I really enjoyed director Anthony DiBlasi’s adaptation of
Clive Barker’s Dread (2009) so I was intrigued for the film Last Shift (2014). Written by DiBlasi and Scott Poiley the film
follows the first day of rookie police officer Jessica Loren (Juliana Harkavy)
during the last night of a police precinct set to shut its doors
permanently. By herself at the station,
she gets a mysterious phone call from a girl claiming to need help but with no
support staff she doesn’t know how she can help. She also starts to see things and a homeless
man seems to be able to get in and out of the station despite all the doors
being locked. Soon she begins to realize
that everything is not what it seems to be.
Harkavy is an extremely capable actress who holds her own
throughout the film very well. DiBlasi’s
direction is also key to keeping audiences on edge throughout since the film is
almost exclusively on Harkavy’s shoulders.
I’m the first to admit I’m not a fan of the “jump scare” and this film
is filled with them. It actually is a
crutch for the film as by the halfway mark it seems like that is the only way
the film knows how to unnerve the audience and it becomes repetitive really
fast.
The film wants to shock and awe but it lacks any real
suspense. Harkavy does a good job keeping
the film moving forward but the biggest trick is not boring the audience as
they slowly learn the truth about the police station as her character
does. The film isn’t the best of its
kind but it does have great make-up FX and a brilliant score that is creepy and
fits well with the film.
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