Last Ferry (2019) User Reviews (69)

Ultimately disappointing

[euroGary · 4/10 · 1 April 2019]

'Last Ferry' is the kind of gay-themed, low-budget, self-indulgent film that usually goes straight to DVD. Which makes the decision of the British Film Institute to stage its world premiere during their 2019 LGBTQ+ 'Flare' festival a bit perplexing, to say the least.

Unhappy New York lawyer Joseph is disappointed upon arriving at Fire Island to discover the fabled gay resort is off-season. After an expedition into the woods for a spot of nookie goes wrong, Joseph is taken in by the charming Cameron and his one-note friends - Anabi (a doctor) and Shane (a stereotypical overweight screaming queen). Also present is Rafael, who spends his time tediously moping around following an apparent break-up with his boyfriend. But, having seen the film's opening act, the viewer knows there is more to Rafael's situation than is immediately apparent - as does, although he does not at first realise he possesses the knowledge, Joseph.

Lead actor Ramon O Torres also wrote, co-produced and edited the film. Presumably this made him a very powerful person on the production, but someone really should have sat him down and explained that it is a kindness to the viewer to give your characters some motivation: in this case, why Rafael and Cameron have committed the act they have - the fact we are not told is very disappointing. There are other flaws, too: for example, when a character slips very gently into a swimming pool, you will ask yourself why he is immediately afterwards bleeding so heavily (this, presumably, is the fault of director Jaki Bradley). And how does a character recognise the tattoo on the back of a murderer's leg when he only previously saw said murderer backing away from him?

Good points? Well, as an actor, Torres does a believable job of portraying both Joseph's confusion after the woods incident and his growing ease with his new friends - but this may be because, in comparison, the other actors are not given the chance to shine in portraying the cardboard cut-out characters with which Torres the writer has lumbered them. The scenery is nice, and it is pleasing that the film's most physically-attractive cast member provides the only real nude scene. Ultimately, though, 'Last Ferry' is a disappointment. The BFI may need to take a look at their programming policy...

Not horrible

[Coralknight · 4/10 · 15 April 2020]

The genre of "gay thriller" has definitely been evolving to the point that once in awhile, there are films that exceed expectations. "Last Ferry" is not one of them. While there are some decent performances (Sheldon Best stands out) the rest of the characters really aren't strong enough to "carry" the film (especially the lead, who just spends most of the film practicing his "clueless" expression). While I've never been to Fire Island, I find it a bit hard to believe that in the modern era of cel phones a serial predator who drugs/mugs victims wouldn't eventually be identified. So, from the beginning there is quite a bit of suspension of disbelief to overcome (maybe if this were set in the 70's? Maybe that's actually when it was written? I dunno, but in the present it really doesn't work). There's a little skin, a little eye-candy, a little romance...but all in all it just comes off as a very well-edited and filmed low budget effort with little substance.

How Very Ordinary

[Cammybob · 4/10 · 30 March 2020]

Last Ferry succeeds in towing that fine line between perpetuating a gay stereotype and being a trite thriller.

And the ending happened. It just... happened. That's all. No resolution. No character growth. No impact. It's like the writer got bored with the script and simply decided to stop.

I was going to give the movie six stars, but then that stupid ending ruined it. So, four stars out of ten. And I think I'm being fairly generous.

Everything Was Perfect Except The Script

[zac-68274 · 2/10 · 12 March 2020]

I wanted to like this movie but this low budget gay thriller fell flat! The writing is reprehensible. Guess it's too late to edit back the missing parts for an interesting movie.

Rare gay theme thriller is a modest effort

[cjenson123123 · 7/10 · 3 November 2019]

Gay themed thrillers are a rarity in the film world. This modest effort starts out well enough. Joseph, a loner/lonely Gay man goes to Fire Island looking for escape from his unhappy job as a lawyer, fun and connection only to discover he's come off season, and doesn't have a clue of what he's going to do or where he'll stay. Warned about the meatrack by an older Gay man (played almost as a predator to the enormous discredit of the script/director), Joseph allows a stranger (but a young handsome stranger) to lure him into the meatrack. Joseph is drugged and mugged, stumbles with a cloudy head and senses of perception towards the beach and sees someone dragging a body to the edge of the water, he runs off and passes out.

When he comes to he is in the living room of a classic Fire Island modernist home where Cameron, apparently the man who found him passed out has brought him to recover. Is Cameron actually a savior, or is he part of the looming dangers of Fire Island?

The film introduces a cast of house guests and it's pretty obvious that Rafael, the hottest, sexiest and most fuckable of all the film's characters is trouble.

The film builds small tensions, but ends with an abrupt stop that left me completely unsatisfied.

Ending? WTF ? What ending ??.

[douglasmhammett · 2/10 · 12 March 2020]

Overall, not a bad film ... decent production values and acting was adequate. But do you want to ruin a film right from the get-go ... screw up the ending! That's exactly what the numbskull Writers and Director did with this film. The only reason it got 2 stars from me is what I just said in the previous 5 sentences ...otherwise, it would have gotten only 1 Star. Don't waste your time with this one ... it's not worth the total frustration you'll feel at the end. This Writer and/or Director ought to go back to film school ... they obviously didn't learn a thing about what makes a good movie!!

A Message to All Creatives:

[queeroid · 7/10 · 8 November 2019]

Start with an ending! If you don't know where your story's going to go, it might not be a tale worth telling. With that said, this is a generally very good thriller centering around a lonesome lawyer taking a trip to Fire Island and finding himself in one unfortunate altercation after another. What would have made this a nearly perfect film is a different ending. As in: an _actual_ ending and not the utter non-ending we were given. Even the post-credits snippet (can't call it a "scene") left me ultimately unsatisfied. But otherwise, by no means is this a bad film. Definitely worth your time.

Terrible

[subhoshining · 2/10 · 3 February 2020]

I just watched this as it had high rating on IMDb. What the hell was that? I've seen far better movies rated 5 or less at IMDb. The acting was okay but the story sucked. Initially it was very interesting but as the movie progressed, became more and more boring. Wasted a lot of time for this piece of crap movie. I'm all for gay rights and all, but doesn't mean you've to rate it high if the movie actually sucked. Disappointed.

Characters feel real and rounded

[tr-40275 · 7/10 · 1 July 2019]

Last Ferry isn't the perfect thriller, but it has to be commended for the way it approaches queerness. The characters feel real and rounded without ever letting their sexuality define them entirely and this was SO refreshing to see in a genre film like this.

This was crap.

[ymitchell4446 · 1/10 · 6 November 2019]

The whole movie all they did was talk about sex, sex, and more sex. Is that what gay men people do all day. What ever happened to relationship..The movie was slow and boring.. The ending was terrible I watched until the end to see what was going to happen and I totally regretted it. Don't waste your time you will be dissappointed.

What happened to Cameron?

[ocwalker28 · 9/10 · 5 February 2020]

I thoroughly enjoyed the thriller aspect of this movie, especially because it was cast with gay men and/or gay characters. But I am confused about what happened to Cameron. I see that he had been drinking heavily and taking meds that don't mix with alcohol; so much is clear. But when he falls into the pool, why is he bleeding?

Good thriller but....

[tennisana · 7/10 · 15 March 2020]

Good thriller and well played but I would like to see an ending. Love the Fire Island scenery!

Wake me when it's over...

[psxexperten · 1/10 · 30 October 2019]

Just another boring gay movie who actually made 2 people fall asleep. I cannot even begin to understand how anyone could rate this highly. I am starting to really question whether people are paid to write fake reviews.

No point

[ian-kristensen · 3/10 · 14 November 2019]

I was intrigued as things progressed, but then the movie ended with no real conclusion or wrap up. There really didn't seem to be much of a point to this one.

Achieved it's intention - in my opinion

[cekadah · 7/10 · 3 November 2019]

A story of coming out to oneself but choosing the wrong path.

There is no denying there is suspense fully developed in this plot. The situations Joseph finds himself in are questionable and the intentions of the cottage group is left wide open for the viewer to interpret. Yes, there are holes in the plot, that's my reason for just 7 stars. But the overall effect of the story succeeded in building a level of suspense and mystery.

missing some key pieces (minor spoilers)

[ksf-2 · 5/10 · 28 March 2020]

Last ferry has so many great things going for it, but there are also many flaws. Fun salute to the gay stomping grounds of the meat rack area on fire island, where guys actually met "face to face", if you will. it kind of felt like the writer changed direction several times throughout the film. and several red herrings, too many things the viewer doesn't get to know. now I don't mind a murder mystery, but we're missing a lot of context. one minute, a guy is the kindest, sweetest man who brings in a stranger and let's him stay, (and then some!) and the next, we find out he has dark secrets, and does things which that gentle, sweet guy is unlikely to do. At the start, we spend a LONG time shopping for bathing suits, and it seems to be a comedy... then suddenly it's very serious, and it gets darker and darker. the supporting cast does a good job as the fun, joking friends, along for the weekend. unaware of all the evil happening behind the scenes. and why so much camera time spent on the beach, at the last "party"? like many others, I said Where's the ending?? what happens to this character that we've spent 90 minutes caring about? instead of the behind-the-scenes montage, and another couple minutes of black screen, WHY didn't they give us a proper ending? the script needed doctoring. or maybe things were left on the editing floor that were key scenes. and why so much time spent on the (unimportant) mugger? and we never DO find out the "lying lawyer's" secret. was he there for some other reason ? did I miss it? frustrating. Written and starring Ramon Torres.

Loved It

[shanksfilmmaker · 7/10 · 3 July 2019]

Why the bad reviews? I had seen the trailer so I thought i'd give it a go and i actually enjoyed it. Good acting, great cast and the storyline is on point. I have to give a mention about Larry Owens, he was a stand out for sure and he was absolutely fantastic in this! Hopefully i'll get to a strange loop on broadway one day. 7 stars from me!

Sinking Ship

[DreamerX616 · 4/10 · 27 March 2020]

I think people are being way too generous with this low budget gay thriller.

Neither suspenseful or particularly dramatic - the storyline was unfulfilling, it's like we came in at the middle and stayed there - no idea the reason behind the murder in the first place coupled with an unresolved ending

The actors weren't super engrossing, merely playing off gay stereotypes for the most part, right down to the predatory older gay guy in the cafe at the beginning.

The ending is NOT open to interpretation, it's a COP OUT!! Don't start making a movie unless you know how it ends otherwise how can you let your characters develop.

Disappointing !

WTF just happened?

[Keith1620 · 6/10 · 29 May 2020]

This movie surprised me and I was actually enjoying it, despite the bad rating. I was ready to give it an 8.0 rating, then the ending happened WTF just happened, or didn't happen. A solid movie just ruined by a cliche ending. Only reason I'm giving this a 6.0 is because of Ramon Torres great depiction of a tormented gay man.

Tries Too Hard, Leaves You Annoyed

[BrettLee20 · 1/10 · 18 March 2020]

A movie that tries to go on a rollercoaster of 100 different emotions and themes but ends up giving you 0. The movie takes place in a time frame of just 48 hrs on Fire Island, yet somehow one single stranger runs into every type of character possible- a murderer, a thief, a new lover, some annoying new friends whose jokes fall flat, and bad writing. Who gets drugged/robbed (alone on an island) and then proceeds to get drunk and party the next day with strangers?? Also the way the murderer acts, like really?! You killed someone you actually care for but you're willing to let a stranger go on a promise he won't tell... OK. Then the END, that was it?! ARE YOU KIDDING... a drama/thriller with no fight/chase scene at the end or even a climax. You think the movie is finally about to kick in, you're like "1 down, 1 to go!! Run!" *CREDITS*.. "oh, that's the end?... but what about? And what happened to? Did they ever find the? But did the main guy...?" DID THEY RUN OUT OF MONEY??? This movie is missing like 5-10 more minutes. Its like if the SCREAM movies ended BEFORE the final fight with Ghostface just being like "I'm tired" and Neve Campbell being like "yea, me too. see ya!" All that being said- the camera work was nice and the acting was good for what the script gave them to work with.

Thriller!

[newyorkisland · 8/10 · 1 April 2020]

Cool storyline, talented actors and the movie got more intense as the film kept going. I liked it

Had such high hopes ...

[bisslestefan · 2/10 · 2 April 2020]

But alas, like most American made gay films, it was a huge let down. I literally fast-forwarded through 80% of the movie and was able to follow the story line 100%.

A story line that's actually unique to gay films was decimated with gay stereotypes.

Whomever Wrote High Reviews For This Was Clearly Paid!

[davidsask · 1/10 · 2 November 2019]

Poor Everything From Start To Finish If Made It That Far! It's Really WTF How Did This Get To Any Festival, Reasons Why Is Self Produced. Nonsensical! Waste Your Time Doing Anything Else Or Something Productive. Your Welcome 1/10

Horrible movie

[afgpbb · 1/10 · 1 July 2019]

The worst Movie i ever saw ... it made no sense. Bad bad.

What Did I Just Watch!?

[chazzatl73 · 2/10 · 19 March 2020]

This was a horrible movie from beginning to end. There are tons of plot holes! Seriously...I would never tell anyone to watch this movie!