Last Shift (2014)

Rookie officer Jessica Loren (Juliana Harkavy)is assigned to work the last shift at a police station before it is due to close. This seemingly routine task soon turns into a nightmare when the 'lone' officer starts noticing paranormal activity within the police station.

Part of the beauty with the Last Shift lies with its simplicity - it essentially takes place in one location and attempts to use its isolated setting to try and draw fear from the audience. I suppose it succeeds in this respect to a certain degree, but there are a whole host of problems with this film....

The isolated setting does serve the film well in the early stages in that there's a sense of claustrophobia to proceedings and it is possible to feel some fear for our protagonist, but sadly director Anthony DiBlasi doesn't seem to know how to develop the story in a manner that is either scary or interesting (many of the scenes are repetitive and start to become tiresome). Whist the film has a solid protagonist it does lack a decent antagonist (meaning that it never really felt that scary to me). In fact it is the laziness inherent in this film that makes it so dull (as well as featuring scene after scene that makes the whole film feel as though it's on some kind of tedious loop at times, the film also has other unimaginative sequences such as a pile of chairs being stacked on top of one another - how many times have we seen this before???). Even when the antagonists are introduced, DiBlasi mostly reduces them to being rather thinly drawn caricatures who spend most of their time pouncing at the screen in rather cheap 'cinematic' fashion - a better developed backstory on the Paymon family might have made the film slightly more interesting.

Whilst DiBlasi's narrative is dull and repetitive I got the feeling that he was trying to compensate for this in other areas; he really went to town in the makeup that he used on the Paymon family (some of it is actually quite good), but again it felt like he was content in making them 'look' scary rather than actually making them scary (there is a difference).

Julian Harkavy is the main bright spot in this tedious mess and she is very convincing in her respect role. She gives an incredibly intense performance when required, she's a tough cookie who can handle herself, but has a certain vulnerability about her which helps to keep the picture fairly grounded.

DiBlasi seems to lose control towards the end where things start to get silly and the film is chocked full of WTF moments towards the end. With its isolated setting this could have been good, but it's clichéd, repetitive, tedious, and long sections of it are rather boring.

Fmovies: Last Shift is one of those horror films that takes upon the cliché / overused aspect of horror; The paranormal, confined overall environment aspects that commonly miss the mark, or fall flat on its face along the lines. This film however takes what has been commonly used, and proves that it can still be used, can still be scary, and that can still overall manage to succeed on many levels.

We follow Jessica, a newly hired rookie of the police force. Her first task is to practically guard what is now an old station. While doing so, she is unaware of the dark past, the past of which is still lingering, and in a sense has emotional connection with her. First off, the plot of this movie stands out. Having a single character go through many, many hellish, and paranormal events in such a confined area sets a tone. That tone being suspense. The film carries out the plot, story-line, and character past connections very smoothly. Throughout this entire film the plot always manages to tie in with the unknown, the unknown of which we get to learn as the film progresses, unleashing oncoming story changes, plot twists, and overall opening opportunities for good scares. It's a very interesting plot, also, that manages not to fall apart, but instead keep interesting for the viewer. This film always manages to keep its grip. Our character Jessica is a pretty likable character. She is a character we, the audience feel for, and actually enjoy. Her character was solidly executed, and acted throughout the entire film as well; Her emotions show well for the most part, and overall succeed in the situations she is put through. The situations / Paranormal activities that befall her are intriguing; Again. For the small space, and for the specific place she is in, I feel as if the film did an amazing job keeping the activities new, and fresh each time they befall. Nothing felt repetitive. The same occurrences didn't happen over, and over like other paranormal films. Each occurrence, also, tied in with the story, and again opened new story / twist opportunities. Finally the occurrences were actually scary. This film avoided over-wearing itself out. There wasn't useless jump-scares that meant nothing, instead jump-scares that actually revolved around the story, as well as the paranormal threats that involve the story. Thee scares played the right moments, didn't overexert themselves, and overall succeeded in drawing tension, being actually scary, and even terrifying to the point of chills most the ways of the film. If not scary, the events that befell our main character were suspenseful. The atmosphere of this film put the cherry on the cake overall. As the events befell, the atmosphere would set in completely, and overall would add even higher suspense, and intensity.

In conclusion, this was one hell of a surprise! This is a film that actually manages to draw intensity, and rise the levels of such as the film progresses. It also succeeds well in actually being scary, and even terrifying. There were rightly placed jump-scares, and when such scares came actually succeeded in being effective, at the same time keeping apart of the film, and not being a random fill-in ( For example a random cat jumping at the camera. ) The film also actually manages to tie in a few unique paranormal aspects, and scares; Plot- wise as well, this film kept unique, and turned something commonly seen into something great again. The characters were fine, and the acting was quite fine as well. Only bad thing I could possibly say is that there was a bit o

I have to give credit to Juliana Harkavy because if not for her convincing performance, I would not have been able to finish this heap of garbage. Last Shift follows an officer covering the final overnight shift of a police station that's closing down. It's one of those isolated, creepy slow burn movies that can get under your skin. At least, that's what it could have been. What Last Shift lacks most is subtlety. There are jump scares *everywhere*. There's one sequence where it's just "boo!" after "jump!" after "ahh!" and it's just f*cking annoying after a while because none of it works. This wouldn't be such an issue if the story was relatable but it's not. The creepy cult angle has been done a million times before. Last Shift also features every haunting trope in existence - doors slamming, dead people hallucinations, whispering, singing - it's freaking exhausting.

The way the story is told is even worse. They introduce characters solely for the purpose of exposition. Instead of trying to push the narrative forward with some character development or any semblance of humanity, these characters just say exactly what's going on and then leave. Nothing is left to the imagination. The movie plays its hand right off the top and forces us down this rabbit hole of insanity and stupidity for an hour and a half. Another thing is the protagonist isn't relatable. Harkavy gave a fine performance given the material but her character is a dumbass. She should've hauled ass out of there twenty minutes into the movie but no, staying and protecting this abandoned sh*thole of a police station is more important than keeping her sanity. Yeah, no.

There's nothing salvageable here. The subject matter is inherently disturbing but it's exploitation in its purist form. It doesn't go into the psychology of cults or having a family member tied to a heinous crime. It's just like, hey, sh*t happens. Surface level scares that don't even scratch the surface. After a while of bashing you over the head with jump scares you're so desensitized to everything it becomes a waiting game for the movie to end. I guess Last Shift succeeds as an exercise in patience - how long can you sit through every poorly constructed horror cliché known to man? I recommend skipping this shift, even if it means losing the job. Whatever they're paying, it's not worth this.

Last Shift fmovies. My quick rating - 6,3/10. Another surprise low budget horror film that shows the amount of money you put in has nothing to do with the end product. The movie itself starts out simple (yet obvious) enough with a rookie officer, Loren (Juliana Harkavy) pulling last shift duty on a closing precinct. I use that word since the premise is awfully familiar with "Assault on Precinct 13". Anyway, that being said, the story similarities end there. I did catch a few camera shots and setup scares that also reminded me of John Carpenter style, but what is wrong with borrowing from a master? So the inevitable ensues and a story of a cult leader type figure killing a few of his followers and himself in the prison (the story is intermingled throughout via flashbacks and visions of old footage) turns into a living nightmare for Loren. Throughout the film it is hard to tell if she is imagining it, being taunted for being a rookie or legit is in a haunted police station. This is what makes the tension build and keep you watching. Their are some truly disturbing images in this movie that are subtle yet very effective to get under your skin. The highlight of this movie is just not being sure through the whole thing just what exactly is going on. This leads you to a fantastic ending that will keep you thinking after the credits roll. All the elements of a quality horror movie are here along with a capable cast of actors and some film devotion from director Anthony DiBlasi. Great Shocktober flick. Check it out.

This is one of those movies where jump scares are put to good use. There is a lot of tension build-up leading to the scares and there are enough quiet yet suspenseful parts that when the jump-scares occur are still a surprise even if you know they are coming. The overall feel of the movie is very eerie, the makeup effects are well done and the acting is good for a smaller production. While I understand that some movies are doomed by the overuse of jump-scares, this is not one of those movies. The timing of the scares, and the overall pacing of the movie is just fast enough to keep the scares coming while still giving you time to let your guard down and your heart rate to drop.

"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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