Is ‘The Last House’ based on a true story? Here’s what we know about Netflix’s horror sci-fi
Netflix offered some sci-fi horror to its subscribers this week. ‘The Last House’, which premiered on August 7, is about a family that gets trapped inside their own home while something or someone is trying to keep them there. The plot feels believable enough that those who watched the film must be wondering if it is based on a true story. The simple, straightforward answer is no. The thriller is not inspired by any true crime case or real event. Nor were any real people the inspiration for the characters in the story. ‘The Last House’, which was originally titled ‘11817’, is entirely fictional and comes from a screenplay by Matthew Robinson. The movie first went into development in May 2024, when Louis Leterrier was announced as the director.
Leterrier knew from the start where he wanted to take the film and how he planned to execute the plot and its characters. Leterrier told Tudum, “‘The Last House’ challenges the idea of a safe haven, turning a family home into a hostile environment where survival demands unity. This is an ordinary family’s worst nightmare, pushing them to their limits to protect each other and exposing the fragility of security — and the desperate fight to reclaim it.” He never mentioned that the story came from a true event, so fans can take that idea out of their minds. And just like there was no true case that the film is based on, there was also no novel behind it. No short story or even graphic novel served as the source material for the sci-fi thriller.
Robinson worked on the screenplay from scratch just for this movie. So, it is an original story that was not available before. With that made clear, fans can stream the movie on Netflix, where it is currently available. According to the official logline, “The Last House centers on a family sealed inside their home with no way out. If that doesn’t sound nightmarish enough, their resources are running thin, and they must work together to survive not only a lack of essentials but also the mysterious, looming threat that is keeping them trapped inside.” The film stars Greta Lee, Wagner Moura, Noah Alexander Sosnowski, Sam Lerner, Emma Ho, and Riley Chun.
