Thanks to Liam Neeson and his particular set of skills, the age of the aged action hero is well and truly upon us, with the genre now frequently finding the next senior superstar to take up arms and lead a thriller. From expected names like Stallone and Schwarzenegger, to unexpected names like Jeff Bridges and Bob Odenkirk, an oddly unknown neo-Western is currently shooting to surprise success on streaming…and introducing by far the most unexpected aged action hero while doing it.
Following an old woman with a mysterious, violent past (a beloved trope of the genre), The Last Stand of Ellen Cole combines action, drama, and Western sensibilities to tell a tale of ruthless defiance. Directed by Derek Lee and Clif Prowse, the filmmaking duo best known for their well-received found-footage horror movie Afflicted from 2013, The Last Stand of Ellen Cole transforms Insidious star and 82-year-old acclaimed actress Lin Shaye into a violent killer who will stop at nothing to hold onto what’s hers. And all with an oxygen tank in tow.
The Last Stand of Ellen Cole was released last year with surprisingly little fanfare. However, the action drama is now finding success on streaming, with the movie now climbing the charts and landing at #2 on Paramount+ globally, beating the likes of Top Gun: Maverick, Novocaine, and World War Z. Starring Liz Caribel Sierra, Craig Tate, Ty Olsson, Karan Gill, and Hart Bochner alongside Shaye, you can check out the official synopsis for The Last Stand of Ellen Cole below…
“When an evil contractor goes to extreme measures to evict a testy tenant who is standing in the way of his new project, he fails to take into account that this seemingly harmless old woman is a trained killer and will do anything to protect her beloved home.”
‘The Last Stand of Ellen Cole’ Has Been Called a “Great Popcorn Action Flick” by Audiences
So unknown is The Last Stand of Ellen Cole that it doesn’t even have a Rotten Tomatoes score. However, leaving the famous (or should that be infamous?) review aggregator site behind, we can look elsewhere for reactions and reviews. Turning to Letterboxd, one user awarded The Last Stand of Ellen Cole a perfect five stars, calling it “the nicest surprise of the year so far” that has “the same sauce from Afflicted is here as well, and is especially apparent in the home invasion scenes.”
Meanwhile, on IMDb, this user calls The Last Stand of Ellen Cole a “great popcorn action flick,” while praising the movie for having “a great storyline, a good plot, a great starring character with Lin Shaye.” Another user compares The Last Stand of Ellen Cole to the much better-known aged action movie, Nobody, and says it’s better than both Bob Odenkirk’s action franchise and the recent John Wick spin-of, Ballerina. “The Last Stand of Ellen Cole is one of those low budget movies that simply works and is very, very entertaining,” they concluded.
- Birthname
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Linda Shaye
- Birthdate
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October 12, 1943
- Birthplace
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Detroit, Michigan, USA
