'Last Ride' Review: An Arctic Cable Car Nightmare That Nearly Reaches the Peak
- 19 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Becca Johnson - February 17, 2026
Directed by Cinque Lee and starring Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit) and Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones), brand new thriller Last Ride boasts an intense plot that harks back to 2010’s Frozen (the arctic horror film, not the Disney animation). Set in 1982, three American boys fronted by Davis find themselves stranded in a cable car with a dead body, suspended mid-air in the mountains of Norway during a rare celestial event. Utilising its claustrophobic single location well with compelling performances at the centre, Last Ride is a consistently intense, entertaining film prioritising believable conversations and relationships.
Whether we’re in a forest, a jail cell or a cable car such as this one, the most important element of any single location flick are the performances inside it. Not only is good chemistry needed as we likely only have a few characters on our hands, but the line delivery needs to keep us invested. Films such as these often lend themselves to dialogue driven affairs, a bill which this certainly fits. Our three young actors Roman Griffin Davis, Felix Jamieson (Game of Thrones) and Charlie Price (Military Wives) have a tricky task on their hands, and fortunately, they excel. Each bringing their own unique personality and charm to the characters they’re playing, they work well both separately with distinct personalities, and together with genuine friendship between them. The script supports the young lads nicely, as they act and behave exactly how we’d expect pre-teen boys to in this scenario. From boner jokes to genuine fear, inklings of a zombie outbreak to crying over missing their parents, each conversation feels naturalistic and real. Films of this ilk normally centre on older teenagers or adults, so it’s refreshing and somewhat gnarlier to watch a group of youngsters go through this ordeal. They really sell it to the audience.
Last Ride has enough intrigue filtered throughout the run-time to keep viewers invested for the entire 90 minutes. Despite the single location, the cinematography is kept as playful as possible and utilises the small space perfectly. There’s one long shot in particular, taking a split dioptre approach, that really stands out. Attention is paid to the surrounding location too, often reminding us of the beauty a snowy Norway can provide despite the pain the characters are going through. When the Northern lights hit the sky during one emotional, impressive sequence, Last Ride looks simply phenomenal.
In terms of plot, there’s some neat additions that add a level of fear factor, including a swarming flock of birds, something mysterious happening to the dead body they’re stuck with, multiple close shaves with death and a rescue that goes incredibly wrong. Freezing conditions, frostbite, a lack of food and cramped conditions are only the start of what our trio must endure, and the long stretches of conversation are time-stamped successfully with a new threat to survive. The run-time glides along smoothly.
There’s one element that really lets Last Ride down; the opening and closing sequences that bookend the film. The filmmaking team give us an extra layer to this story - a flash forward of one of our young lads during adulthood, when he’s battling his demons this event caused him in full view of his teenage son. Not only does this offer minor spoilers regarding the fate of the boys, but these sequences add very little to the film overall. The tone of these bookends doesn’t match the rest of the movie, the dialogue within these scenes is cringeworthy and the intriguing themes of PTSD, substance abuse and perhaps survivors guilt are merely hinted at, due to only having five minutes at either end of the film. It does give us a small supporting performance from Gustaf Skarsgard, whose presence is always welcome, but he barely gets enough to do to show off his talent or warrant his inclusion. The film would be good enough with the cable car incident alone; it doesn’t need any extras and additions.
Given the small budget and simplistic plot that has a lot of work to do in order to keep us intrigued, Last Ride is highly commendable. The naturalistic bond between the boys hooks you in and manages to keep you invested, whilst the slew of threats and horrors ensure you’re kept on your toes. Some finer tuning within the dialogue would’ve elevated the film even further, and it’s easy to question whether the extra timeline was needed. It may not be the best arctic, single location thriller we have on our hands, but it’s a fine addition into the sub-genre.
'Last Ride' releases on digital platforms on February 20.
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