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If you're a horror fan, Shudder is your best friend. It's where I've discovered small films that I had never heard of and would never have seen without finding them on the streaming service. Such was the case with Last Straw, written by Taylor Sardoni and directed by Alan Scott Neal. As a slasher junkie, any movie that involves the synopsis of a killer in a mask attacking a final girl has me hooked. I thoroughly enjoyed Last Straw, from its cinematography and music to its intriguing twist, but what stuck out the most was the portrayal of its final girl. Most slashers follow a very traditional paint-by-numbers approach, and their heroine isn't any different, but Last Straw's Nancy Osborne (Jessica Belkin) isn't your normal final girl. In fact, it's her tough personality that causes the reign of terror that the movie chronicles.

When the chilling installments of Funny Games or The Strangers came out, the home invasion horror genre turned its heels from its early crime roots of robberies gone wrong to the more ominous idea of truly senseless violence. This concept has become increasingly popular in the genre, and the recent Last Straw is an indie horror that taps into this brutality then abruptly flips the script and shoves us into the perspective of the assailants. Turns out, watching how people are driven to these depths of depravity is just as scary as killers with no motivations, especially under Alan Scott Neal's aggressive and mean direction. Though the multiple POVs subvert our expectations in Last Straw, the violence in this grimy yet comforting little diner is still senseless, force-fed to us with a fork jammed down our dry throats.

Casting director Alan Scott Neal makes his feature-length debut with “Last Straw (2024),” a chilling slasher that is too high on its own supply. So much so that despite clear signs of brilliance simmering down the surface, you get a distant, often flat-out uninteresting genre exercise that doesn’t know what to do with its gore-filled premise. The result is a disappointing thriller that is too eager to please but never knows what buttons to push and when to move them.

The story follows Nancy (Jessica Belkin), a young, pretty girl who finds out that she is pregnant. From the offset, we are introduced to her as someone who doesn’t care what her life is all about or what she is going to do with the baby that is now growing in her belly. She casually talks about the pregnancy to her best friend Tabitha (Tara Raani), discussing who could possibly be the father.

It may be December, but luckily there’s far more than holiday horror arriving on streaming this month. In addition to a plethora of repertory titles being added across your favorite platforms, December brings a solid number of new release titles that’ll get you caught up on some 2024 horror, from huge theatrical releases to indie gems.

Here are ten noteworthy horror titles available for streaming in December 2024 on some of the most popular streaming services, along with when/where you can watch them.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – Max (12/6)

Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice in Warner Bros. Pictures’ comedy, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

The sequel to Tim Burton‘s 1988 cult favorite reunites three generations of Deetz women for another voyage into the Neitherworld the Ghost with the Most. “Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of...

The diner in Hollywood movies has been repeatedly used in a number of ways, although the truth is that, usually, some sort of crime is associated with the particular setting. Alan Scott Neal tries his hand with a crime horror/thriller in “Last Straw”, a film that premiered in Sitges before screening in a number of genre festivals.

Nancy Osborne is a girl in trouble. She is pregnant, although she is not sure who is the father, while her father, completely ignorant of the fact, pressures her to be more responsible now that she has made her manager in the diner he runs. Furthermore, and a bit before the night she is supposed to handle the late shift, a group of troublesome outsiders come to the establishment and start causing trouble, forcing her to pretend she is calling the police. As such, when one of the employees, Jake, starts to...

The all-horror streaming service Shudder has announced its full December 2024 lineup this week, with new originals, exclusives and catalogue titles headed our way next month.

Get ready to spend the ho-ho-horror days with new holiday special “Job Bob’s Christmas Carnage” and “The Haunted Season” from renowned author, producer, and filmmaker Kier-La Janisse. Read on for the full December 2024 lineup from Shudder…

Last Straw

Shudder Exclusive Film

Directed by Alan Scott Neal

Streaming On Shudder December 20

Available in US, CA

Synopsis

A rural roadside diner becomes the host of a maniacal killing spree – leaving a young waitress to clean up the mess. After hard-headed Nancy fires the staff at her dad’s diner, she decides to cover the last shift of the night by herself. Little does she know she is far from alone. The day is coming back to haunt her and when things begin to spiral out of control,...

★★★★

‘Shocking action’

Starburst

★★★★

‘An enticing feature debut’

The Hollywood News

‘Effective home invasion horror’

Dread Central

Last Straw is a raw and relentless home invasion thriller starring Jessica Belkin (American Horror Story), Jeremy Sisto and Taylor Kowalski (Snowfall).

Set over one night in a dusty roadside diner, Last Straw follows Nancy (Belkin), a young waitress working alone on the late shift. As a series of chaotic events spiral out of control, Nancy finds herself in a fight for her life when she is terrorised by a group of masked assailants. No one is who they appear to be, and with nowhere to turn, she must do everything she can to survive the night.

Last Straw has played at genre film festivals around the world including Beyond Fest, Sitges and FrightFest Glasgow, and marks the directorial debut of Alan Scott Neal with a script by Taylor Sardoni.

Last Straw is out...

I went into Last Straw completely blind, which is something I don’t usually do when I’m working. But it turned out to be the right call this time, as I realized watching it without knowing anything beforehand is the best experience one could have. Because after a certain point very early on, it becomes quite predictable. There’s a twist, sure, but it’s not something that changes the course of the film. Alan Scott Neal’s film is fairly straightforward, except Last Straw’s ending maybe. We’re going to look into that in this article.

Spoilers Ahead

What Happens in the Film?

In a very tropey manner, Last Straw opens at a diner called Fat Bottom Bistro, and by the look of it, you realize a lot has happened here. There’s blood everywhere, and you also get glimpses of multiple dead bodies. You hear the...

"I'm all alone here!" Shout Studios has revealed an official trailer for an indie horror thriller film titled Last Straw, marking the feature directorial debut of up-and-coming filmmaker Alan Scott Neal. The film first premiered at the 2023 Sitges Film Festival in Spain last year, and it also played at both the Paris & Brussels Fantastic Film Festivals - now set for an official VOD release in the US coming up later this week. A young waitress working the overnight shift alone at a rural, roadside diner finds herself in a fight for her life when she’s terrorized by a group of masked assailants. With no one to turn to, she will do everything she can to survive the night, even if it means striking back. This stars Jessica Belkin as Nancy, Taylor Kowalski, Jeremy Sisto, Tara Raani, and Joji Otani-Hansen. Yet another of these a-young-woman-fights-back horror films, where she snaps...

Ahead of its theatrical and digital release on September 20th, we have an exclusive preview of Last Straw just for Daily Dead readers that you can watch right now!

"Get the thrill of your life as the small-town siege horror, Last Straw, hits select theaters and digital on September 20, 2024 from Shout! Studios. Bringing the night shift to a tension-filled breaking point, this sleepy diner-set horror marks the directorial debut from Alan Scott Neal stars Jessica Belkin (American Horror Story: Hotel), Taylor Kowalski (Snowfall) and Jeremy Sisto, with a script by Taylor Sardoni and original score provided by Alan Palomo (Neon Indian).

A young waitress working the overnight shift alone at a rural, roadside diner finds herself in a fight for her life when she’s terrorized by a group of masked assailants. With no one to turn to, she will do everything she can to survive the night, even if it means striking back.

Her shift alone at a remote diner late one night, a waitress finds herself the target of a group of dangerous intruders in Last Straw, the suspenseful debut feature from director Alan Scott Neal. Starring Jessica Belkin as Nancy, a young woman juggling motherhood, a job she’s come to dislike, and a volatile coworker, Last Straw packs an unsettling punch despite its modest budget.

The story follows Nancy through one very long night at the diner she manages. With most of the staff called out and just one cook left to help, her decision to send the aggressive Jake home sets in motion a chain of events that leaves her isolated and vulnerable.

When masked assailants turn up seeking mayhem, it’s up to Nancy and her wits to endure the ordeal. Running just over 80 taut minutes, Neal skillfully sustains tension as darkness falls and Nancy’s terror rises.

This debut feature from Alan Scott Neal shows plenty of promise, with its classic setup and innovative midpoint switcharound

The first half of this 80-minute roadside diner siege horror plays out almost like a section of an anthology film, calling to mind the nasty little slasher The Gas Station in John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper’s Body Bags project. The opening 40 minutes or so mostly sticks with the same location, and the focus is initially on one character: newly pregnant waitress Nancy (Jessica Belkin), whose dad (Jeremy Sisto) owns a modest diner in the middle of nowhere, and who has put her in charge of that evening’s imminent night shift. It’s not exactly the world’s most enviable nepo baby gig, even if you’re not attempting to suppress mounting waves of nausea, and so Nancy is cranky and in no mood to take any flak from either...

The most wonderful time of the year is at hand: Halloween season has arrived. The signs are everywhere, from the cooling weather to pumpkin spice-flavored treats and beyond. But the biggest telltale sign of Halloween is arguably the overwhelming slate of horror releases packed into September and October to ensure maximum fright for the holiest of horror holidays.

That means it’s Fall Horror Preview time.

It’s no surprise that this year offers another densely packed slate for the Halloween season; and trust us, there’s more horror on the way. Expect plenty of surprise release announcements in store as more streaming services debut their seasonal releases, schedules, and beyond.

Here’s Bloody Disgusting’s Fall Horror Preview 2024 to help with your Halloween watchlists.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – September 6 (Theaters)

The long-awaited sequel is nearly here, almost 40 years after the original classic arrived in theaters. A family tragedy brings three generations of the Deetz family home,...

A night shift in a rural, roadside diner transforms into a harrowing, rage-fueled siege in Last Straw, the feature directorial debut by Alan Scott Neal. A new trailer debuted today, highlighting the intense violence that breaks out.

Shout Studios opens Last Straw in select theaters, VOD, and Digital on September 20, 2024.

In the film, “A young waitress working the overnight shift alone at a rural, roadside diner finds herself in a fight for her life when she’s terrorized by a group of masked assailants. With no one to turn to, she will do everything she can to survive the night, even if it means striking back.”

It stars Jessica Belkin (“American Horror Story”), Jeremy Sisto (“Thirteen”, May, Wrong Turn), and Taylor Kowalski (“Snowfall”), with a script by Taylor Sardoni and original score provided by Alan Palomo (Neon Indian).

“Last Straw is an outlet for revealing what horror awaits when the mask comes off and,...

As the days grow shorter and the air takes on a chill, horror enthusiasts are in for a treat with the upcoming release of Last Straw. This off-kilter take on the home-invasion thriller marks the feature debut of director Alan Scott Neal and stars American Horror Story alum Jessica Belkin. In Last Straw, Belkin portrays Nancy, a young waitress working a lonely late shift at a dusty roadside diner. The film, set to hit select theaters and digital platforms on September 20, promises to be a tension-filled ride from start to finish, and Collider is thrilled to exclusively present the trailer for the movie. Heres what you need to know about this highly anticipated thriller.

The Funeral

Stars: Ahmet Rifat Sungar, Cansu Türedi, Tekin Temel | Directed by Orcun Behram

Cemal, a lonely hearse driver, has been entrusted to secretly transport the body of a murdered young woman, Zeynep, to her parents’ home at their final request. But he hears strange groans from the back of the vehicle during the journey, even though Zeynep hasn’t got a pulse. As her body comes back to life, the moment he sets eyes on her, Cemal falls in love with the undead woman. So he must constantly feed her flesh by committing his own murders, even if it means dealing with the police force’s attempts to capture a serial killer.

The Funeral start strong – our protagonist tasked with keeping a body quiet for 30 days is an intriguing premise and poses a Lot of questions about how and why but all that is left behind when the the supernatural element comes into play.

Some of the best horrors build tension to leave an audience feeling uneasy and Last Straw makes you feel uneasy in the best possible way.

Set in small-town America this marks Alan Scott Neal’s feature directorial debut with Taylor Sardoni writing. We follow Nancy (Jessica Belkin) working late in a diner who comes up against a masked gang determined to terrorise.

With its UK premier at the iconic FrightFest we sit down with Alan & Taylor to talk about the importance of keeping the story grounded, setting of small-town America and more!

You can watch the full interview below:

Last Straw screens at FrightFest on March 9th followed by a Q&a with Alan Scott Neal – tickets available here

The post Alan Scott Neal & Taylor Sardoni on horror-thriller Last Straw, avoiding genre tropes and influence of John Carpenter appeared first on HeyUGuys.

The UK’s No.1 horror fantasy event FrightFest, which returns to Glasgow for its 19th year from Thursday 7 March to Saturday 9 March 2024, have announced the incredible line-up of talent that will grace the eagerly-anticipated event:

Schitt’s Creek and The Rig star Emily Hampshire will be hosting the World Premiere of Mom, alongside the film’s director Adam O’Brien. Emily not only stars in the film but is also Executive Producer. We will also have mega-genre talent Lauren Lavera, in the house. The star of Terrifier 2 and the forthcoming Terrifier 3, will present her latest terrifying movie, The Well, alongside Italian director Federico Zampaglione.

Abigail Hardingham will also be joining us. The star of The Missing and Nina Forever, is here for the World premiere of Custom, a passion project, which she stars in and co-produces. The film’s director, Tiago Teixeirin, making his impactful feature film debut, will also be attending,...

Rose Glass’s romantic thriller Loves Lives Bleeding is set to open the 20th edition of Glasgow Film Festival (Gff) on February 28.

The UK filmmaker’s follow-up to Saint Maud stars Kristen Stewart as a gym owner who falls for a bodybuilder with criminal connections. The A24 feature will receive its UK premiere at Glasgow following its debut at Sundance earlier this month.

John Archer’s documentary Janey, about Scottish stand-up comedian Janey Godley as she embarks on her final tour following a terminal cancer diagnosis, will close the festival on March 10.

Gff has secured eight world premieres (see below...

The 20th edition of the Glasgow Film Festival reveals an exciting programme featuring premieres, special events and screenings of some classics.

Running from February 28th to March 10th the UK premiere of Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding opens the festival. Closing gala is Janey – a touching documentary on Scottish Comedian, Janey Godley, about her life, career and terminal cancer diagnosis.

There are no less than eleven world and international premieres including Bucky F*ing Dent from David Duchovny adapting and his own novel which he also directs. Feature debuts at the festival include Glasgow director Ciaran Lyons’ Tummy Monster as well as The Old Man and The Land from Nicholas Parish.

The festival will feature a double dose of Ewan McGregor in UK premiere of Bleeding Love, starring alongside his daughter Clara McGregor, and also Mother.

A guarantee each Gff is great variety and this year is no different with...

Frightfest pick The Invisible Raptor Photo: Frightfest

The line-up for this year's Glasgow Frightfest was announced this week. Opening with Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell's psychological mystery You'll Never Find Me, which sees a request for shelter on a dark and stormy night turn into something much more unsettling, it will close with Alan Scott Neal and Taylor Sardoni's tale of small town desperation, The Last Straw. Brazilian newcomer Tiago Teixeira delivers paranoid erotic in Custom and Ireland's Paul Duane explores the ethics of ethnology and the power of music in All You Need Is Death, one of the most talked-about horror films of the year to date.

Other highlights include Wake Up, an environmental slasher from Turbo Kid team Rkss, and Mike Hermosa’s joyously silly splatterfest The Invisible Raptor.

"We live in amazing times of change in the delivery of the audiovisual experience," said festival co-director Alan Jones,...

FrightFest, the UK’s No.1 horror fantasy event, returns to the renowned Glasgow Film Festival for its 19th year, from Thursday 7th March to Saturday 9th March 2024. This year’s diverse and creative line-up, once again housed at the iconic Glasgow Film Theatre, showcases the latest new releases from the horror, chiller and fantastic realms by auteurs from all over the globe who are not only transforming the genre in exciting ways but also celebrating its consistent appeal at the box office. This year we will be presenting twelve films from eight countries, spanning three continents, including two world and eight UK premieres.

FrightFest kicks off in thrilling style on Thurs 7 March with a special UK premiere screening of twisted terror tale You’LL Never Find Me, a bold directorial debut from Australian filmmaking duo Josiah Allen & Indianna Bell and featuring outstanding central performances from Jordan Cowan & Brendan Rock.

FrightFest’s...

It’s not the small town diner setting that makes Last Straw – the feature directorial debut by Alan Scott Neal – stand out, though it does give it a fresh angle for its home invasion thrills. It’s the unique narrative structure that not only leans into the prevalent feeling of rage but reframes the visceral violence that ensues. While Last Straw ultimately fails to stick to the landing, the commitment to escalating the tension and violence through rage-fueled characters fascinates all the same.

Twenty-year-old Nancy (Jessica Belkin) feels trapped and fed up with her life. Stuck in a transitionary period post-high school, Nancy tries and fails to care for her dead mother’s beloved car and hangs out with her still-in-high-school best pal Tabitha (Tara Raani). Nancy also happens to be bitter about an unwanted pregnancy, which compounds her frustrations with working at her dad’s (Jeremy Sisto) diner as a waitress-turned-manager.

Last Straw

Director Alan Scott Neal and screenwriter Taylor Sardoni are in Sitges when we connect to discuss their latest film, tucked into a corner of a sunny courtyard, buzzing with festival excitement. Their film, Last Straw, is screening there and at Beyond Fest in the same week, which is a lot to digest given that neither of them has enjoyed this level of success before. The film follows a waitress, Nancy, through one terrifying night when she finds herself hounded by masked figures at the diner where she’s working alone – before flipping round to show us the same story from the point of view of one of her assailants,Jake, and managing to make us feel some sympathy for both. They developed the concept together, as Taylor explains.

“The film started a long time ago, for myself first, and then I brought Alan on after a few years,...

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you mixed the charm of a small-town diner with the suspense of a true crime docu-drama? Well, wonder no more because Alan Scott Neal’s feature film debut, Last Straw, serves up a disturbingly tense thriller that feels like it’s been ripped straight from the headlines of a newspaper that hasn’t even been printed yet.

Let’s start with the juicy bits. The film is set over one fateful night in a dusty roadside diner where our heroine, Nancy (played by Jessica Belkin), is just trying to get through another late shift. But when a group of masked troublemakers decide to make her night a living nightmare, Nancy finds herself in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

“…ripped straight from the headlines of a newspaper that hasn’t even been printed yet.”

The cast is a pitch-perfect ensemble of...

The first feature-length film from writer Taylor Sardoni and director Alan Scott Neal, Last Straw answers a seemingly simple, if rarely asked, question: When is a home-invasion thriller not a home-invasion thriller? The answer is just as simple, if also as rarely asked: When it’s not a home-invasion thriller, but a diner-invasion thriller. Swapping out a typical suburban home with a middle-of-nowhere diner open 24 hours automatically adds a level of novelty and originality to an otherwise tired, often repetitive, sub-genre. Whether that’ novelty and originality, however, qualifies as sufficient to recommend the Last Straw is another question altogether. Last Straw opens on a close-up of a not quite old-school jukebox. It’s filled with CDs, not vinyl, but the close-up adds an ominous note, especially...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

This will be her "last straw." An early teaser trailer has debuted for an indie horror film titled Last Straw, which is premiering at the 2023 Sitges Film Festival coming up in October. It's also set to screen at Beyond Fest in LA as well. Last Straw marks the directorial debut of Alan Scott Neal with a script by Taylor Sardoni, described as "a raw & relentless twist on the home-invasion thriller." Here's the full synopsis: A young waitress, working the night shift all by herself at a rural diner on the side of a back road, will wind up forced to back after being attacked by a group of masked assailants. Completely alone in the face of danger, she will have to confront them all, resorting to violence if necessary, in order to survive. She fights for her life over the course of one, long night. Starring Jessica Belkin as the waitress,...

Beyond Fest 2023 gets underway in LA next week, with all sorts of genre world premieres. Among the line-up at this year’s fest? Alan Scott Neal‘s “Last Straw,” an off-kilter take on the home-invasion thriller starring “American Horror Story” actress Jessica Belkin.

Read More: Fall 2023 Film Preview: 60+ Most Anticipated Movies To Watch

In the new thriller, Belkin stars as Nancy, a waitress terrorized by a group of masked attackers while working the late shift at a roadside dinner.

Continue reading ‘Last Straw’ Teaser: New Thriller Updates The Home Invasion Premise At Beyond Fest 2023 at The Playlist.

Alan Scott Neal's debut horror thriller Last Straw will have its world premiere at Sitges laster this month, followed by the North American premiere at Beyond Fest. The frist teaser has just been sent out. Check it out down below.    Part of me wishes that the Last Straw is literally the last plastic straw in the joint and Nancy uses it in the final kill, driving it into an eye of her assailant. Then she says, "Now, we only have paper straws. Bitch!".   We will see how close I was once we have a chance to check it out.    Last Straw marks the directorial debut of Alan Scott Neal with a script by Taylor Sardoni, a raw & relentless twist on the...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Bloody Disgusting has an exclusive look at the teaser trailer for horror thriller Last Straw, which will world premiere at Sitges before making its way to Beyond Fest next month.

Last Straw is an homage to the pressure cooker genre films of yesteryear and is said to be “a raw and relentless twist on the home-invasion thriller that subverts expectations at every turn.”

The story revolves around a young waitress working the late shift alone at a rural roadside diner. Her life takes a terrifying turn when she becomes the target of a group of masked assailants. As the night unfolds she must muster all her strength to survive.

“Last Straw is an outlet for revealing what horror awaits when the mask comes off and, at the same time, an attempt to understand what causes some people to turn towards violence,” says director Alan Scott Neal, making his feature directorial debut.

Bloody Disgusting has a first image from the horror thriller Last Straw, which will world premiere at the Sitges Film Festival before making its way to Beyond Fest next month. Variety reports Blue Finch Films has boarded worldwide sales.

Written by Taylor Sardoni, Last Straw pays homage to the pressure cooker genre films of the past and aims to present a raw and unrelenting twist on the home-invasion thriller.

“The story revolves around a young waitress working the late shift alone at a rural roadside diner. Her life takes a terrifying turn when she becomes the target of a group of masked assailants. As the night unfolds she must muster all her strength to survive.”

This film marks the directorial debut of Alan Scott Neal and the cast includes Jessica Belkin (“American Horror Story”), Jeremy Sisto and Taylor Kowalski (“Snowfall”).

The original score is composed by Alan Palomo of Neon...

Blue Finch Films has boarded worldwide sales on horror-thriller, “Last Straw,” set to have its world premiere at the Sitges Film Festival before making its way to Beyond Fest next month.

Written by Taylor Sardoni, “Last Straw” pays homage to the pressure cooker genre films of the past and aims to present a raw and unrelenting twist on the home-invasion thriller. The story revolves around a young waitress working the late shift alone at a rural roadside diner. Her life takes a terrifying turn when she becomes the target of a group of masked assailants. As the night unfolds she must muster all her strength to survive.

This film marks the directorial debut of Alan Scott Neal and the cast includes Jessica Belkin (“American Horror Story”), Jeremy Sisto (“Thirteen”) and Taylor Kowalski (“Snowfall”). The original score is composed by Alan Palomo of Neon Indian and the cinematography is by Andrey Nikolaev.

Exclusive: We’ll be seeing more of Kiela in the upcoming fifth season of Freeform’s Grown-ish. Daniella Perkins, who recurred as the character in Season 4, has been promoted to series regular for the upcoming fifth season. Additionally, Matthew Sato (Doogie Kamealoha M.D.), Tara Raani, Justine Skye (Already Gone), Amelie Zilber, Ceyair Wright (Space Jam: A New Legacy) and Slick Woods have joined the cast in recurring roles in the series starring Yara Shahidi.

Perkins’ Kiela, a sophomore, is Luca’s little sister but she’s trying to forge her own path at Cal U.

Perkins appeared in 10 episodes last season.

In Grown-ish Season 5, on the heels of big sister Zoey’s (Shahidi). graduation, Andre Johnson Jr. (Marcus Scribner), Aka Junior, enrolls at Cal U and embarks on his own journey to being “grown.

Raani plays Zaara, a first-generation Muslim-American. She is a sophomore, type A overachiever with a lot of swagger.