Last Shift

Last Shift is a 2014 American psychological horror film directed by Anthony DiBlasi. It was written by DiBlasi and Scott Poiley, both of whom produced along with Mary Poiley. Juliana Harkavy stars as a rookie police officer who is tasked with taking the last shift at a police station before it is permanently closed. Strange events lead her to believe that it may be haunted. It premiered at the London FrightFest Film Festival on October 25, 2014, and was released to video-on-demand on October 6, 2015.

Plot

Jessica Loren, a rookie police officer on her first assignment, is ordered to take the last shift at a police station before it is permanently closed. Her mother pleads with her not to take the job, as her father, also a police officer, was killed while on duty. After assuring her mother that the shift will be uneventful, she reports for duty. After Loren surprises her commanding officer, Sgt. Cohen demands that she turn around. Apparently satisfied, he leads her on a brief tour, during which he explains that a HAZMAT team will be there shortly to collect evidence that is difficult to dispose of. Under no circumstances is she allowed to leave her post. Before Cohen leaves, he gives her his phone number in case of emergency.

Loren becomes bored and almost falls asleep, though she wakes when she hears knocking. She sees nobody at the door, but when she turns around, a homeless man is standing in the hallway. He urinates on the floor and refuses to leave but she sends him out and later cleans up his mess later she finds a pair of boots in the janitor room and leaves it outside for the homeless man, later she finds him intruding again so Loren takes him to a holding cell. There, she becomes locked in with him when the door suddenly closes and locks behind her. After the lights go out, a bloody-faced person surprises her in the door's window, and she drops her flashlight. An unidentified person picks it up and taunts her. When the lights come back on, the door opens; nobody else is there.

Loren becomes further spooked when chairs rearrange themselves, doors open and close on their own, ghostly figures appear out of nowhere, and she hears disembodied singing. She also receives a series of distress calls from a woman who says she has been taken hostage by a cult. The police dispatcher confirms that all emergency calls have been rerouted to the new station. Loren encounters a loiterer named Marigold who tells her that she was in a cell when the police brought in John Michael Paymon and his infamous cult. Marigold says the story told to the public, that the cult was killed at their residence, is untrue; instead, they hanged themselves in their holding cell at the station one year ago to the day, each with a pillowcase with strange blood marks wrapped over their head. Loren is further spooked when Marigold hums the song that she heard earlier.

Overcome by stress, she calls Sgt. Cohen but thinks better of it at the last second. Officer Price appears at the station, and she accuses him of planning all the events as a hazing ritual. Confused, he insists he has simply come by to check up on her, as he served with her father. Price confirms that the murderous cult was captured alive and tells her that her father, who died apprehending them, would be proud of her. As he turns to leave, Loren is horrified to see a gaping bullet wound in the back of his head, which does not appear to affect him. Further paranormal events at the station reveal that the cult worships the King of Hell, a being said to reside in Hell before Satan was sent there. Before committing mass suicide, they threatened to come back and destroy everything the arresting officers love.

Loren calls Sgt. Cohen again and says that she cannot finish her shift; she agrees to stay when he threatens to fire her. A remaining member of the cult takes Loren hostage, only to commit suicide in front of her. After hearing screams from the holding cell, she is attacked by the homeless man's ghost, whose body she subsequently finds hanged in the locked cell. Loren leaves the station but returns when she hears the phone ring again. The distressed caller, revealed to have already died, laughs and taunts her. She runs from two cult members and their leader. When Loren attempts to leave once again, the doors refuse to open. She shoots the glass door but the shots literally haze out. Her dead father calls her on her cell phone and demands justice for his death. Several cult members assault the station, and she kills them all. As she shoots the last one, a panicked Cohen appears behind her and shoots her. In a moment of clarity, she realizes that she has murdered the entire HAZMAT team, and the cult were all hallucinations. As she dies, she sings the cult's hymn to the King of Hell. The ghosts of Paymon and two cultists materialize in front of her and put a pillowcase around her head.

Cast

• Juliana Harkavy as Jessica Loren
• Joshua Mikel as John Michael Paymon
• J. LaRose as Homeless Man
• Natalie Victoria as Marigold
• Sarah Sculco as Kitty Paymon
• Kathryn Kilger as Dorothea Paymon
• Mary Lankford as Birdy
• Matt Doman as Officer Price
• Hank Stone as Sgt. Cohen

Production

DiBlasi wanted to make a smaller, contained film that focused on atmosphere, especially sound design. The film was designed to be experienced from Harkavy's point of view, which keeps the audience wondering whether the events are all in her mind.^[1] Shooting took place in Sanford, Florida, in an abandoned police station. DiBlasi was influenced by Assault on Precinct 13, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Manson, a 1973 Charles Manson documentary.^[2]

Release

Last Shift premiered at the London FrightFest Film Festival on October 25, 2014.^[3] Magnet Releasing released it to video-on-demand on October 6, 2015.^[4]

Reception

Anton Bitel of Sight & Sound called it the standout of FrightFest and wrote, "Last Shift masterfully builds its tension towards an unexpected yet satisfying release that deepens and ambiguates everything that has preceded".^[5] Staci Layne Wilson of Dread Central rated it 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "The movie is suspenseful and well-paced, and Harkavy is infinitely watchable".^[6] Mark L. Miller of Ain't It Cool News wrote, "This is a simple premise, sort of like an Assault on Precinct 13 by way of REC, but it is truly excellent in terms of building tension and delivering bone-rattling scares."^[7]

References

External links

• Last Shift at the Internet Movie Database