The director and writer behind the quite horrific Last Shift (2014) decided to reboot/remake his own film, which should have been a thrilling and exciting means to expand upon the content of the original. Instead this is an inferior and tedious rehash of material vastly better conveyed in the previous iteration. The original had a smaller budget, but utilized more effectively, ingenious and disciplined its presentation and script. Here things all seem a bit glossier, but to its detriment, as much of the DYI creativity seems abandoned. The basic plot and events are identical, with the addition of an intense opening sequence and some background information to a cult that was previously absent, but ultimately unnecessary and implausible. Character depth, slow building tension and psychological nuance is jettisoned in favor of violence, cheap jump scares and practical grotesqueries. To its credit, the practical makeup effects are exceptional: bone, sinew, soft tissue and offal are exquisitely, almost lovingly rendered. There is more attention paid to rendering grotesqueries than there is interest in providing an engaging protagonist or relevant motivation, and the final act that abandons the twists from the original in favor of a less ambiguous but more baffling ending. Distinct from its predecessor, this is an average creepy yarn with some effective moments, great practical effects and plenty of jump scares, but as a remake or successor to Last Shift, this is an inferior retread of a better work.
Malum (2023)