Last Shift (2014) is the first film to keep me up at night for a very long time. Somewhat obscure and arguably underrated, this psychological/supernatural horror is replete with anxiety-inducing suspense, tasteful jump scares and an endless creep factor. A simple concept executed, dare I say, exquisitely.

Rookie cop Jessica Loren is tasked to guard the old, deserted local police station overnight while she waits for the biochemical hazard team to arrive. Her first shift most likely becomes her last shift; however, as strange occurrences begin to rapidly increase in frequency and intensity until she is trapped within what would feel like Hell on earth.

The first round of applause I give to this film is for their choice of antagonist. Rather than the run-of-the-mill, cliched devil narrative, this film takes the cult route. Lucifer, Beelzebub or Satan don’t feature in Last Shift. We are instead met with the King of Hell, Paimon – a figure that has not appeared in a huge number of horrors so far – and his dedicated, murderous following. This movie reminds me of just how vast and complex stories of Hell and the underworld are. Usually I would love to delve into the analytical side of a horror, interrogating its social commentary, but I can’t say that I sensed any profound moral message here. I think this film was made purely to terrify, to curdle your blood, to make you feel unsafe. And sometimes that is ok. As long as it is aware of what it is and what it has set out to do, a movie does not need to be anything more. Make me shudder consistently for an hour and a half and leave unable to erase certain disturbing images from my mind and I’ll classify you as a successful ‘scary movie’. Last Shift definitely did that.

The lighting of this film was enough to pull me out of my comfortable reality immediately. The clinical, white lighting that inevitably begins flickering and eventually shuts off altogether is a classic horror convention, but it works every time. Bright, almost blinding, hallways connected to pitch-black rooms creates an atmosphere of uncertainty and suspense. You are constantly watching the dark spaces within the frame, waiting to see something shift and give away its presence. Even the setting location itself automatically makes the audience feel uncomfortable. Officer Loren is like a mouse trapped in a maze, a defenceless and isolated creature that becomes a pawn in a supernatural entity’s games. As the viewer, you feel as enclosed as Officer Loren is – the hallways seem endless, no door seems to lead outside, every wall seems to begin closing in as the film progresses. Ironically, she becomes a prisoner in her own jailhouse.

I must also commend the film for its physical effects and costume design. The true horror of the Paymon family and their unfortunate victims’ fate are slowly, progressively revealed to us. The physical nature of the terror ramps up as you are confronted with blood on walls, blown off heads, disturbing scarification, terrifying beaten, decaying faces. I was equally horrified and disgusted watching this film and the King of Hell’s serpent-like eyes were seared into my mind for the entire night thereafter. Subtle and infrequent at the beginning to intense and overwhelming by the end, you really do lose your own grip on reality alongside Officer Loren.

I am, however, like a truffle pig for film flaws. And this movie certainly does not come without any unanswered questions. Forcing a newbie cop to guard a police station that is rumoured to be haunted and is known to have a severely troubled past seems quite unrealistic to me. I also think she is far too committed to the role. It took way too long for her to properly confide in her supervisor and I personally would have been out of there after the second strange sighting. Who possibly could have written ‘sow’ in what looks like blood right above your head without you noticing?? Obviously something serious was happening from the get-go and yet she stuck around for hours before showing genuine concern. I know that police officers are meant to be brave and independent and all, but please. No one is that brave.

If you’re looking for a horror that requires no real thought – a film that will just serve you screams and discomfort – then I definitely recommend Last Shift.