Francis Galluppi’sThe Last Stop in Yuma Countycame and went in 2024 without much fanfare. While it received strong critical notices and currently has a 97% fresh rating onRotten Tomatoes, thethrillerdidn’t make a dent at the box office. And yet, it made such a mark on directorSam Raimithat he asked Galluppi to helm an upcoming installment in theEvil Deadfranchise, which will release after 2026’sEvil Dead Burn.
The Last Stop in Yuma Countyis atwisty, tense ride, and one of the best features of 2024. While it lacks any supernatural elements, its plot plays into the strengths of Raimi’s Evil Dead movies, and his skill behind the camera hints thatGalluppicould easily make the transition from the desert to the Deadites.
The Stop in Yuma CountyfollowsJim Cummings' knife salesman, who’s on his way through Arizona to California to spend the day with his daughter when he pulls into a gas station to fill up. The station attendant informs him that the fuel truck is late, and Cummings heads into the adjoining restaurant to wait for its arrival. It’s thefirst of his many bad decisions that day,a tradition in the thriller genre.
While waiting for help to arrive, two sketchy men walk in, whom the knife salesman quickly identifies as the perpetrators of a local bank robbery. As more customers arrive, the knife salesman and the diner’s waitress try to figure out a way to alert the police without the situation devolving into chaos. It goes without saying that they fail. The film builds to a tense and violent standoff and, once the dust has settled, spends the next 30 minutes revealing new twists and turns that suggest that Cummings’ character might not be the innocent bystander he – and viewers — assumed. It keeps audiences on their toes, and it’s a shame it wasn’t noticed among themost unpredictable movies of 2024.
The Last Stop in Yuma Countybelongs on a list of thebest directorial debuts of the decade.Galluppi is an assured writer-director who lets the tension buildand keeps two steps ahead of his audience. What begins as a typical hostage thriller quickly escalates into something more surprising and thrilling, with its characters trying to survive in one location as everything goes to hell.
Does that sound familiar?
TheEvil Deadfranchise is one of themost consistent and innovative series in horror cinema, building on a few essentials to terrify and delight audiences. The ingredients are simple –take a group of people, strand them in one location, and let the demons terrorize them. It’s the premise that powered Raimi’s first two films,Fede Alvarez’s 2011Evil Deadremake, as well as 2023’s surprisingly effectiveEvil Dead Rise. Even thoughArmy of Darknessinitially seems to be a different beast, it is largely limited to one village, and its highlight takes place in a windmill where Deadite clones torment Bruce Campbell.
The Last Stop in Yuma Countymight lack the supernatural terrors as well as the overt gore, butGalluppi understands the basics. His film strands a cast of largely innocent bystanders in one location, where they’re terrorized by forces beyond their control. Galluppi and cinematographer Mac Fisken show considerable skill and control behind the camera, whether using it as a POV to get viewers into the characters' heads, slowing down the action to heighten the tension, or to reveal new wrinkles in the plan. It might not be the energetic movement Raimi perfected in the first twoEvil Deadfilms, but it’s still highly effective cinematic storytelling that shows Galluppi understands how toheighten the tension before letting the film explode in violenceand unexpected twists.
In its last half-hour,The Last Stop in Yuma Countyreveals a dark sense of humor that is the hallmark of Raimi’s threeEvil Deadmovies as well asEvil Dead Rise. As Cummings’ character tries to exploit the deadly situation for his own gain, Galluppi tosses in a variety of wrinkles – including the ill-timed arrival of a family, complete with a crying baby – that reveal he might be a bit more capricious than the film has hinted at. And as the salesman’s plans continuously fall apart and fate seems intent on punishing him, it’s easy to imagine Cummings as Galluppi’s own Bruce Campbell,whom Raimi delighted in making miserablethroughout the production of theEvil Deadmovies.
It remains to be seen when Galluppi’sEvil Deadproject will be revealed or what it’s called.His involvement was announced in 2024, shortly afterSébastien Vaničekwas tapped to directEvil Dead Burn, which will be released in 2026. Galluppi seems to be a perfect fit; in interviews, he’s showcased anEvil Deadposter on his office wall and boasted thathe has three copies of the Necronomicon on his desk.
In the meantime, as series fans wait for another round with the Deadites, they can catch up withThe Last Stop in Yuma County, which is available for rent on most streaming services. It’s a great preview of where Galluppi might take the franchise.
