The film is brought to us by Director Anthony DiBlasi. That’s a name that should sound familiar if you were a fan of 2009’s Dread. Much like that film, Last Shift is dark… super dark. It follows rookie officer Jessica Loren through her first night on the job. All 9-1-1 calls have been rerouted to a new police station, so her job is simple; babysit an empty building throughout the night. But this job is anything but simple, and the building is anything but empty. Officer Loren comes face to face with hobos, hookers, ghosts, demons, and deranged followers of a local legend named John Michael Paymon in the film’s 90 minute run time. The atmosphere is thick, the sound design is excellent, and the effects are fantastic. If it had been released 30 years ago, we’d be looking at it as a classic today. I wholeheartedly believe in that. It just has that old-school sort of vibe, and not in a “look at me, I’m retro” sort of way. Last Shift is able to pull off this timeless sense of awareness while being wrapped up in some of the slickest production values that you’ll find in independent horror today. It’s truly impressive.
If you’re looking for faults, you’ll find them, but not many. There are a few instances of CGI that would have been best omitted along wtith a few unexplained plot points. That’s okay, though. The rare use of CGI only stands out due to the beauty of practically everything else, and the open-ended plot points only deepened the mystery for me. Perhaps a second watch would yield the answers that I’m looking for. I wouldn’t mind watching Last Shift again… and that’s something I rarely say. It almost feels like the best 90’s survival horror game that never existed… and I love 90’s survival horror games.
I constantly hear gripes and complaints on Twitter and various other forms of social media where people express their disdain for where the horror genre stands in 2015. And if we’re talking about theatrical releases – I’d be inclined to agree. The truth is, we’re in an entirely new golden-age of horror. Instead of randomly selecting a VHS tape to rent from your local video store and falling in love with something unexpected – you can click a computer mouse a few times for a VOD purchase to accomplish virtually the same thing. The Horror genre is alive and well in 2015, and Last Shift proves it.
Buy/Rent Last Shift on iTunes now: https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/last-shift/id1038248884
Last Shift [Review]
Horrific
The atmosphere is thick, the sound design is excellent, and the effects are fantastic. If it had been released 30 years ago, we’d be looking at it as a classic today. The Horror genre is alive and well in 2015, and Last Shift proves it.
September 23, 2015
I agree with this review. I was watching this at 2 am in the dark and the scares were pretty intense and not predictable. The acting I’d give a 6 out of 10 but other than that solid review.I recommend this to anyone a fan of the genre.
September 23, 2015
Thanks! The DVD includes a ton of cool behind the scenes stuff as well… Like the fact that they used real blood for a lot of the effects. ?
December 3, 2015
I was not impressed by this film. I do not count fx or cgi as the issue, but the way the plot evolved. It had promise and much of it delivered, but the end fell completely flat imho.