A Head Scratcher..."Last Shift"

Last Shift (2014)

Rated R

Starring Juliana Harkavy, Joshua Mikel,

Written and Directed by Anthony DiBlasi

The Story:

A rookie cop (Harkavy) is assigned the final shift at a police precinct that is closing the next day. She simply has to wait until a HazMat team shows up in the morning to collect and transfer some waste from the armory. Of course, there's a reason the precinct is closing...some really strange things have been happening ever since cult leader Michael Paymon (Mikel) and 2 of his followers committed suicide in the precinct.

Take John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13, and change it so that it's ghosts that are attacking the station, not bad guys.

The movie, overall has an atmospheric and sometimes creepy vibe to it, but ultimately I found it annoying by the end.

Essentially, it's a Final Girl vs. The Bad Guy.

Unfortunately, the typical formula isn't followed and I was disappointed by the ending.

Harkavy does a great job carrying the film considering the focus is on her for pretty much the entire duration.

There were a few effective jump scares and some nice twists and turns along the way but otherwise, it gets hard to believe that our rookie doesn't just walk out that door and sit in her car for the rest of the night.

Harder still to believe that they assign a rookie to the station, considering what everyone else knows and they refuse to tell her. 

It's currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

I still can't get past the ending of the film, so I'm grading it accordingly. Your mileage may vary...

Final Grade: D+

This Review Could Get Me In "Big Trouble In Little China" And Possibly Other Places As Well!

Big Trouble In Little China (1986)

Rated PG-13

Starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun,

Directed by John Carpenter

The Story:

Jack Burton (Russell) is a truck driver who is helping a friend (Dun) and a lawyer (Cattrall) who are fighting by supernatural forces to save a girl with green eyes.  Mayhem, chaos, and cheesy special effects abound.

No, until today, I had never seen Big Trouble in Little China.

I wonder if this is one of those films that if I watched it back when I was younger, would I have fond memories of this film?

Because without those rose-colored glasses, this movie is the very definition of a B movie.

Kurt Russell hams it up and has a great time as the hero, but other than that...

Nah, I can't find anything redeeming or worthwhile about this one.


Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

I'll be generous with my grade today.

Final Grade: C-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: No... I'm amazed I watched it all the way through this time.

Mondays Are Always Scary... "Nightmare Factory"

Nightmare Factory (2011)

N/R - Documentary... language and special effects gore

Directed by Donna Davies

The Story:

Greg Nicotero. Howard Berger. Robert Kurtzman.  The braintrust that created KNB EFX, one of the leading Hollywood Special Effects studios.

This is their story, as well as a look behind the curtain at special effects in general.

Those zombies from the Walking Dead?

Yep.

In fact, you name it, and these guys probably did it, or had a hand in it, or helped someone once upon a time who now does special effects out there.

It's a nice balancing act in the documentary about the wizards that want to give  you the best possible effect, and directors who sometimes just want the shot so they can move on.

As a bonus, check out the short film, The United Monster Talent Agency, that Greg Nicotero directed that imagined "what if the Universal Monsters were real, and were hired out as actual talent for these movies?"


United Monster Talent Agency

Pretty clever.

And a wonderful nod to the classic monsters of old!

Available to stream instantly on Netflix or Amazon Prime as of this writing.

Final Grade: Solid B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Sadly, low in my household.  Perhaps if I ever get some fright fans on my team?

Corruption In Detroit? Time For An "Assault On Precinct 13"

Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
Rated R - Violence & Language

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Byrne

Directed by: Jean-Francois Richet


The Story:

It's New Year's Eve and a Detroit police station is going to close its doors one final time.  Sgt Roenick (Hawke) and a skeleton crew of police are holding down the fort when a prison transport carrying notorious mob boss Marion Bishop (Fishburne) arrives seeking shelter from a snowstorm.  Things go from bad to worse when the station is besieged by vigilantes looking to take out Bishop.  Imagine Roenick's surprise when he learns that those killers outside are actually cops, looking to take out Bishop before he can testify that there are dirty cops in Detroit!

Where's RoboCop when we need him??!!

"At Least They Aren't Remaking This Classic!"

I apologize, I've never seen the original version written & directed by John Carpenter from the 70s, so I am unable to compare and contrast the two films.

How Dare You Not Watch Our Version!

That said, I've watched this film on two different occasions.

I've enjoyed the film both times.

It's tightly scripted, well-acted by an impressive cast that also includes Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo and Maria Bello.

Someday I Will Voice An Animated Sloth And Become More Famous Than All Of You!!

It's a thriller that ratchets up the suspense with each passing moment.  The only hope the precinct has of survival is to arm the prisoners and work together to stay alive.

Of course, cops and robbers don't exactly trust each other, so it's an uneasy alliance at best.

Add to that the layer of intrigue by having the cops as the ones on the outside attempting to kill everyone inside, and you've got a pretty gripping tale.

It's a B movie that doesn't attempt to do anything but entertain the audience and tell a decent story.

On that note, it succeeds brilliantly.


Final Grade:  B

Would I Watch It Again?  Yes, it's entertaining and clips by at a decent pace.

Would I Purchase It?  I've had it on my wish list for almost a decade now.  Perhaps someday I will pull the trigger?

Oh the Horror! "Nightmares in Red, White and Blue"

Things that go bump in the night are the least of your worries...

The Story:

Chronicling the history of cinematic American horror, this fast paced documentary chronicles one of the greatest genres of film history:  The Horror Film! : )  Using clips of dozens of horror films, each decade is represented by the best (or worst!) of the period.  In between these clips, we get the customary talking heads from some of horror's greatest minds explaining why it was important, what these movies reflected in society, etc.

So you either love horror, or you hate it.

Therein lies your reaction to this documentary.

I love horror films, but feel that about where this documentary ends, 2009ish... is where my enjoyment of horror began to diminish.

The pendulum has swung so far in the direction of "what can we show the audience that they've never seen?" that suspense, terror and excitement gave way to gruesome, graphic torture.

Yeah, Saw and Hostel, I'm looking at you.

So yes, when you long for the good old days of kinder gentler serial killers like Freddy and Jason...

; )

You know that something has gone seriously wrong.

It is a fascinating walk down memory lane from the Universal Monsters to the gruesome shock cinema of the last decade. 

It is interesting to hear John Carpenter and Joe Dante or George Romero tell you what they were thinking when they made these films and how horror was often used as a social commentary of the times.

Not every film falls in line with that way of thinking, but it is a visible pattern that repeats often enough in the genre to give you pause.

Available for streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B

Would I Own It: Hard to say.  Probably not, just because I'm the only horror fan in the house.... for now! ;)