The Last Stop in Yuma County: A Simple Premise Yields Big Results (Blu-ray)

The Film:

It's amazing how some filmmakers are able to take a simple premise and deliver something that has you on the edge of your seat for practically the entire journey. The kind of films that spring to mind are those that use just a location or two to tell their story ("12 Angry Men," "Rear Window," and "The Hateful Eight" being prime examples), where it's pretty much up to the strength of the writing & performances to build and maintain the tension that will have you glued to the screen in anticipation of what happens next. Writer/director Francis Galluppi seeks to continue this tradition in his new film, "The Last Stop in Yuma County," where a group of characters find themselves in a very tense situation that could turn ugly at any second.

The films starts with a traveling knives salesman (Jim Cummings) stopping for gas at a remote spot in Yuma County, only to find out that the station is out of fuel and currently waiting for the refill truck to arrive. To pass the time, he stops in the diner next door and chats with the waitress, Charlotte (Jocelin Donahue), who happens to be the wife of the local sheriff, Charlie (Michael Abbott Jr.). Meanwhile, we've already heard on the radio of a nearby bank robbery, from which the thieves fled in a green Pinto. The robbers, Travis (Nicholas Logan) and Beau (Richard Brake), arrive at the same station looking for gas, and subsequently end up in the same diner where the salesman recognizes their car. The thieves notice him and Charlotte acting suspicious and quickly intervene when the latter attempts to call her husband, turning their simple wait for the fuel truck into a rather explosive situation.

As you can see from that synopsis, this is hardly a complicated plot, and yet from that simple situation, Galluppi has crafted a film that skillfully builds tension as new twists and turns are introduced into it, including additional characters & complications to shake things up. Just like the films mentioned up top, it manages to have its audience on the edge of their seats as they wait to see what wild development could possibly happen next, which "The Last Stop in Yuma County" certainly has no shortage of.

There may be no particularly big names in the cast, but the ensemble does a fine job of breathing life into this intriguing group of characters who just happen to get caught up in a crazy situation. However, the most credit should certainly go to Galluppi and his strongly-written script. This is a scenario that could've easily turned into something way too over-the-top and completely unbelievable, and while there is at least one part that does strain a bit while providing a surprising laugh, he's able to keep it within the realm of reason to give the audience a fun & exciting ride.

Overall, this little flick ends up being a rather surprising gem that delivers a great amount of thrills in its relatively brief 90 minutes, making it a shame that it only got a very limited theatrical run, but with it being on digital, and now on Blu-ray, hopefully more people will seek it out. It's always an absolute delight to find a smaller work that manages to outdo a lot of its bigger-budgeted kin in terms of giving us a great story that has us hooked all the way, which is precisely what we get here.

Video/Audio:

"The Last Stop in Yuma County" comes to Blu-ray in a 2.39:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of excellent quality. The picture is beautifully sharp throughout its brief 90-minute duration, perfectly capturing the film's simple, barren setting. Likewise, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in outstanding quality. Overall, Well Go USA has done a wonderful job in both areas for this little gem's physical debut release.

Special Features:

3 Feature-Length Commentaries (Director & Actors, Director & Executive Producer, and Director & Cinematographer): A series of informative tracks that have writer/director Francis Galluppi discussing the film with the cast & crew.

Making of (8 Minutes): A brief look behind the scenes at the making of the film, featuring interviews with the cast & crew.

Conclusion:

Francis Galluppi's "The Last Stop in Yuma County" utilizes a simple premise to deliver plenty of thrills & tension over the course of its brief 90-minute runtime, ultimately resulting in a small gem of a film that will have you on the edge of your seat as its wild, unpredictable tale unfolds.

Score: 4/5

Available on Blu-ray starting tomorrow.

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