Director: Francis Galluppi
Producer: Matt O’Neill, Atif Malik, Francis Galluppi
Writer: Francis Galluppi
Release Date (Theaters): May 10, 2024 limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 10, 2024
Runtime: 1h 31m
Distributor: Well Go USA Entertainment
Crime and Thriller films are a dime a dozen. Most glorify the score and never go deeper than the action. THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY harkens back to films of the last sixties and seventies. The film is character-driven and it follows the “Tarintino” blueprint. Quirky characters and interesting camera angles are the specials of the day. This is a dialogue-heavy dramatic affair, with dashes of action.
THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY starts with a travelling young knife salesman (Cummings) awaiting the next fuel truck at a middle-of-nowhere Arizona rest stop, His life changes over the next few hours when he is thrust into a high-stakes hostage situation. Two stranded bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty hold a diner full of patrons hostage to protect their bloodstained, ill-begotten fortune.
Director Francis Galluppi (The Gemini Project) easily demonstrates that he grasps the filmmaking craft. Characters of the film have dimensions, these aren’t the usual cookie-cutter cutouts. The cast is committed to driving their characters home (once the fuel truck arrives). Each character is elevated by the actor or actress playing them. One standout is the ultra-intense Richard Brake who plays Beau. This film affords Brake the ability to show off his bipolar cameleon-like emotions. Going in and out of soft and sombre talking to yelling the paint off the walls, Brake is that bad guy that audiences can’t take their eyes off, even if it’s just a glare, he draws you in.
It is noteworthy that Scream queen Barbara Crampton gets some fun non-horror related screentime as cop office receptionist Virginia. Jocelin Donahue(Doctor Sleep, The House of The Devil), who is making a name for themselves in the horror genre plays Charlotte, the diner waitress/cook. Donahue displays get facial expressions that say a thousand words without speaking. Other cast members include Faizon Love (Friday, Elf), Robin Bartlett (Lean on Me, Shutter Island), Gene Jones (The Hateful Eight), and Jim Cummings (Halloween Kills, The Wolf of Snow Hollow).
THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY is witty and never spoonful-feeding us, the audience. The story plays out and sometimes goes in unforeseen directions. The film is never boring. This feels like an old-time western with bank robbers, knife salesmen and more. Bullets fly, people live, people die. Why not stop into THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTRY for a hell of a ride (and some rhubarb pie)?
Well Go USA will release THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY in Theaters and On Digital May 10, 2024
