The Last Kiss (2026) Review: Okumura's Wicked Horror Twist

Laurel Hansen has spent her whole life waiting for her first kiss to be magic. When it finally comes, magic isn't the word she'd choose. The kiss triggers a vision - a horrifying flash of the other person's death - and suddenly Laurel's romantic life is collateral damage in a nightmare she can't explain. Worse still, when she kisses her crush, she sees him doomed to die in a bizarre murder spree that seems to be targeting the people closest to her.

That's the engine that drives the film. Laurel can't un-see what she's seen, and she can't warn anyone without sounding insane. So she does the only thing a sensible horror heroine can do: she starts hunting the killer herself, piecing together deaths she was never meant to witness. Okumura keeps the mystery machinery tight, doling out suspects and red herrings at a steady clip while the bodies pile up around a friend group that includes Poppy Yang, Evan Geller, Tyler McKinney, and Bree Williams. The premise could easily have been a one-joke gimmick; instead, the screenplay treats it as a tragedy, asking what it costs a young woman to be the only person who knows how everyone she loves dies.

What elevates The Last Kiss above its high-concept logline is the way Okumura directs it like a fever dream that won't break. The kiss visions are staged as suffocating, intimate horrors - the camera pushes in close, sound drops out, and the imagery lands with the kind of jolt that makes an audience collectively exhale. Okumura understands that the scariest thing in the movie isn't the killer; it's the anticipation of the killer, and she milks that dread for everything it's worth.

Mckenna Grace anchors the whole thing with a performance that's all nervous energy and quiet grief. She's asked to carry scenes of teenage awkwardness and scenes of full-blown terror, sometimes in the same breath, and she never lets the tonal tightrope snap. As her best friend Poppy, Arkira Chantaratananond brings a welcome warmth that makes the friend-group stakes feel real rather than contractual, while Jaden Michael's Evan adds an appealing mix of charm and ambiguity. Kate Drummond does sturdy work as Laurel's mother, and the supporting cast - Riley Davis, Samantha Espie, Cooper Levy, Eve Edwards - populate the town with enough personality that you wince every time one of them wanders down a dark hallway.

If there's a complaint, it's the third act. The mystery's solution is satisfying enough, but the film rushes toward it, trading some of its earlier patience for exposition and a climax that feels a touch conventional compared to the striking invention of the setup. A few of the red herrings are also easier to spot than the movie seems to think, and the middle stretch occasionally repeats a beat or two as Laurel works through her list of suspects.

Still, these are the complaints of a critic who wanted more of a good thing. At 97 minutes, The Last Kiss never overstays its welcome, and its central metaphor - that loving someone means accepting you might lose them - gives the horror a melancholy pulse that lingers after the credits. It's the rare genre film that's as interested in its heroine's heart as it is in her terror.

Pros

• A genuinely original high-concept hook that pays off
• Mckenna Grace's committed, career-best-adjacent lead performance
• Okumura's atmospheric direction and brutally effective vision sequences
• Tight 97-minute runtime with almost no filler
• A strong, chemistry-rich supporting ensemble

Cons

• The third act feels rushed compared to the patient buildup
• Some reveals are telegraphed well in advance
• A few supporting characters deserved more screen time before their fates arrive

The Last Kiss proves that a great premise, a committed star, and a director with real command of mood can elevate familiar genre material into something special. It isn't flawless - the finale sacrifices some of the film's eerie patience for speed - but it's bold, emotional, and genuinely frightening in ways most studio horror isn't anymore. With a 9/10 rating from early audiences, this is one first kiss worth lining up for.