Last Shift

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.

I wasn't expecting much from this film having read some reviews, but I really enjoyed it. Scary,jumpy and unpredictable.Some reviewers have criticised the acting of the main actress but I think she did a good job ;not easy to carry an entire movie by yourself and she had beautiful green eyes to boot. Was riveted by this film from the very start which managed to suggest nasty things to come without telling you why,what or from which direction.Good storyline and reasonable script coupled with a few chair arm-gripping moments and what more could you want? It just shows what you can achieve with some level of intelligence,dedication,imagination and skill even if your budget is limited.Producers of mindless Hollywood pap please take note.

Starts solid with building a creepy atmosphere but after 20 minutes it becomes "Jump scare on Precinct 13". Actually, I don't hate jump scares and I think if used effectively and moderately this scare tactic can be terrifying and entertaining. Many successful films like Jaws, The Thing or Se7en use it marvelously and sometimes mediocre movies like The Exorcist III can earn a legendary status with a well-made jump scare scene. Last Shift isn't terrible at using jump scares. Most of the time the build-up is fine and sometimes instead of loud noises and quick editing you just see something sinister crawling behind the actress, but there are so many scenes in this film where Juliana Harkavy wanders around. Without a jump scare in the end those scenes would be just pointless and boring. I wish there were more scenes with Officer Price or phone conversations with Monica. It would be much better than watching the protagonist on a loop, investigating the same type of noises and seeing the same creepy images over and over again. The movie also suffers from the clichés of the genre and tries to explain some of them like why she isn't leaving the station or call for back up, why she thinks there is a logical explanation for the things she has witnessed but I think those answers come a little too late. Last Shift is still not bad for a low budget horror movie and at least it mostly uses practical effects instead of crappy CGI and it has pretty decent acting in 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.

"And the commotion the next morning... I got a glimpse into their cell. And the bodies were gone. But...pure evil covered those walls."

My first thought after watching "Last Shift" was : "Damn, Jessica Loren surely deserves a medal for her perseverance". If I was in her shoes I would have abandoned that police station the first second while putting up my middle finger to Sergeant Cohen. I wouldn't stay there a minute longer. But despite all suspicious noises, apparitions and supernatural events, she remains loyal to her post. Is she afraid to fail in her task so she won't be allowed to join the force ? Or doesn't she want to be inferior to what her father meant as a police officer in the past?

I must admit however that it's been a long time since I've seen such an extremely creepy film, although everything is soberly portrayed and there's minimal use of special effects. A rookie is trapped in an office all alone without a living soul to keep her company. All she has to do is get through the night until a cleaning crew arrives in the morning to clean up abandoned evidence. The end result is a series of terrifying scenes, terrifying noises and disturbing images. The film even managed to scare the crap out of me sometimes. Something I'm normally totally immune for.

Despite it being a low-budget film and it all takes place in one place only, they still made very good use of (although well known) horror techniques to make a lengthy horror-trip out of it. Maybe that's already a minor flaw. It all took too long. But eventually it was scary and creepy with a threatening atmosphere and constantly ominous. Especially the gradual tension buildup was successful. The full story is patiently clarified. Although I'm sick and tired of paranormal movies, I was pleasantly surprised.

Juliana Harkavy carries the whole movie in a convincing way. The movie focuses practically entirely on her. Even the group of crazy devil worshipers who start to haunt Jessica can only be admired briefly. There was even a sort of "Sixth Sense" moment with the assistance of police officer Ryan Price (Matt Doman). I just wondered what the tramp actually had to do with it all. Did he just pass by in search of his shoes? A rather bizarre person who served as filling. And despite their brief appearance the three Paymon family members were convincing enough to conclude that this family was extremely insane. Bloodcurdling testimonies which leave nothing to the imagination.

Unfortunately, the end ruined it all again. Uninspired and in terms of originality certainly not of the same level as the rest of the movie. The rest was certainly of a high level. Both the structure of the story, the sound effects and the editing were excellent in this psychological terror film

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