Last Radio Call centers around the abandoned Yorktown Memorial Hospital, where the patients check in but they never check out. While this might not be ‘Hotel California’, the movie’s psychedelic macabre will leave the viewer entranced and on edge. The plot begins when a couple of cops show up to the abandoned facility (located in Central Texas) after the community reports disturbing noises and appearances from the dusty broken windows from the deteriorating building. During this investigation, one cop suddenly disappears after being freaked out when a decapitated head rolls down the hallway. The cop’s partner is left mentally unstable with sever PTSD. After the mysterious night, the missing cop’s wife (played by Sarah Froelich, who eerily looks like Shelly Duval, aka Wendy Torrence from the Shinning) decided to hire a film crew to search the building for her beloved. Fair enough for a woman in love, but what is to come may not be for the faint of heart.

The Good

The cinematography takes a documentary style lens, and it was very reminiscent of Blair Witch. It also gave me a gamer feel, and I felt like I was watching someone play Silent Hill. While this storyline is seemingly retold hundreds of times in horror genre, I have to give credit where it’s due and this one has some original scenes. That is, there is great use of Indigenous rituals and folklore with shaman practices to ward off the evil spirits. In addition to that, the satanic imagery will make any horror fan feel a bit uneasy. I liked how the film was overall dark and you didn’t know what was coming next, with flashes of terrifying scenes. For indie found footage film, this was close to what you’d see in a major motion picture horror. Mad props to Director and Writer, Isaac Rodriguez, we will be seeing this director pulling together some imaginative and thought-provoking scripts. I’m here for it! No spoilers, but I absolutely loved the very last scene and ending! Great work by the entire production and cast, which if you hold out for the credits, you will realize is short sweet, Rodriguez produced it with Cynthia Bergen and staring Sarah Froelich, Jason Scarbough, June Griffin Garcia, Ali Alkhafaji, KeeKee Takatsuki, Bert Lopez, and Makayla Rodriguez.

The Bad

As mentioned, we’ve seen this plot time and time again in Horror genre, but I do appreciate the effort made in the writing to change it up just a bit. Found footage isn’t my thing but some may appreciate it. Unfortunately, there were some points that definitely reminded me that I’m watching a low-budget film. Also, some of the acting was off for me here and there.

Overall

This is a great movie to watch in the dark, either alone or with your scaredy cat friend who “really doesn’t like scary movies” to make it a fun at-home horror night! Out of Five skulls, I’d have to give ‘Last Radio Call’ four skulls, really thought this one is worth watching. Catch it on YouTube AVOD channel on January 21st, 2022, brought to us by Terror Films.