Directed by Toronto filmmaker Tricia Hagoriles, recipient of outACTRAto’s ‘Queer Your Stories’ award, Last Call brought Spanglish queer comedy-horror to a St John’s audience.
It capped off St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (SJIWFF) shorts series “Am I the Drama?” with a bang.
Last Call follows lesbian couple Alex and Nora as they sit in their favourite bar, freshly post-breakup, rehashing their relationship before Nora leaves the city to move back home with her family.
As the bartender announces last call and they get ready to part ways, a sudden zombie apocalypse interrupts both the couple’s break-up and the bar’s closure.
Alex, Nora, and the seasoned bartender who overheard their whole breakup, are forced to put their grievances aside and protect themselves from the zombie apocalypse raging outside the bar.
Wielding sex toys and Molotov cocktails, and slinging Canadian queer references like nobody’s business, the unlikely trio quests to save the bar from obnoxious zombie-bachelorette-party-attendees in a hilarious ten minutes.
While Last Call hinges on common queer stereotypes, it does so in a way that is self-aware, referential, and develops the comedic aspect of the film exceptionally well.
Rather than poking fun, it pulls from classic horror movie tropes to create a funny and very gay story that captivated everyone at the Majestic theatre for SJIWFF’s shorts.
A short film in the final spot of a late-night screening that can get this many laughs from an audience, despite some attendees being sleepy at the late hour, is indicative of a great movie.
In Last Call, Alex and Nora are forced to confront their communication issues, something universal in relationships nowadays regardless of sexuality, mediated by their new friend and fellow zombie-slayer.
The bartender also recounts past experiences where a small army of drag kings valiantly saved the queer bar from rampant bachelorette party zombies, saying that “it’s the only queer bar left in the area. I’m used to having to fight for it.”
This zombie apocalypse serves as a metaphor for the gradual disappearance and takeover of queer spaces, a relevant issue facing the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Hagoriles creates a neon, camp atmosphere that achieves robust social commentary while remaining fun, lighthearted, and supremely funny. Genuinely, so enjoyable.