From the opening scene, there’s an unsettling, burning tension simmering in Francis Galluppi’s The Last Stop in Yuma County. It doesn’t let up either, as this twisty crime thriller heats up the thrills and unexpected surprises in a story set in the middle of nowhere with seemingly nobodies. These individuals, though, are all brought together by fate for an event that changes lives.
Jim Cummings stars as a knife salesman who pops in for gas at an Arizona rest stop. He learns that the pumps are dry and the next station is hundreds of miles away; however, the good news is the fuel truck is on its way. With no other option but to wait, the salesman takes a seat at the diner, where he meets the waitress, Charlotte (Jocelin Donahue). The situation takes a turn for the worse when two fresh-off-a-heist bank robbers, Beau (Richard Brake) and Travis (Nicholas Logan), pull into the rest stop and take everyone hostage while they also wait for fuel.
Francis Galluppi creates a tension-filled film with enigmatic characters
Francis Galluppi captures the paranoia and fear of being stranded in a remote location with nowhere to run and an uncertainty about the strangers around you. The director hides enough details about the diner’s patrons and their intentions to keep everyone wondering who can be trusted while also leaving a glimmer of hope that someone could be key to stopping the bank robbers. However, Galluppi goes for the jugular with a subversive third act that unravels into pure pandemonium and leans into the black comedy influences.
The Last Stop in Yuma County positions itself as a small story contained in a single location, but it takes wild swings in how the narrative unfolds and the character evolution. Take the lead character, Jim Cummings‘ unnamed salesman, as a prime example: He comes across as timid and incapable of hurting a fly, but he needs to find a nastier, primal side to survive this situation. The question is, how far should (and does) he go? Similarly, there’s a hint of calamity to Beau and Travis’ endgame here. Out of the pair, Beau demonstrates the cunningness to be the brains of the operation, but it’s Travis’ recklessness and arrogance that teases to be their downfall. Without getting into spoiler territory, don’t trust the tropes for a single second here.
Jim Cummings and Richard Brake’s tug-o-war to chew up the scenes
Even though Francis Galluppi’s story is written with all the suspense and tension in place, it’s cinematographer Mac Fisken’s masterful lens that establishes the atmosphere. Fisken juxtaposes the wide-open land behind the rest stop with the claustrophobic setting of the diner to push all the right buttons. The framing continues to lend to the anxiety on screen as the proverbial walls close in on the characters as the action heightens in the movie.
None of this would matter if the performances contained the emotional range of a sandwich, though. The Last Stop in Yuma County doesn’t feature a long list of cast members – and some of them have the smallest of roles, such as Barbara Crampton’s Virginia – but everyone uses their time effectively on screen. Every character who appears serves a major purpose in pushing the story forward in some way or playing a part in the eventual outcome. Ultimately, it’s a toss-up between Jim Cummings and Richard Brake in terms of who steals the show here. Cummings’ character experiences a transformative arc that no one could have predicted from the start, while Brake pulls out all the stops to menace the diner patrons as an imposing and scary antagonist. In the end, each of them delivers a stirring performance in their own unique manner.
Is The Last Stop in Yuma County a good movie?
As we live in an era where people play on their phones while watching movies, The Last Stop in Yuma County proves to be one of those rare films that demands the audience’s full attention. In return, it rewards the viewer with a suspenseful and surprising story that explores the darker side of its characters. Expect to see Francis Galluppi’s name everywhere after this sensational directorial debut.
The Last Stop in Yuma County |
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While stranded at a rural Arizona rest stop, a traveling salesman is thrust into a dire hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty-or cold, hard steel-to protect their bloodstained fortune. |
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| Studio: Local Boogeyman, Carte Blanche, Random Lane |
| Running Time: 1h 30m |
| Release Date: September 23, 2023 (Fantastic Fest), May 10, 2024 |
| Cast: Jim Cummings, Jocelin Donahue, Richard Brake, Faizon Love, Michael Abbott Jr. |
| Director: Francis Galluppi |
| Writers: Francis Galuppi |
| Genre: Crime, Thriller |
| Box Office: n/a |
The Review
The Last Stop in Yuma County
The Last Stop in Yuma County tantalizes as a suspenseful and clever crime thriller bubbling with black comedy influences.
Review Breakdown
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Overall
