Last Gasp (1995) User Reviews

As I gasp in surprise.

[lost-in-limbo · 6/10 · 28 December 2008]

I remember seeing this particular straight-to-video feature when it first came out, and thinking that it was better than your average output within that market. It's far from great, but the 'Last Gasp' still holds up quite well upon my second viewing. I remember my interest being peaked by the inclusion of the vastly underrated actor Robert Patrick (who seemed to get stuck in a lot of b-grade stuff) and the fascinating spiritual/supernatural premise.

Leslie Chase, a heartless property developer wipes out a Totec Indian tribe for interfering with his construction, and murders the Indian chieftain. Legend has it that if you kill the chieftain the soul escapes from their dying breath and enters the nearest human. Now cursed with the sacrificial spirit, Chase tactically kills to feed his on-going taste for flesh and to please the spirits. Nora Weeks enters the frame when her boyfriend disappears, and gets a private detective to dig up where he could be and it leads her to Chase.

It begins better than it actually concludes, but the stalwart story stays stimulating and manages a few surprises up its sleeve. Even with moments of questionable side-effects and a predictable ending. What starts off as an investigative story, transcends into an intense cat and mouse match-up between Chase (who has no real control over his possession) and Weeks. For such a lesser budget it's slickly directed by Scott McGinnis, and the atmosphere is dark and eerie with a leering music score that complements it. The attacks scenes are well done and you totally feel the pain of slicing the victim's Achilles tendons. Ouch! There's a bit blood on show, but that's over-taken by the amount of nudity and soft-core sex that's weaved in. So it's a win-win for anyone who craves this in their horror entertainment. Performances are soundly delivered. Patrick is outstanding blending his suave persona with his murderous impulse and Joanna Pacula is good as she emit's a vulnerable side, but still holding a toughness about her. The gorgeous Mimi Craven (Wes Craven's ex-wife) brings a bubbly presence to her part and Vyto Ruginis makes the most as the hired-detective.

Earnest little B-feature.

Humdrum

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 22 April 2018]

LAST GASP is a straight-to-video horror/thriller of the 1990s. It's a rather trite and forgettable kind of story, although perhaps worth a look for fans of the genre who enjoy seeing films in their '90s heyday. The film is one of many similar thrillers that Robert Patrick made after TERMINATOR 2, when he was on the crest of a wave for a while before slipping into obscurity. He plays a slimy property developer who thinks nothing of butchering some Native Americans who are in the way of a new estate he wants to build. Unfortunately for him, the spirit of a shaman enters his body and possesses him, causing him to go on a subsequent killing spree. The beautiful Joanna Pacula ends up as the object of his obsession. This film is generally par for the course, with some semi-decent performances but generally humdrum direction and more than a little cliche about it.

Another dud from Vinegar Syndrome.

[JasonKleeberg · 2/10 · 2 April 2021]

A real estate developer named Leslie Chase gets stuck in a difficult situation when a Totec Indian tribe gets mad that he's developing on their land. Instead of asking them to leave nicely, he murders them all with shotguns. Unfortunately, when he murders the chief, something happens and he becomes possessed with the same murderous rage with a penchant for slashing Achilles tendons and a taste for human flesh.

A while later, Nora Weeks's husband Julian goes missing near the development. She hires a private detective to figure out where he went, and they both run into Mr. Chase in the process.

You get to see Robert Patrick chew the screen and look directly into the camera multiple times, so that's a plus. Joanna Pacula is great as the female lead, she's definitely acting way harder than she needed to.

There's not really much in terms of gore, but there is quite a bit of nudity. It doesn't all make sense (take the couple that jaunts off into a cornfield to bang just feet from a perfectly good truck), but it's well done. There's a particular scene in which Robert Patrick bangs Mimi Craven, yes, Wes Craven's ex-wife, that's very well done. We never see Leslie Chase become a cannibal, but we sure as hell watch him eat Mimi (if you know what I'm sayin')!

There's one scene that's so wildly out of place that I almost fell out of my chair laughing. See, Nora is distraught that her husband, Julian has gone missing. So distraught, that we get to see a flashback of them banging. It switches to a very "Dawson's Creek"-esque music track during this scene in which we see way more of Julian that Nora. It felt like it belonged in another film entirely.

Robert Patrick needed a better agent in the 90's. After what could have been an absolute star-making turn as the T-1000 in Terminator 2, he was cast in the worst, bottom of the barrel films up until 1997's Copland, and yes, Last Gasp is one of those turds. He's great it in as a suave real estate developer who sometimes puts on face paint and kills people, but they try to paint him as sympathetic at one point and it just doesn't work. Look, we don't care that he doesn't want to go on these murder hunts to kill people, you know why? Because he helped murder an entire tribe of Indians.

There's also no explanation of any of the supernatural elements of the curse, but there are a lot of questions. Why does the soul jump from body to body? Why does Robert Patrick need to toss face paint and Indian gear on before he goes wild? And why are the police in that area absolutely worthless?

This feels like a TNT made-for-TV film, but with breasts. Lots of tight shots, dark cinematography, editing that doesn't exactly line up, stupid music, an ending "twist" that you'll see coming from a country mile, and characters that you won't really give a hoot about. I almost forgot everything that happened the minute I turned this film off.

This was another dud for me. I get that some people probably have an attachment to it from when they were younger, but it just felt like a disappointing film from all aspects. It's drab, lacks any kind of...bite, and aside from Robert Patrick and Joanna Pacula, no one is pulling their weight.

For more reviews of Vinegar Syndrome titles, check out the Force Five Podcast.

Part Slasher, Part Erotic Thriller, Part Horror & All Entertaining.

[lukem-52760 · 7/10 · 9 March 2022]

1995's Last Gasp is a such a fun flick that is very entertaining & has a great performance from the underrated Robert Patrick.

First off I've been a huge fan of Robert Patrick since Terminator 2 & Die Hard 2 way back when i was little & watching them on video. Patrick has a look & presence that stands out & after the excellent From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999) he became one of my favourite actors ever. I used to hunt down Patrick films on video way back the late 90s & early 2000's & i found a great little video shop called Enterprise Video & there they had a section or shelf just for Robert Patrick (i also got many James Belushi films there too) I discovered some Robert Patrick gems in there such as Hong Kong 97, Tactical Assault, Zero Tolerance, The Vivero Letter & Last Gasp. I also loved Patrick in The Faculty, Cop Land, D-Tox, Backflash & more. Patrick is a guy that can pop up in anything from many direct-to-video films to big budget movies & he's always damn good. Although Patrick is mostly looked at as a "Character Actor" or a B-movie actor, he's still one of the best. Checkout Patrick's small but damn good role in the Denzel Washington Thriller Safehouse for an example of what a scene stealer & screen presence he is.

Last Gasp is a supernatural thriller with slasher & horror elements with a bit of that very 90's erotic thriller stuff mixed in. Robert Patrick (a very physically strong & menacing performance) plays a ruthless land developer named Leslie Chase & he wipes out a forest tribe somewhere in Mexico, so he can build a hotel on their land but the tribes leader with his Last Gasp cursed Leslie to live as one of their tribesmen. Leslie becomes rich with his land developing & lives in a huge mansion & drives expensive cars but he doesn't have it all as he's driven to paint himself up in tribal makeup & run around at night half naked like a warrior & kill. Leslie sacrifices & eats his victims & hunts like a savage beast & Patrick gives a damn convincing performance with his muscled physicality & evil eyes he's creepy. The Totec Indian tribe he slaughtered posess his soul. Things get crazy when a lady named Norah, a great performance by Joanna Pacula (Marked For Death,Virus) sets out to investigate what happened to her boyfriend when he disappeared after working for Leslie. Also Norah's best friend Blondie is a great character played by Mimi Craven, both ladies are so natural on screen & i like both characters alot. Also bit-part actor Shashawnee Hall (RIP) has a perfect little part as a Detective & he's also been in another Robert Patrick B-movie Thriller called ZERO TOLERANCE (its excellent) there Hall played one of Patrick's fellow FBI agent's, he was a decent little B-movie actor.

There's a nice supernatural fantasy atmosphere to this classy flick & i love that it's so perfectly 90s as i have great Nostalgia for that era & time & the film actually feels strangly comforting, probably because i grew up in that era & the simpler times.

Anyway, Last Gasp is damn good piece of old school direct-to-video 90's thriller entertainment with a great Robert Patrick performance.

The look (very cosy & erotic thriller style) & the music also pure 90's & nice. I love these types of B-movies because they give the supporting actors & "Character Actor's" a chance to be the lead & let's be honest that Actor's like Robert Patrick, Ron Perlman, William Sadler, Ernie Hudson, William Forsythe, Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Tom Atkins, Lance Henriksen, Tony Todd, Barry Pepper, Robert Davi, Robert Forster, James Belushi & that's just an example, are way more interesting to watch than most of the "Popular" Actor's (bland Brad Pitt & Tom Cult Cruise come to mind) that everyone seems to love!!!!

There's some erotic sex scenes that are cheesy funny but mostly Last Gasp plays it properly & the violent scenes are proper bloody slasher stuff.

A real GEM.

evil jumps from host to host will it never end?

[discos · 8/10 · 7 June 2001]

I have to admit , I'm not a horror movie fan but this was very watchable and had a real story to it rather than just straight to gore!

a wealthy property developer wipes out an Indian tribe but saves the chief for himself and of course badness and murder ensue.After our heroine discovers the truth , it turns into a will she, won't she kill him for the murder of her other half,if it means she will be the next host,or is it just a guilty concience and he is just psychoticlly living out the myth he was told?

A film really worth watching ,if you can get hold of it!(I gave it an 8)

Joanna Pacula stunning as always, but the rest.....

[liderc · 19 July 2000]

The good thing about this movie is Joanna Pacula: with her dazzling non-standard beauty she takes your breath when she is on the screen. The story has good ideas, but it isn't presented very thrilling on the screen. At the beginning, you except more of it as you get.