Last Shift

I've been meaning to watch this for a while, and since it's October, seemed like time.

Overall it wasn't a bad movie. Nothing really too surprising in it...typical of this type of movie where you never know what may be real or in the characters head.

What was impressive was the use of light. Almost all of it is in a building with white walls and decently lit hallways, yet there are areas of pure darkness. Whoever did the lighting for this movie did an amazing job.

The whole movie just has a very uncomfortable vibe to it, but very few jump-style scares. (or at least not to me...I've seen so many of these I can pretty much call out when there will be one).

The main actress does a pretty good job. For the most part, she is the movie. She has an interesting job to play between scared and someone assuming she's tired. Other characters are such bit parts that you don't get much opinion, other than the guy playing Sgt Cohen. Guy nails being a jerk!

For a seemingly very indi movie on a low budget made almost ten years ago, the creepiness in this really held up. I think this was quite successful in its own right, but more so than anything I seem to be focused on is the potential this has.

The story was not wildly original, but still interesting a pretty captivating. It was chock full of scares and creepiness. Sure, some of it was cheap/cliche and definitely had too many jump scares, but a lot of it was pretty darn dope.

Again, I don't want to seem like I am hating on this, because I'm not, but if this was redone with some tweaks I think it could be a real banger. A little more elaboration on the backstory would really set up the scene and felt a little lacking in the beginning. Also just really fleshing out the storyline because there were definitely some parts that felt silly or like potential plot holes. Also with a higher budget is going to come a better quality picture and better effects which on both fronts I think it would really benefit from. Also the acting was... not amazing. Main girl did not do a BAD job, she just didn't fully sell me on the terror. Also I wasn't wild about the ending but it wasn't offensive.

Regardless of its potential, this movie as is was entertaining and definitely creepy. Would recommend.

My quick rating - 6,3/10. Another surprise low budget horror film that shows the amount of money you put in has nothing to do with the end product. The movie itself starts out simple (yet obvious) enough with a rookie officer, Loren (Juliana Harkavy) pulling last shift duty on a closing precinct. I use that word since the premise is awfully familiar with "Assault on Precinct 13". Anyway, that being said, the story similarities end there. I did catch a few camera shots and setup scares that also reminded me of John Carpenter style, but what is wrong with borrowing from a master? So the inevitable ensues and a story of a cult leader type figure killing a few of his followers and himself in the prison (the story is intermingled throughout via flashbacks and visions of old footage) turns into a living nightmare for Loren. Throughout the film it is hard to tell if she is imagining it, being taunted for being a rookie or legit is in a haunted police station. This is what makes the tension build and keep you watching. Their are some truly disturbing images in this movie that are subtle yet very effective to get under your skin. The highlight of this movie is just not being sure through the whole thing just what exactly is going on. This leads you to a fantastic ending that will keep you thinking after the credits roll. All the elements of a quality horror movie are here along with a capable cast of actors and some film devotion from director Anthony DiBlasi. Great Shocktober flick. Check it out.

It's a rarity for movies to use lone character in extreme predicament. This rings especially true for horror movies, since most of them focus on diverse victims to build up tension. Surprisingly, Last Shift creates a very menacing night with great pace, eerie sound effect, visceral practical effect and highly intense atmosphere.

The first night at the job for Jessica (Juliana Harkavy) is also the last night her old precinct is in effect. This old police station is scheduled for closure and it's been in tattered condition for what seems to be a long time. It's the kind of building one would find in Silent Hill, with the rust and all. Being alone in the cryptic place, Jessica soon finds herself in bizarre unworldly situation.

As the exclusive lead Jessica Harkavy performs admirably. While the movie has several supporting characters, many scenes revolve around her. She brings a good young personality as a police rookie, she also displays adequate composure which slowly fades as her mind is exhausted. There's plenty of good convincing reactions from her as well as slightly more desperate ones when the paranormal occurrences escalate.

The movie also employs many fresh scare tactics, these are not limited to jump scares alone. Without spoiling much, the horror comes from creepy attrition on the lone cop, sudden swings of tones or simply precise timing for haunting. This frankly took me by surprise, they are effective either by playing with audience's expectation so well or just creating frightening bursts of ominous apparition.

Visually, it's dark but doesn't venture too much into vagueness. The occasional glimpse is deliberate, making good use of shadow and light. Sound effects play important role too, there are multiple scenes where the trickling and humming pique enough curiosity to excellently create the atmosphere.

It's not without flaws though. Not every scare is spot-on, a couple of them are less effective, and the movie still uses some fast editing. However, they are just minor hindrance as the movie keeps a solid consistent pace and its finer moments easily overshadow these hiccups.

Last Shift is a pleasant surprise. Delightfully intense and utterly creepy, it's one of the sleeper horrors in recent years.

So I think most people's main beef with horror movies nowadays are that they just aren't scary anymore. Personally I never really cared whether or not a horror movie was scary since it's very rare that a movie freaks me out in any way. But this flick caught me off guard and had me feeling pretty creeped out a few times.

I haven't really been a huge fan of Anthony DiBlasi's past films but he really did an excellent job with this one. The movie is centered around one character alone in a police station, so we aren't really treated to any great dialogue or anything, it most relies on scares and creating a terrifying atmosphere. Some of the jump scares didn't really land on my but what really got me was just the overall creepy feel of the film, the majority of the film keeps you in a very dark and dreary place.

This wasn't without flaws though, some of the effects were a little overdone and a lot of the main characters action were very facepalm worthy, but most of them were understandable to keep up the pace of the film. Also the main actresses performance wasn't perfect, but luckily the movie really didn't need to rely on her acting.

I really enjoyed this, it was a very nice surprise and I am glad that I stumbled across it.