Last Shift and The Invoking 2 to hit home video in October; trailers here

Last Updated on July 22, 2021

What's better than direct-to-DVD horror? Well, lots of things, but if you're of a certain mindset (and I am), it's easy to have a blast rooting through the dustbins of the genre and sometimes unearthing absolute gems. This October will be seeing an influx of horror titles thanks to the Halloween season, but right out of the gate we'll be getting LAST SHIFT and THE INVOKING 2 on October 6th, both with their unique charms.

In LAST SHIFT, directed by Anthony DiBlasi (DREAD) and starring Juliana Harkavy (The Walking Dead) J. LaRose (SAW III, INSIDIOUS) and Joshua Mikel (Hindsight):

Rookie police officer Jessica Loren (Harkavy) has been assigned the last shift at a closing police station and must wait for a hazmat crew collecting biomedical evidence. Ordered not to leave the station under any circumstance, Jessica comes to learn that it’s more than just an outdated station, it’s home to the ultimate embodiment of evil and his devoted followers, dangerous cult leader Paymon (Mikel). Paymon’s murderous spirit has haunted the station ever since he and two of his followers committed suicide on the night of their arrest. Trapped, Jessica is left to fight for her very survival in the devil's playground.

The guy who had to rip chains off his body in SAW in a POLTERGEIST II riff at a police station? With a special feature (among others) entitled "The Ballad of a Green Screen Guy?" Who could possibly resist?

And in THE INVOKING 2, an anthology directed by Jamie DeWolf (SMOKED), Jay Holben (BLACK TAR ROAD), Corey Norman (THE HANOVER HOUSE), Adam O’Brien (ZOMBIE WORLD), Patrick Rea (NAILBITER), and first-timer Jamie Root, starring Allen Lowman (BONNIE & CLYDE VS. DRACULA), Meghan McNicol (Motives & Murders: Cracking The Case) and Chara Gannett (JUSTICE IS MIND):

Although hundreds of disturbing paranormal events occur every year, most of these chilling encounters go unreported… until now. Bear witness as hapless victims experience the unspeakable terror of confronting demonic forces, murderous poltergeists and other evil entities that are dead set on claiming their souls. Descend into an abyss of waking nightmares as these bloodthirsty, malevolent spirits seek to possess their prey and drag them—kicking and screaming—to hell.

With a ghost that looks like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man among other wonders, this anthology will certainly never get boring considering the amount of shorts that are crammed into it.

You can pre-order LAST SHIFT on DVD and Blu-Ray here and THE INVOKING 2 on DVD here. Check out the trailers for both films below!