Last Shift (2014)

A rookie cop's 1st shift alone in the last night of a closing police station turns into a living nightmare.

Director:

Anthony DiBlasi

Writers:

Anthony DiBlasi, Scott Poiley

Stars:

Juliana Harkavy, Joshua Mikel, Hank Stone

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Juliana Harkavy	...	Jessica Loren
Joshua Mikel	...	John Michael Paymon
Hank Stone	...	Grip Cohen
J. LaRose	...	Patrick Black
Sarah Sculco	...	Kitty Paymon
Kathryn Kilger	...	Dorthea Paymon
Natalie Victoria	...	Marigold
Mary Lankford Poiley	...	Birdie (as Mary Lankford)
Matt Doman	...	Officer Ryan Price
Lindsi Jeter	...	Bashed Face Betty / Ghost Girl
Randy Molnar	...	Steve Loren
Jason Fusco	...	Bio Joe / Paymon Follower #1
Scott Poiley	...	Bio Clean #3
Jeremy S. Brock	...	Detective
Skyler Poiley	...	Ghost Girl

Storyline

From director Anthony DiBlasi comes a Manson inspired horror film centering around a transitioning police station. Officer Jessica Loren has been assigned to wait for a Hazmat team to pick up bio-hazardous waste from the station's armory. But unbeknownst to Jessica, cult Leader John Michael Paymon has haunted the department ever since he and two of this followers committed suicide a year ago to date. And now, Jessica is about to find out how dangerous they can be when she's left alone on this Last Shift.

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Plot Keywords:

police station | cult leader | supernatural power | psychotronic film | police officer | 

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Taglines:

All Hail The King of Hell.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for bloody horror violence, disturbing images, and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The police station is actually the Sanford, FL police station that had recently been shut down and replaced by a new police/fire complex built a few blocks away.

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Goofs

When Officer Price walk out from office, you can see crew reflections first on the window and second time on glass door.

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Quotes

John Michael Paymon: I am the dancing flame.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 20 Horror Movies That Were Better Than We Expected (2020)

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Soundtracks

Father, I Have Come for You
Written by Meghan Toohey
Performed by Meghan Toohey

User Reviews

Amazing use of simple premise

It's a rarity for movies to use lone character in extreme predicament. This rings especially true for horror movies, since most of them focus on diverse victims to build up tension. Surprisingly, Last Shift creates a very menacing night with great pace, eerie sound effect, visceral practical effect and highly intense atmosphere.

The first night at the job for Jessica (Juliana Harkavy) is also the last night her old precinct is in effect. This old police station is scheduled for closure and it's been in tattered condition for what seems to be a long time. It's the kind of building one would find in Silent Hill, with the rust and all. Being alone in the cryptic place, Jessica soon finds herself in bizarre unworldly situation.

As the exclusive lead Jessica Harkavy performs admirably. While the movie has several supporting characters, many scenes revolve around her. She brings a good young personality as a police rookie, she also displays adequate composure which slowly fades as her mind is exhausted. There's plenty of good convincing reactions from her as well as slightly more desperate ones when the paranormal occurrences escalate.

The movie also employs many fresh scare tactics, these are not limited to jump scares alone. Without spoiling much, the horror comes from creepy attrition on the lone cop, sudden swings of tones or simply precise timing for haunting. This frankly took me by surprise, they are effective either by playing with audience's expectation so well or just creating frightening bursts of ominous apparition.

Visually, it's dark but doesn't venture too much into vagueness. The occasional glimpse is deliberate, making good use of shadow and light. Sound effects play important role too, there are multiple scenes where the trickling and humming pique enough curiosity to excellently create the atmosphere.

It's not without flaws though. Not every scare is spot-on, a couple of them are less effective, and the movie still uses some fast editing. However, they are just minor hindrance as the movie keeps a solid consistent pace and its finer moments easily overshadow these hiccups.

Last Shift is a pleasant surprise. Delightfully intense and utterly creepy, it's one of the sleeper horrors in recent years.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Website

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 October 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Last Shift

Filming Locations:

Sanford, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Skyra Entertainment, Skyra Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39:1