Last Straw (2023) Review

Alan Scott Neal’s feature-length debut opens with a tour of the rural diner that is The Fat Bottom Bistro. However, as the camera glides around the retro trappings of the place, a 911 call on the soundtrack makes it immediately apparent that something unbelievably bad has happened, with bodies littering the floor and a sizeable clean up job in the offing.

As the shot comes to rest on the body of a waitress, we’re whisked back to “24 HOURS EARLIER…” and introduced to Nancy (Jessica Belkin), daughter of the eatery’s owner Edward Osborn (Jeremy Sisto). Nancy has recently been handed the role of manager and this has ruffled some feathers, none more than those of cook Jake (Taylor Kowalski). To say Nancy and Jake barely get on is an understatement and a disagreement between the two results in the former firing the latter. With Nancy left to cover the graveyard shift on her own and a local group of masked punks prowling the area, it’s going to be a hell of a night.

Last Straw’s tricksy, non-linear storytelling, coupled with a roster of quirky, sometimes abrasive characters prone to the odd digression or two, may bring to mind a certain filmmaker but I have to say that, on the QT, this turns out to be a different experience, even with a dance sequence to a song on the FBB’s CD jukebox which allows the enterprise to grind to a halt – in a fun way – for around three minutes.

Alan Scott Neal has a decade of experience in the world of casting, so it’s no surprise that even the smallest part is filled by someone who is a smart choice for that role. Further up the cast list, it’s good to see May alumnus Sisto back in the horror – or, at least, horror adjacent – arena as the concerned lone parent, trying to do the best he can to understand Nancy’s frustrating lack of ambition.

Speaking of Nancy, installing Jessica Belkin as the lead proves to be the most astute decision of all. Swerving most of the tropes that would normally set up our heroine as a sweet, initially demure but ultimately all-action final girl, Belkin builds a realistic, disillusioned twenty-year old who makes terrible decisions, says dreadful things to those around her and alienates even those who hold a barely-disguised candle for her – that would be you, Bobby (Joji Otani-Hansen). Nancy’s hostility lights the touch paper for the evening’s fireworks as her work environment turns into a siege situation.

The fact that Last Straw has all the potential for a lean, mean, sleeper hit makes it all the more exasperating that the final product doesn’t land nearly as well as it should. The sequences of Nancy versus the home (fries) invaders are well mounted and take the opportunity to throw in a side of grisly, up close violence but at the very point where the suspense screws should be turned, the tale leaps back to an inciting event in the proceedings. This unexpected narrative device fills in a few interesting details and provides an alternative POV to selected action beats but it also destroys the tension and leaves the viewer waiting for the plot to catch up with itself.

If The Fat Bottom Bistro’s menu had the curate’s egg on there, it would sum up this film perfectly. It’s confidently directed, capably acted and its view of fragile masculinity is effective. On the flip side, its propensity to jump back and forth feels a little too gimmicky and constantly robs the film of propulsion. In addition, including an underprivileged antagonist who goes from financially disadvantaged to indiscriminately murderous psycho in a heartbeat also feels off. At best, it’s way too convenient at best, at worst an invitation to accuse Last Straw of being offensively classist.

As we reach the point at which we came in, there’s a reveal which will shock almost no one, an explanation provided by a brief, previous sojourn to a specific location. This seems ingenious at first glance but then proceeds to become dumber with every second you spend considering it and, although the action doesn’t strive to be scrupulously accurate in terms of injury detail, it tips the tale into a more fanciful area which is at odds with some of the chilling bloodshed portrayed earlier.

Sporadically satisfying, Last Straw deserves some credit for at least attempting to serve up a tastier version of familiar genre fare and there are no reservations when it comes to the excellent performance from Jessica Belkin. Unfortunately, it’s not the feast of frights it could have been.

Movie Rating:

Last Straw trailer