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Jessica Belkin (Pretty Little Liars) plays a small-town gal on the edge in Last Straw, filmmaker Alan Scott Neals edgy debut horror thriller. Expect plenty of blood and several jaw-dropping twists as Belkins desperate character, Nancy, hangs on for dear life after a group of masked assailants make a surprise visit while shes working the night shift at a rural diner. But Belkin welcomes gritty film and TV roles in stories filled with jump scares and psychological pivots. In a recent MovieWeb interview, the actress shared her love of horror thrillers, noting:

I was a blood-sucking vampire, Wren, on American Horror Story: Hotel. I always had a thing for horror growing up. I was the weird kid that would be like, I love horror. It was a full-circle transition back into horror [with Last Straw]. I remember feeling like this was my first...

The Funeral

Stars: Ahmet Rifat Sungar, Cansu Türedi, Tekin Temel | Directed by Orcun Behram

Cemal, a lonely hearse driver, has been entrusted to secretly transport the body of a murdered young woman, Zeynep, to her parents’ home at their final request. But he hears strange groans from the back of the vehicle during the journey, even though Zeynep hasn’t got a pulse. As her body comes back to life, the moment he sets eyes on her, Cemal falls in love with the undead woman. So he must constantly feed her flesh by committing his own murders, even if it means dealing with the police force’s attempts to capture a serial killer.

The Funeral start strong – our protagonist tasked with keeping a body quiet for 30 days is an intriguing premise and poses a Lot of questions about how and why but all that is left behind when the the supernatural element comes into play.

It’s not the small town diner setting that makes Last Straw – the feature directorial debut by Alan Scott Neal – stand out, though it does give it a fresh angle for its home invasion thrills. It’s the unique narrative structure that not only leans into the prevalent feeling of rage but reframes the visceral violence that ensues. While Last Straw ultimately fails to stick to the landing, the commitment to escalating the tension and violence through rage-fueled characters fascinates all the same.

Twenty-year-old Nancy (Jessica Belkin) feels trapped and fed up with her life. Stuck in a transitionary period post-high school, Nancy tries and fails to care for her dead mother’s beloved car and hangs out with her still-in-high-school best pal Tabitha (Tara Raani). Nancy also happens to be bitter about an unwanted pregnancy, which compounds her frustrations with working at her dad’s (Jeremy Sisto) diner as a waitress-turned-manager.