The Last Stop in Yuma County – A Clever Thriller (Early Review)

The Last Stop in Yuma County is an isolated crime thriller written and directed by Francis Galluppi which had its world premiere at last years Fantastic Fest. While awaiting the next fuel truck at a middle of nowhere Arizona rest stop, a travelling knife salesman (Cummings) is thrust into a high-stakes hostage situation following the arrival of two similarly stranded bank robbers Beau (Richard Brake) and Travis (Nicholas Logan) with no qualms against using cruelty or violence to protect their bloodstained ill-begotten fortune. While the film hasn’t gotten nearly as much attention as it should have and for whoever is a fan of single location thrillers, it is one to keep an eye out for. The film is a cleverly written, darkly funny, and tense crime thriller with a quirky set of characters and a charismatic cast that help bring them to life.

The Last Stop in Yuma County wastes no time getting going, using its short 90+ minute runtime to its full advantage. After a quick setup and brief but effective introduction to its characters, audiences are immediately thrusted into a life-or-death situation that somehow only gets more chaotic and intense as the film progresses and introduces more characters into its confined setting. Part diner, motel, and gas station, the setting lends itself perfectly to a thriller of this kind. A film that is not afraid to get very dark and bleak, it maintains a sort of quirky sense of humour throughout, so its explosions of violence and fatalities aren’t as disturbing or grim as they easily could’ve been otherwise. It does a very good job at subverting expectations and just when audiences think they have everything figured out, it pulls the rug out from under them again and goes in a completely different direction. The film ultimately goes in quite a few places that most won’t see coming and as a whole, is rather unpredictable overall.

It’s also very impressive how the film doesn’t have a clear protagonist until the very end. Cleverly switches perspectives throughout, audiences, for the most part, never truly know who to become invested in. The performances across the board are great as its talented ensemble add plenty of personality to their characters. Cummings is great as always and has such an alluring presence about him to the point that one can’t take their eyes off of him whenever he’s on screen. Brake is brilliant and once again, proving he is one of the most underrated character actors. Beau is calmer and more collected than Brake’s usual roles, but he still has an absolutely vicious and intimidating side to him that comes out in the film’s more tense moments. However, Donahue is probably the biggest standout of the cast as Charlotte, a character audiences can easily attach themselves to. She’s the most developed, and likeable, and she is the one that audiences will most want to see make it out of alive because of her strong work in the role. Meanwhile, there isn’t all that much to complain about but some may be turned off by the directions the film takes in its third act where a particular decision causes the tone to shift rather quickly. While the change itself is admirable and works for the story, it sacrifices something that the final act is desperately missing.

In the end, don’t sleep on The Last Stop in Yuma County as it is already shaping up to be one of the more overlooked titles of the year. It is a wildly entertaining, darkly comedic, and cleverly plotted 90-minute single location thriller. For those who happened to be fans of last years highly underseen Your Lucky Day, this would make for a perfect choice for a double feature. They are similar but they both compliment each other nicely though are doing totally different things. Either way, check this out when it hits VOD this weekend.

To pre-order The Last Stop in Yuma County on digital, click here

still courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/