Last Shift 2014 Quick Review

Last Shift 2014 Quick Review

Last Shift 2014 Quick Review

Last Shift 2014 Poster Image

Last Shift. It’s Jessica Loren’s first shift as a police officer. She must spend the graveyard shift alone, babysitting the last night of a closing police station. The question becomes, is she really alone?

Last Shift is scary, creepy and interesting. It’s also frustrating and filled with so many, “Don’t fucking do that!” moments that keep it from being a great film. The acting is fine. Juliana Harkavy is totally believable in the role of Jessica Loren, the rookie cop. She’s in every scene and her performance never grows old or stale. The story is also good. It’s just a few of the little things that ruin the overall experience. Just too many times when I grew frustrated at the decisions our young rookie cop made.

The special effect are well done. There are some very nice closeups of the various makeups and they’re all wonderfully gruesome. You don’t see a lot of closeups of the makeup in a lot of lower budget movies because the quality just isn’t there. It’s a lot of quick cuts and the camera keeps its distance from the effect. That’s not the case in Last Shift. Really strong effects done by Lee Grimes.

Creepy Girl | Last Shift

There’s just so much to like about Last Shift. Last Shift also contains some homages to other great films, A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Sixth Sense to name a few. It’s obvious the filmmakers are fans of the genre.

I’m on the bubble here. I think what bothered me were all the slamming doors or the expectation of them. At one point Jessica, the rookie cop gets herself locked in a room. Sort of predictable. Then it’s scene after scene of her walking into other rooms and she seems to have no memory of getting locked in the last room. One would think after that mistake she’d be a little more wary of walking into rooms without making sure the door isn’t going to swing shut again.

Then, there was the ending. I don’t want to give it away but I wasn’t thrilled with it. I liked parts of it. I can’t go into detail without ruining it so I will say, I liked all of it but the finality of it. After you see it, you’ll understand what I am saying.

A good ending can make or break a film. The only exception to that is Titanic. Serious, they kill off the main character for no reason. Then, to top it all off, old Rose throwing that priceless diamond into the ocean and people loved the fucking movie! Brilliant film otherwise. Anyways, Last Shift’s ending just didn’t work for me. I got where the film was going. It just wasn’t the outcome I was looking for. The ending basically said, “You just watched and cared for no reason.” But, I honestly don’t know how the film could have ended any differently.

So I say watch it. Let me know what you thought of the ending. As I write this sentence I’m also at the end of the Last Shift. I always have the movie on as I write these reviews. Maybe it’s me and not the ending. Maybe all that needs to be said about this movie is how I started this review? “Last Shift is scary, creepy and interesting.” When it comes down to it, that’s kinda the point of a horror movie.

To all two and a half fans of this site, it’s on you now. Watch it and tell me what you think.

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Jessabelle 2014 Quick Review

Jessabelle 2014 Quick Review

Jessabelle 2014 Quick Review

Jessabelle 2014 Poster Image

Jessabelle 2014. After barely surviving a horrific car accident Jessie Laurent returns home to Louisiana to stay with her father while she recuperates. She discovers three old VHS tapes left to her by her late mother. They soon reveal that Jessabelle is being haunted and if she wants to survive, she will need to go down a dark path.

I saw Jessabelle about a year ago and what I remember most is how really, really good it was until the end. It wasn’t a bad ending, it didn’t ruin the movie. Just wasn’t the happy ending I was looking for. I would be interested in hearing what others think about it. Great story, good acting, creepy, scary with a solid spooky atmosphere.

The acting was good with a lot of character actors you’re sure to recognize. I don’t recall a bad actor in the bunch. I have Jessabelle on as I write this review and was just reminded of a few of those character actors. The story was strong. There’s a real mystery here. The best ghost stories have them. It’s all about the who and they why. These are the kind of supernatural tales I love the most.

Jessabelle Bathtub Scare Scene

The locations were beautiful. It’s supposed to be set in Louisiana but was filmed in North Carolina. I’ve been to Louisiana several times, never noticed Jessabelle wasn’t really filmed in Louisiana. Still they managed to capture the feel of Louisiana. Jessabele’s father’s house she works as creepy but not over the top. The outdoor scenes don’t disappoint either.

Everything about Jessabelle is well done. If you love a good ghost story, I think you’ll love this one. If you’re looking for some teens have sex and get killed, this isn’t it. Looking for a solid story that is creepy and scary. Watch this. Side note, there’s nothing wrong with horror movies with teens having sex and getting killed. Just saying, if you’re mood for one of the few horror movies that doesn’t involve that, this would be a great choice.

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The Innkeepers 2011 Quick Review

The Innkeepers 2011 Quick Review

The Innkeepers 2011 Quick Review

The Innkeepers Poster Poster Image

The Innkeepers is about a two employees working the last weekend before the Inn Closes for good. With only a couple of guests staying for the weekend they decide this is their final chance to do some serious ghost hunting and prove the place is haunted once and for all. The more they hunt, the more they find.

Written and Directed By
Ti West

Cast:
Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis

The Innkeepers has been on my list to watch for a while now. I am sorry that I put it off for so long. I loved everything about this movie except for the ending. It doesn’t ruin the movie but it doesn’t do the movie justice. The acting, the dialog, the story, the direction and cinematography all superb. With the exception of the ending there just isn’t much not to like about this movie.

Ti West, the writer and director does an excellent job of capturing everything from the mundane and monotony of the the employees at the beginning of The Innkeepers. And, he did it without making the audience feel bored. Then, as the story progresses he builds the tension and suspense until it’s final climactic glory. But, it was the dialog that most caught my attention. There was a line uttered by Luke played by Pat Healy about being a realist that is almost verbatim to what I have been saying to describe myself or rather my philosophy for decades. It made me wonder if I had met the guy before.

The Acting was great and Sara Paxton was amazing as Clair. The faces she makes are so expressive. I fell in love with her character instantly. Pat Healy was great. His character Luke was an asshole most of the time but not to the point of total douchery. That’s not easy to pull off. You want to like the guy but you can’t and then you can. It made for an interesting character.

Now, as mentioned, the ending. A bad ending can ruin an otherwise good horror movie. This didn’t ruin the movie by any means. I am sure it’s possible that some may have even been okay with the ending. I was not. But, I have to admit that maybe I just didn’t get the ending? I felt it needed more. It’s like there was a twist to it that I felt was supposed to have a deeper meaning to it that I just didn’t see. However, I can’t stress enough to not let that stop you from watching this. It’s a good story. There’s some good creepiness and some decent scares to it. And, Sara Paxton’s performance was brilliant.

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