Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Last Stop in Yuma County Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 16, 2024

There may not be a tropical storm threatening denizens of a coastal eating joint, but large swaths of The Last Stop in Yuma County may remind some of a perhaps slightly "Coen-ized" remake of the venerable Bogie and Bacall film Key Largo. Once again an isolated diner with a bunch of customers ends up being the site of "innocent" folks held hostage by some villains on the run, with perhaps unsurprising mayhem ensuing. It's perhaps salient to note that in a film full of types straining at times to become actual characters the focal male is simply identified as Knife Salesman (Jim Cummings), who has the misfortune to run low on gas at the titular "last stop", which itself is without petroleum since the refueling truck is overdue, but expected shortly. Luckily (?), there's a diner attached to the gas station, and as the Knife Salesman waits in his car for gas to arrive, local sheriff Charlie (Michael Abbott Jr.) drops off his waitress wife Charlotte (Jocelin Donahue) to open up the place. Suffice it to say that the Knife Salesman has in the meantime heard a radio broadcast about a bank robbery and the escape of the perpetrators in a damaged green Pinto. Obviously the stage is set for the arrival of more "customers".

The restaurant is almost hilariously full of people within minutes of the bad guys showing up, and that allows first time writer and director Francis Galluppi opportunities to try that above mentioned segue from type to character, and finding at least intermittent success in some of the interstitial beats between what are almost manic depressive outbreaks of violence, including a funny / horrifying showdown partway through the tale where it turns out virtually everyone in the place has some kind of weapon. In the meantime, sheriff Charlie and his dimwitted deputy Gavin (Connor Paolo) are blissfully ignorant of the increasing danger at the diner, which is soon infiltrated by even more folks with nefarious intents.

There's a pretty scabrous and dark sense of humor suffusing this piece, something that tended to remind me of Coen films in particular, but there's also the same kind of "domino effect" of an increasing body count in precarious circumstances that is especially reminiscent of everything from Blood Simple to Fargo. Galluppi's screenplay arguably offers a couple of needless detours and scrambles as it careens headlong into its climax, which, kind of like the aforementioned "Mexican standoff", is simultaneously funny and horrifying.

My colleague Brian Orndorf was evidently even more fond of The Last Stop in Yuma County than I am. You can read Brian's thoughts here.

The Last Stop in Yuma County Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Last Stop in Yuma County is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The making of featurette has a few passing shots of Arri cameras, and the IMDb further specifies the Arri Alexa Mini as having been utilized, with what I'm assuming was a 2K DI (if anyone has verifiable information to the contrary, PM me and I'll happily update things here). This is an appealingly sharp and well detailed presentation that establishes the dry, dusty and barren environment of the diner, with an emphasis on supposedly "neutral" tones like beiges, yellows and ochres to help totally promote the sundrenched locale. The bulk of the film takes place inside the diner, with a few forays out and about, especially in cutaways to the sheriff and his acolytes, as well as a calamitous outdoor finale. Detail levels tend to be remarkably consistent despite some obvious lighting changes, and fine detail on everything from the fingerprint smudged napkin dispensers to fabrics worn by various characters is typically excellent.

The Last Stop in Yuma County Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Last Stop in Yuma County offers a nicely immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that probably frankly attains a lot of its surround activity from the nonstop supply of (sometimes cheeky) source cues. That said, there's appealing directionality in both ambient environmental effects and even some dialogue in the cloistered confines of the diner. The expected outbreak of gunfire and other explosives provides some low frequency bursts of energy. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Last Stop in Yuma County Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making Of (HD; 8:28) has some really fun (and funny) interviews with Francis Gallupi and James Claeys, the latter of whom sold his house in order to finance the shoot.


• Trailer (HD; 2:13)


• Director & Actors Commentary is accessible under the Setup Menu.


• Director & Producer Commentary is accessible under the Setup Menu.


• Director & Cinematography Commentary is accessible under the Setup Menu.

Note: As tends to be the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the disc has been authored so that supplements follow one another automatically (so that clicking on Making Of is essentially a Play All button. The disc is also authored to automatically move on to trailers for other Well Go USA releases after the Trailer for this film plays. Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

Packaging features a slipcover.

The Last Stop in Yuma County Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's a perhaps surprisingly firm grasp on both narrative and technique from first timer Francis Galluppi, and if there are a few missteps along the way, they're probably not overly debilitating. The Last Stop in Yuma County may at its most basic not be especially innovative, but when Galluppi does manage to get from type to character, things become rather interesting and increasingly fraught. Technical merits are solid, and The Last Stop in Yuma County comes Recommended.