Last Straw

As far as crime-horror-thrillers go...this isn't half bad.

Though, it's quite cliche.

The whole story takes place in, and around, a diner, run by a man and his daughter, in a small town, where oppourtunities aren't exactly omnipresent.

So, when a series of events leads to one of the employees getting fired...things get a little out of control.

Which is to say, an understatement.

As one thing leads to another...and violence ensues.

The whole thing is entertaining enough, but it's certainly not without it's faults.

Because, on top of ruining the mystery far too early...the "twist" is ridiculously implausible.

And kind of ruins the whole last bit of the film.

The film then ends on a note that- while it does make sense- really forces you to dig deep in order to grasp the meaning.

Which I feel flies over most viewers heads.

As it seems, almost randomly, thrown in as the conclusion.

That being said, it's not a horrible film.

Even if you don't "get" the ending...you can still be entertained by the violence-laden journey, in a mindless sort of way.

But it's definitely not great, either.

As, like I mentioned above, I think clarity will elude most viewers.

4 out of 10.

What starts out as a 'siege' thriller develops into something rather original in its dissection into small midwestern lives of bored teenagers with nothing to do, ampted up on meds for bio polar and depression , smoking crack for release, and with limited funds; it also works as a pertinent tale of pranking gone wrong . Something young people should see and learn from!

It may bore those looking for gore and masked intruders looking to settle scores but that would be derivative , what it proposes is how these bored teenagers act- ok it ain't Rivers Edge but it's sharp and different.

The chilly photography and sparse soundtrack work well and whilst the title Last Straw works the (?) original title 'The Late Shift' works better.

Low budget does not always mean bad movie. I admire the guts of takes to put it all together let alone act and direct and so forth. However. Why make the lead character so unsympathetic and obnoxious? Dont you want the audience to sympathize and root for your lead characters? When you succeed in making them annoying AND stupid, no one cares about them. In some cases the audience may take the side of the bad guys. That is exactly what happens here. And this is BEFORE the reveals that are supposed to make our opinion change about the characters. Maybe some more script polishing was needed to bring this up to par. Still worth watching but couldve been better.

Last Straw: Noirish film which segues into horror. We know from the opening scenes that there has been a massacre at a diner, then we go back 24 hours to find out how it came about. Nancy (Jessica Belkin) is having a bad day, she finds out that she's pregnant, her car breaks down on the way to work. When she gets to the diner owned by her father he tells her that she is also going to have to work the night shift (seeing as she is manager) as someone has called in sick. The day gets worse, mask wearing teens on mopeds harass her, bring roadkill into the doner, threaten that they will be back. She argues with the cook, sacks him. Now she will be alone on the night shift. As the night arrives the mask wearers return and freak her out, she calls the cops but the one that arrives is startled when she mentions mopeds. Then the real terror starts. Nothing is ever quite what it seems here as we observe the same scenes replayed from different points of view and more information is elicited. There are quite a few gruesome killings but Nancy isn't just a victim. Meat tenderisers, carving knives and pans of hot oil are quite effective as weapons. The results can be disturbing though and this is not a film for the squeamish. Hampered a bit by it;d low budget it nevertheless makes good use if the diner as a battleground and hunting area. A few interesting plot twists make this a Final Girl film worth watching. Directed by Alan Scott Neal, Written by Taylor Sardoni. 7/10.

I would have given this a 7/8 had it not been for the essentially braindead and completely unnecessary last 20 minutes. It's not the worst thing ever so would recommend giving this a view but the end was completely illogical. The acting was good, the story was good but the ending really spoils it. Everything that was built before was 'realistic' as far as a horror movie can be including decisions by characters etc but then they just decided to just mess it up by making the well woven main characters do things that completely takes you out of the movie and say 'wait, why, wtf'. The director could have done really well with this but decided to trope out.