character seems to be the only one who feels more natural.
On the positive side, The Last Cabin’s storyline is interesting. Even with scenes or scenarios taken from the three aforementioned films, it still makes for a good scare. Typically, moviegoers want to see new ideas and tricks, not the same thing.
Ultimately, The Last Cabin is shot well for a Found Footage film, even with the few scenes where there should be no ‘found-footage shakiness.’ Overall, original ideas could have made this film a lot better, but as it is, Cryptic Rock gives The Last Cabin 3 out of 5 stars.
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