Last Shift (I) (2014) User Reviews

Amazing use of simple premise

[quincytheodore · 7/10 · 19 September 2015]

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.

Well done lower budget horror film. Chills more than scares

[Sabalon · 6/10 · 17 October 2022]

I've been meaning to watch this for a while, and since it's October, seemed like time.

Overall it wasn't a bad movie. Nothing really too surprising in it...typical of this type of movie where you never know what may be real or in the characters head.

What was impressive was the use of light. Almost all of it is in a building with white walls and decently lit hallways, yet there are areas of pure darkness. Whoever did the lighting for this movie did an amazing job.

The whole movie just has a very uncomfortable vibe to it, but very few jump-style scares. (or at least not to me...I've seen so many of these I can pretty much call out when there will be one).

The main actress does a pretty good job. For the most part, she is the movie. She has an interesting job to play between scared and someone assuming she's tired. Other characters are such bit parts that you don't get much opinion, other than the guy playing Sgt Cohen. Guy nails being a jerk!

Creepy & Freaky Psychological Horror Thriller, a Gem.

[lukem-52760 · 7/10 · 28 August 2022]

Last Shift was a nice little surprise, yes it's low-budget & straight-to-dvd but it's better than you would think.

Last Shift is about rookie police officer Jessica Loren (an really good JULIANA HARKAVY) who has been assigned the last shift at a closing down police station & must wait for a hazard crew to collect biochemical evidence. That crew will come at some point through the night & into the early morning hours & Jessica is told not to leave the premises under any circumstances but no one knew that the old police station would be a nightmare of horrific incidents that terrorise poor Jessica. I loved the simple setup, just like how great John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 was in a similar setup, but here the threat comes from inside the closing down police station & not from outside. Actress Juliana Harkavy is great & she is the main focus & the lead solo star of the entire film & she holds everything together & she's excellent to be honest. Juliana gives a strong woman performance but also has the vulnerable & emotional sides to be totally believable, a great actress that i had never seen before so she's an unknown new comer to me & a damn good one.

The scary stuff is all done so well by director Anthony Diblasi (a director that's new to me) & he crafted a psychological horror with the police procedural thriller & made a real treat. I love films set over a night shift (i really like The Possession of Hannah Grace) & someone who has to deal with strange happenings. There's creepy cult stuff going on here & horrific ghostly figures & lots of psychological torment that our rookie endures throughout this night shift. This is a slower paced horror that concentrates on building suspense & an atmosphere of fear & dread & uses its isolated setting to unnerve us, as we feel for rookie Jessica & want her to get the hell outta there. Last Shift makes for a great late-night movie.

I was pleasantly surprised by this little horror gem, a simple setup, a strong lead & a gory good time.

Will Jessica survive the night? Check it out.

A low-profile horror without high-tech gadgets but surprisingly creepy.

[peterp-450-298716 · 6/10 · 15 October 2015]

"And the commotion the next morning... I got a glimpse into their cell. And the bodies were gone. But...pure evil covered those walls."

My first thought after watching "Last Shift" was : "Damn, Jessica Loren surely deserves a medal for her perseverance". If I was in her shoes I would have abandoned that police station the first second while putting up my middle finger to Sergeant Cohen. I wouldn't stay there a minute longer. But despite all suspicious noises, apparitions and supernatural events, she remains loyal to her post. Is she afraid to fail in her task so she won't be allowed to join the force ? Or doesn't she want to be inferior to what her father meant as a police officer in the past?

I must admit however that it's been a long time since I've seen such an extremely creepy film, although everything is soberly portrayed and there's minimal use of special effects. A rookie is trapped in an office all alone without a living soul to keep her company. All she has to do is get through the night until a cleaning crew arrives in the morning to clean up abandoned evidence. The end result is a series of terrifying scenes, terrifying noises and disturbing images. The film even managed to scare the crap out of me sometimes. Something I'm normally totally immune for.

Despite it being a low-budget film and it all takes place in one place only, they still made very good use of (although well known) horror techniques to make a lengthy horror-trip out of it. Maybe that's already a minor flaw. It all took too long. But eventually it was scary and creepy with a threatening atmosphere and constantly ominous. Especially the gradual tension buildup was successful. The full story is patiently clarified. Although I'm sick and tired of paranormal movies, I was pleasantly surprised.

Juliana Harkavy carries the whole movie in a convincing way. The movie focuses practically entirely on her. Even the group of crazy devil worshipers who start to haunt Jessica can only be admired briefly. There was even a sort of "Sixth Sense" moment with the assistance of police officer Ryan Price (Matt Doman). I just wondered what the tramp actually had to do with it all. Did he just pass by in search of his shoes? A rather bizarre person who served as filling. And despite their brief appearance the three Paymon family members were convincing enough to conclude that this family was extremely insane. Bloodcurdling testimonies which leave nothing to the imagination.

Unfortunately, the end ruined it all again. Uninspired and in terms of originality certainly not of the same level as the rest of the movie. The rest was certainly of a high level. Both the structure of the story, the sound effects and the editing were excellent in this psychological terror film

More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

Super creepy

[splashstormforever · 7/10 · 13 July 2023]

The whole time I had a bad feeling in my gut. This movie was intense. As the minutes ticked by, I found myself repeatedly glancing at the clock bc I wanted to know how much more of the tension I had to endure, and this is coming from someone who laughed the entire time while watching the "Terrifier 2" movie in theaters (while others who watched The Terrifier had fainted or puked).

Throughout the movie, I couldn't help but shake my head at the protagonist's choices. I kept thinking she was sooo dumb for not leaving sooner. There's a line between courageous and stupid & she was definitely the latter. This film delved into the depths of psychological terror, exploring the darkest corners of the human psyche. A must-watch for sure.

So near and yet so far

[jimbo-53-186511 · 3/10 · 17 September 2016]

Rookie officer Jessica Loren (Juliana Harkavy)is assigned to work the last shift at a police station before it is due to close. This seemingly routine task soon turns into a nightmare when the 'lone' officer starts noticing paranormal activity within the police station.

Part of the beauty with the Last Shift lies with its simplicity - it essentially takes place in one location and attempts to use its isolated setting to try and draw fear from the audience. I suppose it succeeds in this respect to a certain degree, but there are a whole host of problems with this film....

The isolated setting does serve the film well in the early stages in that there's a sense of claustrophobia to proceedings and it is possible to feel some fear for our protagonist, but sadly director Anthony DiBlasi doesn't seem to know how to develop the story in a manner that is either scary or interesting (many of the scenes are repetitive and start to become tiresome). Whist the film has a solid protagonist it does lack a decent antagonist (meaning that it never really felt that scary to me). In fact it is the laziness inherent in this film that makes it so dull (as well as featuring scene after scene that makes the whole film feel as though it's on some kind of tedious loop at times, the film also has other unimaginative sequences such as a pile of chairs being stacked on top of one another - how many times have we seen this before???). Even when the antagonists are introduced, DiBlasi mostly reduces them to being rather thinly drawn caricatures who spend most of their time pouncing at the screen in rather cheap 'cinematic' fashion - a better developed backstory on the Paymon family might have made the film slightly more interesting.

Whilst DiBlasi's narrative is dull and repetitive I got the feeling that he was trying to compensate for this in other areas; he really went to town in the makeup that he used on the Paymon family (some of it is actually quite good), but again it felt like he was content in making them 'look' scary rather than actually making them scary (there is a difference).

Julian Harkavy is the main bright spot in this tedious mess and she is very convincing in her respect role. She gives an incredibly intense performance when required, she's a tough cookie who can handle herself, but has a certain vulnerability about her which helps to keep the picture fairly grounded.

DiBlasi seems to lose control towards the end where things start to get silly and the film is chocked full of WTF moments towards the end. With its isolated setting this could have been good, but it's clichéd, repetitive, tedious, and long sections of it are rather boring.

Far better than the ratings it takes

[stavros-bjj · 6/10 · 31 May 2023]

I really enjoyed this film, maybe its my style of film, strong psychological film. Sure some things didn't make sense but overall it was great, i don't get the low ratings for real. It deserves to be watched and i am sure it will make you feel uncomfortable in some way. I give it a solid 6.5 and for me its better than evil dead rise but as i told before maybe its my kind style of movie that made me enjoy it so much. It was dark and felt like i should watch my door the entire time i watched this., made me feel unsafe and at some point i was at the edge of my sit. Maybe people didn't like this cause its a remake of an old movie but give it a chance, i am sure you will enjoy it.

I respect what they were trying to do.

[mikeydewsnap · 5/10 · 3 February 2017]

When newcomer officer; Jessica Loren (Juliana Harkavy) takes her first night shift in her police station, she – along with the audience – notices an immediate that there is something wrong with her new post in the station. After her discomforting commanding officer; Sgt. Cohen (Hank Stone) leaves, strange occurrences begin to unfold as the night gradually progresses, leading to a moderately discomforting venture for both the lead and audiences alike.

Harkavy is a convincing young actress who I would be happy to see get more work in the business. She carries the weight of this film on her back and we grow to genuinely fear for her safety, as we learn more and more about his backstory and her motivations as to why she seems so determined to stay and complete her shift, rather than taking the more sensible option and leave the station to safety. The supporting characters however certainly leave something to be desired. While one likable side character does appear around half way through the movie (this being Officer Price, played by Matt Doman), he does not stay for long and really only serves to add a little more depth to Loren's history. He does nothing to further the plot or in any other movie, doesn't even stay long enough to leave a lasting effect on the audience. The only reason he is as memorable as he is, is because all the other characters are bland shells that only slightly resembles humanity.

Other characters include a drunk homeless man who breaks into the station, however he serves no purpose aside from being a prop for the director to cause jump scares and be a play thing for the paranormal entities – which in turn, frighten Officer Loren. Sgt. Cohan is an unnecessarily disturbing old cop who first introduces himself to with a very peculiar attempt at a jump scare. He yells at Loren when he first sees her and creates much tension in the scene that follows. His character is never expanded upon and is just presented as an unlikable, rage-filled man. I believe the intended effect is to show how this station has left a haunting effect on its residents, however it is never shown in a manner that we can relate to. She doesn't seem like a tortured soul, just like a child with anger management issues.

There are a few other characters throughout the narrative, such as a prostitute, a group of young female cultists and a serial killer (played by Joshua Mikel), however none of them are particularly noteworthy. However despite the abysmal character writing, there were many other aspects of the film making that truly reaches above and beyond my expectations. The while the narrative, falls into the many typical tropes of the genre. the movie shies away from using the musical score build suspense or add sharp, loud sound effects to the jump scares and instead chooses to allow the scenes to play out how they would in reality – allowing the intensity of certain scenes to grow entirely through the eerie silences and echoing sounds that rattle through the 'empty' halls of the police station.

The cinematography is also impressively done in a way, not typically seen in the Supernatural/Horror genre. There is an extended shot within the last ten minutes of the film that lasts for an exceptionally long time during an action filled shoot out in the station. This is intended to give the impression of a documentary style police raid with the camera staying consistently within a mid-shot of Harkavy's back in the left… of the screen while the action is shown from a perspective likewise to her own. As a result, whenever the opposing gunmen turn to face Harkavy, they are also looking at the viewer, adding to a certain amount of audience immersion. By this point in the film, because we are rooting for Officer Loren to survive this onslaught, the fact that the film maker's made this choice shows that they have a strong awareness of which aspects of the film matters more than others. We connect to our lead in a way that allows this last few minutes to feel whole-heartedly immersed in the events. However, despite my respect for this prolonged scene, it leads to an ultimately abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion that leaves a lot to be desired. Without giving anything away, it ends in a manner that not only doesn't tie into what the narrative was leading you to believe (yet it doesn't have a plot twist), but also isn't conclusive in any particular arcs. They say that the ending can either make or break a story and here it certainly does apply. While the movie does have other problem, had it ended in a way that made a little more sense narratively, I would be a little more forgiving of these issues. However as it stands, my feelings of Last Shift are incredibly mixed. Director Anthony DiBlasi also Wrote and Edited this film and I can see he is a talented film maker, and I hope he gets more work in the action oriented side of film making, however, as a writer he has a lot to improve upon.

Good , suspenseful film

[dunfincin · 7/10 · 22 September 2015]

I wasn't expecting much from this film having read some reviews, but I really enjoyed it. Scary,jumpy and unpredictable.Some reviewers have criticised the acting of the main actress but I think she did a good job ;not easy to carry an entire movie by yourself and she had beautiful green eyes to boot. Was riveted by this film from the very start which managed to suggest nasty things to come without telling you why,what or from which direction.Good storyline and reasonable script coupled with a few chair arm-gripping moments and what more could you want? It just shows what you can achieve with some level of intelligence,dedication,imagination and skill even if your budget is limited.Producers of mindless Hollywood pap please take note.

Worth a watch

[robfollower · 27 October 2018]

Genuinley creepy movie. Jump scares galore, but they were cleverly placed. Creepy voices and scary faces. The acting was pretty good, but the movie falls short of expectations at the end. But the good looks an acting of (Juliana Harkavy - "The Walking Dead") makes The Last Shift a reasonable watch.

Nightmare at the police station

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 13 September 2018]

Was really intrigued by the premise of 'Last Shift'. The poster/cover and advertising also looked quite creepy. Was encouraged a little by the average rating and divisive reviews, considering my recent viewings of low-budget films which tended to be poorly received on both counts. So it wasn't as if 'Last Shift' didn't have anything going for it. It actually did have a sizeable degree of potential.

'Last Shift' didn't really live up to much of its potential, turning out to be a film that was nowhere near as good as its premise. It is not unwatchable, it has its good things, and there are certainly far worse films, not just overall but of its genre. It is sadly a case of losing steam far too early after a promising start, with a good first third, and playing it too safe, not enough new ideas or risks and it gets silly and at points dull.

There are good things. Was pleasantly surprised by how good the production values were, the film is very well shot, eerily lit and makes the most of the simple but atmospheric locations. The editing is cohesive at least as well. The sound is not overbearing or obvious, not making the scares too foreseeable.

Juliana Harkovy is a credible lead and as said the first third is good. It is creepy and suspenseful, with not too much of an over-reliance on jump-scares and did find myself biting my nails and jumping a little at times.

Unfortunately, the rest of the acting is pretty non-descript and the character writing is yet another case of having bland characters and also being frustrating in how they behave, a bugbear of mine is hasty and less than logical decision making and there is a lot of that in 'Last Shift'. The script never feels natural or flows and it is very difficult to take it seriously. The direction is uneven, assured in the first third but somewhat leaden towards the end.

Momentum is lost and some of the film gets tedious. Furthermore, the tension, creepiness and suspense goes and is replaced by a lot of face-palming, predictability, tedium and silliness. The final act is a mess of incoherence and intelligence-insulting dumbness and then culminates with an ending that doesn't feel like one at all and reeks of the writers not knowing how to end the film and taking the easy way out.

Overall, lacklustre but not a waste of time. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Surprisingly Very Good And Actually Fairly Creepy

[HorrorOverEverything · 8/10 · 18 September 2015]

So I think most people's main beef with horror movies nowadays are that they just aren't scary anymore. Personally I never really cared whether or not a horror movie was scary since it's very rare that a movie freaks me out in any way. But this flick caught me off guard and had me feeling pretty creeped out a few times.

I haven't really been a huge fan of Anthony DiBlasi's past films but he really did an excellent job with this one. The movie is centered around one character alone in a police station, so we aren't really treated to any great dialogue or anything, it most relies on scares and creating a terrifying atmosphere. Some of the jump scares didn't really land on my but what really got me was just the overall creepy feel of the film, the majority of the film keeps you in a very dark and dreary place.

This wasn't without flaws though, some of the effects were a little overdone and a lot of the main characters action were very facepalm worthy, but most of them were understandable to keep up the pace of the film. Also the main actresses performance wasn't perfect, but luckily the movie really didn't need to rely on her acting.

I really enjoyed this, it was a very nice surprise and I am glad that I stumbled across it.

Unexpectedly good low budget movie

[funnycommentor · 7/10 · 7 April 2023]

First of all, I have to admit I didn't had high expectations about that movie, because most low budget horror movies aren't really good. Eventually, it was a really good movie and I really enjoyed it! The plot of the movie was simple and really interesting. The storyline was well-written, most parts of the movie were well-explained and gladly, it wasn't predictable. The filming location of the movie was just an abandoned police station, but it was super CREEPY. The main character was very interesting, kinda well-developed and likeable. In my opinion, it was a really scary movie and there were too many jumpscares. Also, I really enjoyed the plot twists during the movie, because they were definitely unpredictable and they were done in a kinda shocking way. Moreover, it was a very intense movie and totally terrifying from start to finish. The ending scene was definitely unexpected and i really enjoyed it, however I think it should have been more well-explained. Overall, it was a creepy low budget horror movie, unexpectedly enjoyable and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

It had potential

[wowmats · 5/10 · 20 September 2015]

The only reason I'm not giving this movie any less than a five is because it actually had me intrigued for a while.

Short storyline. It's about police rookie Jessica Lorren (Juliana Harkavy) on he first shift ever as a police officer. She is just suppose to watch the place for the night, but soon finds out she is not alone. Not alone indeed.

The movie takes great advantage over a small set and makes the environment creepy, as well as she being alone there is another factor to why its creepy. There are some good timed jump scares, so unsettling moments where i kinda wanna know what is going on. The acting is not very good, but fair to be a budged kind of movie, there is nothing special about the screenplay, the score or any of that stuff, but it's decent. Technically everything is not too shabby. The really cool thing was the concept and how the story could be awesome.

Now here's the deal breaker. The last 20 minutes are stupid in my opinion. It's actually so dumb and thoughtless and a shame to the build up. I'm not gonna spoil anything if you wanna give it a go, but you will most likely be disappointed at the end.

Small budget Carpenter influenced horror well done

[jackmeat · 6/10 · 8 October 2015]

My quick rating - 6,3/10. Another surprise low budget horror film that shows the amount of money you put in has nothing to do with the end product. The movie itself starts out simple (yet obvious) enough with a rookie officer, Loren (Juliana Harkavy) pulling last shift duty on a closing precinct. I use that word since the premise is awfully familiar with "Assault on Precinct 13". Anyway, that being said, the story similarities end there. I did catch a few camera shots and setup scares that also reminded me of John Carpenter style, but what is wrong with borrowing from a master? So the inevitable ensues and a story of a cult leader type figure killing a few of his followers and himself in the prison (the story is intermingled throughout via flashbacks and visions of old footage) turns into a living nightmare for Loren. Throughout the film it is hard to tell if she is imagining it, being taunted for being a rookie or legit is in a haunted police station. This is what makes the tension build and keep you watching. Their are some truly disturbing images in this movie that are subtle yet very effective to get under your skin. The highlight of this movie is just not being sure through the whole thing just what exactly is going on. This leads you to a fantastic ending that will keep you thinking after the credits roll. All the elements of a quality horror movie are here along with a capable cast of actors and some film devotion from director Anthony DiBlasi. Great Shocktober flick. Check it out.

Not very original and it doesn't try to be

[GWShark · 6/10 · 8 October 2015]

Starts solid with building a creepy atmosphere but after 20 minutes it becomes "Jump scare on Precinct 13". Actually, I don't hate jump scares and I think if used effectively and moderately this scare tactic can be terrifying and entertaining. Many successful films like Jaws, The Thing or Se7en use it marvelously and sometimes mediocre movies like The Exorcist III can earn a legendary status with a well-made jump scare scene. Last Shift isn't terrible at using jump scares. Most of the time the build-up is fine and sometimes instead of loud noises and quick editing you just see something sinister crawling behind the actress, but there are so many scenes in this film where Juliana Harkavy wanders around. Without a jump scare in the end those scenes would be just pointless and boring. I wish there were more scenes with Officer Price or phone conversations with Monica. It would be much better than watching the protagonist on a loop, investigating the same type of noises and seeing the same creepy images over and over again. The movie also suffers from the clichés of the genre and tries to explain some of them like why she isn't leaving the station or call for back up, why she thinks there is a logical explanation for the things she has witnessed but I think those answers come a little too late. Last Shift is still not bad for a low budget horror movie and at least it mostly uses practical effects instead of crappy CGI and it has pretty decent acting in it.

Boring and unrealistic

[LaverneandShirleysucks · 1/10 · 16 March 2021]

Why didn't she just leave?! Why are people written so stupid in films just to keep the plot going? No one in reality would've stayed in that station once the ghostly things began happening. Only in fictional movie land are they that dumb. 1 star because for a ghost movie, there was zero suspense. And you'll spend the whole time wondering why this woman is so stupid.

Nice little horror quick fix with some cool imagery. No revolution, but entertaining.

[Finfrosk86 · 7/10 · 20 September 2015]

I liked this movie. It's pretty low budget, I think, but it's low budget done right. It doesn't try to be something it's not. It's a horror movie, plain and simple.

It gets going right away and doesn't make you wait for stuff to happen. The pacing is good, it's never boring.

The story is pretty simple, but gets the job done. We wanna see scary stuff, right? Yes, and we get that. There are a couple of scenes that are quite suspenseful, and there's some really cool scary imagery. There are some jump scares (I don't mind them) but only one made me jump. With just some tiny tweaks, some of the scary parts could have been for real scary, well, to me at least.

Juliana Harkavy's acting is pretty solid, we see her face quite a lot, but that's alright because she's pretty. There are a couple of the secondary characters acting that took me a little out of it, but mostly it's OK.

Besides some poor acting (from the minor cast) I could also wish some of the main characters reactions were a little more.. realistic. She sees some pretty creepy stuff, but a lot of times she doesn't seem to get scared. This must be one tough chick! I would have been scared crap-less if I was in her shoes.

Anyhow, take it for what it is, and you'll probably like it.

At least I know I like these short and sweet horror movies, get in, see some scary stuff, get out. Done.

I love how people give such crappy movies high ratings. It makes no sense

[juliendussault · 1/10 · 20 March 2020]

There is no campy appeal, well the storyline could have been a good idea, the execution made it so that it was just downright trash and the acting was on par with a Sci-Fi original film, as well as the special effects. There's nothing inherently scary, interesting or even good about this movie.

I do not understand why anybody would ever give this over one star. I could even make it through 30 minutes of it because it was so bad.

A rookie cop, alone in a decrepit, broke down about to be demolished police station with ghosts of the Manson family chasing after her, need I say more? It's boring, drawn out and just downright stupid. Don't waste your money or your time.

Indi vibe with tons of potential

[Howling_at_the_Moon_Reviews · 6/10 · 21 March 2023]

For a seemingly very indi movie on a low budget made almost ten years ago, the creepiness in this really held up. I think this was quite successful in its own right, but more so than anything I seem to be focused on is the potential this has.

The story was not wildly original, but still interesting a pretty captivating. It was chock full of scares and creepiness. Sure, some of it was cheap/cliche and definitely had too many jump scares, but a lot of it was pretty darn dope.

Again, I don't want to seem like I am hating on this, because I'm not, but if this was redone with some tweaks I think it could be a real banger. A little more elaboration on the backstory would really set up the scene and felt a little lacking in the beginning. Also just really fleshing out the storyline because there were definitely some parts that felt silly or like potential plot holes. Also with a higher budget is going to come a better quality picture and better effects which on both fronts I think it would really benefit from. Also the acting was... not amazing. Main girl did not do a BAD job, she just didn't fully sell me on the terror. Also I wasn't wild about the ending but it wasn't offensive.

Regardless of its potential, this movie as is was entertaining and definitely creepy. Would recommend.

Nothing new, nothing interesting

[nyanbatcat · 3/10 · 14 December 2016]

This movie served no purpose for me, it had no new ideas, no appealing visuals, no tension because, there was barely anything happening. Having a thin plot can work in a horror-movie, sadly its just one scary thing after the other, which I started to predict after a while. There is only from time to time a thin slice of plot and a very cliché one at that. About 1 hour into the movie I even guessed the very unsatisfying ending.

All this is quite sad, because I enjoyed the set-up to this movie, but as soon as the horror sequences start, its beginning to fall apart. They just don't work out the way they should...

If I have anything good to say about this movie, its the main actor and although I said i found the visuals unappealing, they were well done from a technical standpoint.

I made an account just to write a review on this film.

[aaroncbickle · 8/10 · 27 October 2015]

OK kids, go get your security blankets, Mr. Cuddles, a mouth guard and maybe a sparring helmet; this movie scared the bajeezas out of me.

If you're watching this:

1.Watch alone or cuddle up with someone who doesn't talk, they'll ruin the whole effect.

2.Eat prior, not during.

3.Do not use any sort of tools while watching (nail file, clippers, screwdriver etc..)

4.You'll need a light blanket for the chills.

I'm somewhat of a horror movie connoisseur - from 1 star to 10, there are few I miss. It's easy to get desensitized to the mayhem and after a while there are few things you haven't seen...and then I watched LAST SHIFT.

I think what made this movie the most terrifying is the simplicity - which seems to work for some people and not others. I enjoyed the one woman show, and what a woman at that! Juliana Harkavy was a perfect cast, reminiscent of Rhona Mitra. I truly hope to see more from her. She spends the majority of the movie alone and right from the get go you can feel how much impact that has on the tension..I watched the movie alone in the dark and at 2:15a.m.I'm still feeling THAT tension.

LAST SHIFT genuinely frightened me. I had shivers, hot flashes of fear, I had to put all projectiles out of arms length and sit on my hands to avoid the reflex of smacking myself in the face to cover my eyes, and of course sudden bouts of turrets associated with all movies in which the person should NOT GO THAT WAY!!! I have LAST SHIFT fever.

All in all, it's not a huge Hollywood blockbuster and it worked out better in this case. It was riveting to be scared again - I thought I'd been totally numbed to horror movies and I was pleasantly and painfully reminded that there's always another scream just around the corner.

Great job, thank you to the cast, crew, and director for making my night!

Scary,jumpy and unpredictable

[dlmyst-29813 · 7/10 · 12 August 2021]

Kept telling myself I've seen this movie a couple of times and sure enough I did. However, the movie is still scary, jumpy and unpredictable. Which still made the movie enjoyable a 2nd time through. Would recommend for others to watch it.

Easy to spot the real reviewers

[rolo_roelofs · 1/10 · 28 September 2015]

It occurs to me, having watched a movie based on the "user" reviews here on IMDb, that a lot of the reviews are fake.

With actually good movies this is not so much a problem. The really bad ones are difficult to spot, but usually appear like this movie:

1. relatively good user rating 2. The first, and sometimes first few pages of "user reviews" contain ecstatic stories of how good this movie is

To distinguish a rubbish movie however, please continue through the reviews until something like "don't believe the positive reviews" or along that line appears.

After that, you will find intermittent genuine reviews by real people like you and me.

Go with those.

Competent and Creepy without being cheap

[LordJiggy · 6/10 · 19 September 2015]

Clearly, a low budget film. Good film-makers, when confronted with a lack of funds, will compensate with a lot of creativity. "Last Shift" falls squarely into this category. The film makes good use of their locale, and builds an air of dread that slowly begins to pay off.

One nice touch is the use of quiet to build tension. In a few places, the music becomes intrusive, but a lot of the creepiness is in odd sounds (with nice use of the 5.1 surround mix). Only once or twice did they go for the "booga booga coming out at you out of a dark place" shtick.

I thought the lead actress was very believable through most of the film. If the film faltered anywhere, it was nearer the end, when the lead character began to respond in more typical "illogical victim," but one could almost understand that given the psychological state of that character.

SPOILER The only major way this film let me down as at the end.

They had to go for "the twist," and in this case...

...it was "evil wins," which I find is something I don't care to spend nearly two hours of my life watching. Otherwise, very solid effort, making an authentically spooky and fairly original film on very little money.