El último turno

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!

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.

Last Shift was a nice little surprise, yes it's low-budget & straight-to-dvd but it's better than you would think.

Last Shift is about rookie police officer Jessica Loren (an really good JULIANA HARKAVY) who has been assigned the last shift at a closing down police station & must wait for a hazard crew to collect biochemical evidence. That crew will come at some point through the night & into the early morning hours & Jessica is told not to leave the premises under any circumstances but no one knew that the old police station would be a nightmare of horrific incidents that terrorise poor Jessica. I loved the simple setup, just like how great John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 was in a similar setup, but here the threat comes from inside the closing down police station & not from outside. Actress Juliana Harkavy is great & she is the main focus & the lead solo star of the entire film & she holds everything together & she's excellent to be honest. Juliana gives a strong woman performance but also has the vulnerable & emotional sides to be totally believable, a great actress that i had never seen before so she's an unknown new comer to me & a damn good one.

The scary stuff is all done so well by director Anthony Diblasi (a director that's new to me) & he crafted a psychological horror with the police procedural thriller & made a real treat. I love films set over a night shift (i really like The Possession of Hannah Grace) & someone who has to deal with strange happenings. There's creepy cult stuff going on here & horrific ghostly figures & lots of psychological torment that our rookie endures throughout this night shift. This is a slower paced horror that concentrates on building suspense & an atmosphere of fear & dread & uses its isolated setting to unnerve us, as we feel for rookie Jessica & want her to get the hell outta there. Last Shift makes for a great late-night movie.

I was pleasantly surprised by this little horror gem, a simple setup, a strong lead & a gory good time.

Will Jessica survive the night? Check it out.

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.

Rookie cop Jessica Loren (Juliana Harkavy) spends her first shift manning the desk at a soon-to-be-decommissioned police station, waiting for a clean-up team to come and dispose of some hazardous material. Inexplicable occurrences turn Jessica's first night on the job into a nightmare, as it becomes apparent that the cop shop is haunted by the ghosts of murderous cultists who committed suicide there, as well as the restless spirits of their victims (including Jessica's own father).

A person left alone in a creepy haunted location is hardly a groundbreaking idea for a horror film (indeed, this film reminds me a lot of a film I saw a few nights ago, The Possession of Hannah Grace), and the majority of the time is spent watching Jessica investigating the rooms and corridors of the station after hearing strange noises. It all becomes very repetitive, director Anthony DiBlasi resorting to mechanical jump scares to keep his audience from zoning out entirely. Harkavy does a pretty good job, looking convincingly disturbed by what she is experiencing, but one does wonder what it would take for Loren to call it quits and get the hell out of dodge. I think that a bloody levitating corpse with a bag on its head would be enough for me chuck in my badge and call it a night.

Jessica, however, is made of sterner stuff and sticks it out to the end, which doesn't work out that well for her. Sometimes, it's better to be a coward and live to see another day.