The Last Wave(1977)
1977 · Peter Weir · 106 min
A Sydney lawyer defends five Aboriginal people in a ritualised taboo murder and in the process learns disturbing truths about himself and premonitions.
Drama · Mystery · Horror
6.7218 votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
0/5
Gore
4/5
Stays with you
How The Last Wave scares
Watching it feels like slowly losing your grip on reality, as ordinary rain and dreams start to feel wrong in a way you can't explain. The pace is patient and dreamlike, with almost no shocks or jolts, building instead through mood, strange omens, and a growing sense that something huge and old is about to happen. There's no blood or monsters here, just a quiet, creeping dread about fate, guilt, and things bigger than one person can understand. It's the kind of horror that unsettles your thinking rather than your stomach, better suited to viewers who like slow, moody, thought-heavy films than to anyone wanting scares or gore.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Last Wave rates psychological 5/5, visceral 1/5, gore 0/5, lingering effect 4/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 5 of 5
- Visceral: 1 of 5
- Gore: 0 of 5
- Lingering: 4 of 5
- Intensity: 3 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 8 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 20 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 78 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow, dreamlike unease that builds steadily into a hazy, unsettling final stretch rather than any sudden shock.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4.
How scary is The Last Wave?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, The Last Wave rates 3/5 — solidly scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. The fear is mostly in your head — it unsettles far more than it assaults. Expect it to be restrained with gore and genuinely disturbing. Expect it to stay with you for days.
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