Wagner Moura and Greta Lee fight for survival in new thriller ‘The Last House’

Greta Lee and Wagner Moura channel their inner survivalists to play a married couple trapped inside their home in “The Last House“, Netflix‘s new psychological thriller.

Speaking to Reuters, “Past Lives” actress Lee said portraying her ⁠character’s emotional breakdown, and how ⁠it affects the bonds between spouses, parents and children, was among the biggest challenges she encountered during filming.

“We were lucky enough to work with an actual survivalist,” she ⁠said. “It’s incredibly inspiring to understand the real physiology of what happens to you.”

Directed by “Now You See Me” and “Fast X” filmmaker Louis Leterrier, the movie follows a family of four suddenly trapped inside their house with no way out. They must work together as supplies dwindle and a mysterious external threat keeps them confined.

The production was shot entirely inside a single house that deteriorates over time, mirroring the characters’ unravelling. “The Secret Agent” star Moura called the ⁠set ⁠an engineering feat: “For the second part of the film, the way they managed to transform the house into sort of like an aquarium… I had never seen anything like that before.”

Leterrier, who said he has worked on movies with budgets costing $400 million, admitted this was the most difficult film of his career. “I’ve done movies where literally I was jumping from a plane to ⁠another plane,” he said. “(The Last House) was so, so difficult for everyone involved.”

Beyond the suspense, Leterrier said he wanted audiences to reflect on themes of consumerism and greed: “I like that people will be experiencing this movie at home…and then looking at their fridge…at their family, and be like, how long would we survive if this happened now?” He ⁠added ‌that ‌he and screenwriter Matthew Robinson drew on lessons from ⁠lockdown about how to “survive mentally, ‌emotionally, and grow with your family.”

Asked how he would fare if he were trapped at home, Moura joked, “That ⁠would be a disaster, really — I cannot ⁠fix anything.” Lee seemed to agree, quipping that the “Narcos” star would be ⁠best off sticking to his day job.

“The Last House” will be released on Netflix on Friday (August 7).