2014 film by Anthony DiBlasi
This article is about the 2014 American psychological horror film. For the 2024 American comedy film,🎅 see The Last Shift
Last Shift Promotional release poster Directed by Anthony DiBlasi Written by Anthony DiBlasi
Scott Poiley Produced by Scott🎅 Poiley
Mary Poiley Starring Juliana Harkavy
Joshua Mikel
J. LaRose
Mary Lankford
Natalie Victoria
Sarah Sculco Cinematography Austin Schmidt Edited by Anthony DiBlasi Music by Adam🎅 Barber Production
company Skyra Entertainment Distributed by Magnet Releasing Release date October 25, 2014 ( ) (FrightFest) Running time 87 minutes🎅 Country United States Language English
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.
Last Shift premiered at the London FrightFest Film Festival on October 25,🎅 2014, and was released to video-on-demand on October 6, 2024, to positive reviews from critics. A remake titled Malum, also🎅 directed by DiBlasi, was released in 2024.[1][2]
Plot [ edit ]
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 on duty. After assuring her mother,🎅 Loren reports for duty and her commanding officer Cohen leads her on a brief tour, during which he explains that🎅 a HAZMAT team will be there to collect evidence that is difficult to dispose of and that she is not🎅 permitted to leave her post. Before he leaves, he gives Loren his phone number in case of emergency.
Loren becomes bored🎅 and almost falls asleep, though she wakes when she hears knocking. She does not see anyone at the door but🎅 finds a homeless man in the hallway; he urinates on the floor and refuses to leave. Loren forces him outside🎅 and he leaves. She also receives a series of distress calls from a woman named Monica, 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.
She continues to hear strange noises and finds a rear door open. She finds the homeless man in a storage🎅 room throwing things to the floor. She detains him, and takes him to a holding cell, where the door suddenly🎅 closes and locks behind her. 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 and no one is there.
Loren is further unsettled when she sees chairs and doors moving on their own, ghostly🎅 figures, and hears voices singing. Loren encounters a loiterer, Marigold, who tells her that she was in a cell when🎅 the police brought in an infamous cult, led by the charismatic John Michael Paymon. Marigold says the story told to🎅 the public, that the cult was killed at their residence, is untrue; instead, they committed suicide at the station one🎅 year ago to the day. Marigold leaves after, humming the song Loren heard earlier.
Further paranormal events at the station reveal🎅 that the cult worships the king of Hell, a being also named Paimon. Before committing mass suicide, Paymon threatened to🎅 come back and destroy everything. Ryan Price, a fellow police officer, arrives at the station, and Loren accuses him of🎅 planning the events as a hazing ritual. Confused, he insists he has come by to check up on her, as🎅 he had 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 leaves, Loren sees a bullet wound in the🎅 back of his head and he disappears.
After seeing several visions of the cultists and their victims, Loren calls Cohen and🎅 says that she cannot finish her shift but repents when he threatens to fire her. The dispatcher tells Loren that🎅 Monica was the final victim of Paymon's cult and died over a year ago. A living member of the Paymon🎅 cult takes Loren hostage, only to die by suicide in front of her. Loren tries to leave but the glass🎅 does not break when shot. Her dead father calls her and demands justice for his death, and she returns to🎅 the holding cell to find the homeless man hanged. Her father calls again to warn her of cult members assaulting🎅 the station, and she kills them. As she shoots the last one, Cohen shoots her from behind. In a moment🎅 of clarity, she realizes that she has murdered the entire HAZMAT team. Cohen calls for medical assistance, and Loren is🎅 approached by the spirits of Paymon and his cultists as she dies from her wounds.
Cast [ edit ]
Juliana Harkavy as🎅 Jessica Loren
Joshua Mikel as John Michael Paymon
Hank Stone as Sgt. Cohen
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 Ryan Price
Production [ edit ]
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.[3] Shooting took place in Sanford,🎅 Florida, in an abandoned police station. DiBlasi was influenced by the action film Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), the horror🎅 film A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), and the Charles Manson documentary Manson (1973).[4]
Release [ edit ]
Last Shift premiered at🎅 the London FrightFest Film Festival on October 25, 2014.[5] Magnet Releasing released it to video-on-demand on October 6, 2024.[6]
Reception [🎅 edit ]
The film holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 6.70/10.[7] 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".[8] 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".[9] 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."[10]
Remake [ edit ]
A remake,🎅 titled Malum, also directed by DiBlasi, was released in 2024.[1][2] Malum is co-written by DiBlase with Scott Poiley, and stars🎅 Jessica Sula, Candice Coke, Chaney Morrow, and Natalie Victoria.[1]
