Movie review: Last Shift

A rookie police officer is assigned to guard an empty police station until hazardous materials and evidence are removed so it can be closed. Alone in the station at night, it doesn't take long for Officer Loren to understand why the station is being abandoned.

Juliana Harkavy (Officer Loren), Joshua Mikel (Paymon), J. LaRose (Patrick Black), Natalie Victoria (Marigold), Sarah Sculco (Kitty Paymon), Kathryn Kilger (Dorthea Paymon), Mary Poiley (Birdie).

Last Shift begins quietly enough when Loren learns of her assignment guarding the empty police station. With the first six minutes of the film out of the way, character introductions completed, and the basic plot ready before us, we can now enjoy the next 80 minutes of insanity. The station, or Loren's brain itself, comes up with some nice creepy scenes, some good BOO moments, and a bit of horror. Appearing to be a low-budget film, Last Shift moves along at a decent pace and does a reasonable job with the horror.

Acting was a little bland but not awful. Harkavy felt a bit rough at times but overall did a decent job. Mikel and the remainder of the cast, despite minimal dialogue and interaction, seemed to do pretty well.

Camera work was actually pretty good with some well focused and interesting scenes. Sets and backgrounds were fairly boring which actually added to the psychological aspect of the film. CGI and action scenes were nicely done with good gore and a realistic feel. Dialogue was somewhat sparse and could have used an energy boost. Sound and soundtrack were good.

Last Shift is a decent horror flick that takes a fairly common theme and confuses the line between the supernatural and insanity fairly well. Though not a high-energy flick, the story moves along fairly well and does a reasonable job with the horror. Genre fans may enjoy this one while those who enjoy high production values or intense action may be disappointed.

With disturbing adult situations and images, blood and gore, foul language, and graphic violence save this for older teens and above.

Released: 2014
Reviewed: 2.3.16
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Horror, Psychological Horror, Supernatural Horror, Thrillers, Supernatural Thrillers

copyright ©2016 Dave Riedel