Jessica Loren, a rookie cop (the excellent Juliana Harkavy), is assigned a solo shift at an all-but-completely-closed-down police station. The new station is just down the street but the place has to remain occupied due to a running-late hazmat crew and a room of some biohazardous material set for destruction. Piled on top of the lonely shift is the awful history of the building and the fact that it is the one year anniversary of said awfulness. The Payman Family killed themselves in a holding cell after kidnapping and murdering a large amount of young girls. But it looks like there's still a little more room on that plate full of shit, so add a heaping helping of personal tragedy (here being the death of her cop father in the raid of the Payman compound) and this night is set for turmoil. Strange sounds, a creepy vagrant and flickering lights do a bit to build unease. A phone call (even though every call should have been rerouted to the new station) from a young girl pleading for help, a visit from a sympathetic officer who knew her father and the arrest of the vagrant all combine to set off a shitstorm of pure terror. Officer Loren has a hell of a fight on her hands if she wants to survive her first assignment. It's basically a one woman show and luckily Juliana Harkavy is up to the task. She acts her ass off and delivers a star-making performance... at least it would be if more people saw this. John Michael Payman (The Walking Dead's Joshua Mikel, who makes the most of his small role) is a horrifying villain and he's joined by some suitably creepy specters. Tension builds throughout the night and when it reaches the boiling point, the explosion is memorable. Some non-excessive but still nasty violence goes a long way. Last Shift is a masterpiece and I have a feeling it will be considered a genre classic in years to come.
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