I was sent a digital screener of Scary Tales: Last Stop and I was actually pretty excited to watch it. With all due respect, I had never heard of the title’s creator, Geno McGahee, or even the film itself, but I do know I wanted to give him a chance and see what his film was all about. Our goal here at HorrorSociety.com has always been to shine a light on independent productions and it’ll always stay that way. Here’s my review after watching this movie in full.
Scary Tales: Last Stop is written and directed by Geno McGahee under X Posse Productions. Cast members include Leeann Aubuchon, Chris Geoffrion, Julian Lowenthal, Logan Lopez, Xoe Rose, Ray Surprenant, Pete Baez, Renee Day, Scott C. Day, Patrick French, Janelle Greco and Ashley Ann Hartzler.
“After a train wreck, four passengers from different walks of life are trapped together and share their recent nightmares. Masked killers, Bigfoot, crazed lovers and a Satanic cult are just the beginning of the terror as this group quickly realizes that they may have experienced more than a dream and the true nightmare is about to begin.” – IMDB
It’s hard to critique a film like Scary Tales: Last Stop because I still feel like it was able to create something pretty decent based on the resources available. The cinematography was fantastic in the beginning, though it bordered on out of focus in other shorts. The four main characters have a believable chemistry on screen that made them somewhat enticing to watch. And, really, who doesn’t like a good anthology flick with nods to Psycho, killer cults and bigfoot. It has a segment for everyone, although cohesively it is missing other elements that would have made it great.
Since I mentioned the cast member’s chemistry above, I do need to mention that some of their performances were… lacking, to say the least. If I had to name one break-out performer, I’d have to go with Xoe Rose as Lacy. The other casting choices were interesting because, while they weren’t terrible, I would have switched a lot of actors and characters around. Honestly, I felt that the minor characters were portrayed by stronger performers than the leads. I think this was my biggest problem with the movie. To give constructive criticism, Geno McGahee should give a little extra attention to his casting choices in the future to enhance the overall quality of his projects.
Another important element Scary Tales: Last Stop is missing is awesome and outrageous special effects. There’s not any nudity, that I can remember, and without any enthralling performances horror fans are going to look to the blood and gore for entertainment, which is lacking here. While it’s true that there is make-up jobs, brutal injuries and weird costumes, there’s nothing that we haven’t seen before, and hundreds of movies that do it better. Now, I understand that effects are costly when working with an extremely limited budget, but I was left wanting a bit more with this one.
Luckily, what saves Scary Tales: Last Stop is the sense of nostalgia I felt while watching it. Independent anthologies, in my opinion, can always bring you back to a better time in the history of horror when done correctly. And this film just does that. Although the film was released in 2015, I feel that a simple costume change would be it all it needs to transition it to a film from the early 90s. Expanding on this idea more, the fact that all the segments weren’t in your face, mind obliterating, blood splattering short films made for a good time where you have to rely on mystery and suspense and the question of “what’s going to happen next?” It’s true that the film is missing expensive gore, but it’s rich with story and is able to be horrific in a subtle way.
A blind date gone wrong, monsters and more all situated amongst the backdrop of a cool, empty train station. Scary Tales: Last Stop is an old school anthology of subtle horror segments that are short and sweet. Some bad acting, questionable camera work and underwhelming special effects aside, this one is still halfway decent. Final Rating: 6 out of 10.
