A vengeful billionaire forces his estranged sons to participate in a deadly game of survival in Jason Axinn’s directorial debut, an animated adult film that feels like it came straight out of Adult Swim.
It all starts with Miriam DeKalb, the black sheep of a deeply dysfunctional family, who has dedicated her adult life to boycotting her father’s war-mongering empire. But one day, she gets a message from him, wanting to reunite the family under mysterious pretenses. Turns out, he’s dying—but instead of making amends, he’s hell-bent on getting payback for what he sees as his children’s betrayals. One by one, Miriam watches her siblings fall victim to her father’s sadistic final act. Just when all hope seems lost, she’s approached by the Gamemaster, a powerful, otherworldly entity who offers her a second chance. Now, armed with the knowledge of how everything unfolds, Miriam is thrust back into that night… but this time, she’s determined to beat her father at his own game.
This movie is the result of a monstrous collaborative effort from animators around the world, who worked online to bring it to life. The hand-drawn 2D animation has that Adobe Flash/Newgrounds vibe, mixed with the fluidity of early Huevocartoon. You can tell the team worked within their limits but still squeezed out as much style and detail as possible—even though most of the action takes place in confined rooms and tight hallways. For an indie production, that effort shines through, and it’s part of the film’s charm. The character designs are simple but expressive and oddly pleasant to watch, kinda like Robert Kirkman’s early The Walking Dead comics. They clearly poured their energy into nailing the movements and reactions, even with the tools they had.
The voice acting also deserves praise, everyone brings the right energy. And hey, the fact that they landed big names like William Shatner and Morena Baccarin on such a tight budget is kinda amazing. It says a lot about them and adds heart to the whole thing. As for the soundtrack and audio, it does the job. The music supports the tension very well, and the sound mixing holds up.
When it comes to horror, the movie doesn’t fully deliver what they promised. The blood and violence are there, but it leans more into Itchy & Scratchy’s levels of cartoon brutality than something genuinely disturbing like Genocyber. There are a few tense moments, but if you were expecting something traumatizing, you might walk away feeling like it played things too safe.
Overall, To Your Last Death is a solid, interesting animated film from start to finish. I loved it when I first caught it around release, and it held up on rewatch. I’d give it a 9/10, although it had the potential to be a perfect 10 if the horror and violence had been more disturbing. Still, the unique style, engaging premise, and the sheer passion behind the voice acting and animation make it well worth watching. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆