Alan Scott Neal delivers an outstanding slice of genre cinema with his feature-length directorial debut Last Straw. Combining home invasion horror with siege thriller elements, the film takes viewers on a wild, blood-soaked ride reminiscent of now-classic 1970s and 1980s drive-in fare with a decidedly modern approach.
Nancy (Jessica Belkin) is a fast-living, foul-mouthed young woman worried about turning 20 years old soon — and courtesy of a roadside pregnancy test, she has some new things weighing on her mind, as well. Living in a small town, she is the manager of a roadside diner, the employees of which point out is only because she is the owner’s (Jeremey Sisto) daughter. After Nancy stands up to four masked ruffians who threaten to come back later after she kicks them out of the place, she wields her managerial power and fires long-standing cook Jake (Taylor Kowalski, who also serves as a producer on the film). Jake takes the other three members of the crew on a walkout, and Nancy is left to watch over the diner alone for the night shift. As seasoned genre-film viewers might guess, four masked men later show up to terrorize her.
I highly recommend that viewers go in as cold as possible to Last Straw, learning nothing more about the plot than the initial set-up that I have given here. Neal, directing from a crackerjack screenplay written by Taylor Sardoni, paces the proceedings expertly. The story unfolds in nonlinear fashion, and whereas many films slow down in the second act, Last Straw serves up one of the most exciting, jaw-dropping second acts in a horror thriller in recent memory.
Nancy starts off as a somewhat unlikeable protagonist. We understand her feeling trapped in her small-town lifestyle, but her treatment of her coworkers does little to endear her to them or to viewers. Neal, Sardoni, and especially Belkin pull off a fabulous feat by getting viewers fully behind the character as the film progresses, rooting for her to hopefully survive the onslaught.
Belkin gets to stretch beyond her character’s initial angry, ego-driven vibes and show both a different kind of toughness along with some surprising tenderness. She truly shines in her starring role. Kowalski also gives a riveting performance, and the supporting cast members — who, along with Sisto, include Glen Gould as the no-nonsense local sheriff, Tara Raani as Nancy’s friend, and Joji Otani-Hansen, Christopher M. Lopes, and Doug Sakmann as the other diner employees — all give admirable performances.
Last Straw is absolutely an exciting, blood-spattered nailbiter, but it is also much more than that. Its main characters have interesting backstories, with some in particular given full-fledged, multilayered character studies. Neal shows his fondness for his influences without going overboard, such as simply using occasional Carpenteresque musical cues rather than going for a full-on John Carpenter-style score. The overall result is a wonderfully crafted genre feature that takes the basic premise of a protagonist in jeopardy against marauders and loads it with surprises galore.
Last Straw screens on October 6 and 7 at Sitges Film Festival for its world premiere and then at Beyond Fest on October 8, for its U.S. premiere.
