To Your Last Death (2020)

3 Stars (out of 4)

Unkind Rewind

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

A bloody, gory action movie with supernatural elements, the animated To Your Last Death is, at the very least, not like anything you've ever seen before. Crafted in a hand-drawn style that resembles the TV series Archer, the characters' movements are sometimes jerky, but the detail is nonetheless impressive, and rarely disappointing. Astonishingly, the filmmakers managed to tap William Shatner to play a kind of sinister Rod Serling-like narrator, and even though he's totally unneeded, he's very much appreciated.

The story focuses on Miriam DeKalb (voiced by Dani Lennon), one of four siblings who were raised by a cruel, sadistic corporate CEO father, Cyrus (voiced by Ray Wise). Cyrus summons the four — Miriam, plus her sister Kelsy (Florence Hartigan) and brothers Collin (Benjamin Siemon) and Ethan (voiced by Damien C. Haas) — to a meeting, to inform them that he has a lethal tumor, but also to force them to play a series of deadly games. These Saw-like deathtraps usually involve the character's personal vices, such as cutting or erotic asphyxiation.

Miriam alone survives, but there's a twist. A sexy cosmic Gamemaster (voiced by Morena Baccarin) is in charge, and can rewind the events at any time to make things more interesting. So poor Miriam gets stuck playing the game several times, trying to convince her siblings that she's not crazy (and, also, not in on the plan).

To Your Last Death is arguably more brutal than it is intricate, but it moves well, provides some jolts, and contains a surprising amount of heart. Horror icon Bill Moseley (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Army of Darkness) provides the voice of a henchman.