Last Night at Terrace Lanes review.
The last night of operations for a local bowling alley happens to coincide with a deadly cult’s moment of transformation. Don’t you hate it when that happens?
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Last Night at Terrace Lanes
Directed by Jamie Nash
Written by Adam Cesare
Starring Ken Arnold, Francesca Capaldi, Jack Franko, Carlo Glorioso, Christopher Inlow, Wes Johnson and Mia Rae Roberts
Last Night at Terrace Lanes Review
Our never-ending quest to categorize all things horror brings us to a new category. Location horror. This one shouldn’t require too much in the way of explanation. One of the things that can benefit independent horror the most is access to a great location. It’s why you see so many movies set in the woods. They’re free. They also come with an inherent familiarity and creepiness…but mostly they’re free to shoot in. When productions are lucky, they get access to an affordable shoot at a more unique spot. Project Dorothy had a massive facility to house its AI nightmare. Underground used a bunker for its ghost story. Last Night at Terrace Lanes has a bowling alley.
It’s the last night of operations at Terrace Lanes. The old facility is being torn down to make room for condos. Kennedy (Francesca Capaldi) is dragged to the alley by Tess (Mia Mae Roberts). Tess thinks it’s a fun retro idea. Kennedy hates the idea; the dates Tess has lined up…and her estranged father’s (Bruce played by Ken Arnold) presence as the alley’s maintenance man. Her night gets even worse when a deadly cult sets upon the location.
It doesn’t take long for the cult to make their presence known to the patrons of Terrace Lanes. They emerge in a synchronized pattern marked by alarms on their wristwatches. An appropriate alarm bell for the immediate carnage that ensues. If you spotted a character in the background of the first act…it’s a safe bet that they didn’t make it very far into act two.
There is a great economy of script work at play in Last Night at Terrace Lanes. The story wastes no time establishing the relationships it needs to. When the cult comes out to play you feel like every mark has been effectively hit in the build up without sacrificing any pacing. It gives you just enough to care about before unleashing hell. Even a few of the slightly more established characters are dispatched early. This infuses the proceedings with a bit more unpredictability.
Kennedy’s secret history with the bowling alley (and her deadly accuracy with a bowling ball) gives her a leg up in the fight for survival. As does her relationship with the man who knows the building better than anyone. There’s a bit of “Die Hard in a bowling alley” to it all. Well…if John McClane was a drunk bowling enthusiast trying to fix his relationship with his daughter instead of a police officer not trying very hard to fix his relationship with his wife. … Actually, that may have been the plot of one of the later Die Hard movies.
Capaldi and Arnold are great as Kennedy and her father Bruce, respectively. Kennedy is much more equipped to handle the situation than Bruce is…but his efforts lead to a lot of laughs. The supporting cast does a lot to give their characters something memorable in roles often cut short by the weapon of a masked killer. It’s cliche to say that a setting is another character in a movie…but all cliches come from a certain amount of truth. Terrace Lanes is as important to what makes the film work as anything.
Last Night at Terrace Lanes keeps a fun tone to go along with its high energy pacing. Many of its kills happen out of frame…but it cakes on the blood and tosses a few fun practical effects where it can. The movie makes great use of its location and presents several bowling themed kills. It also makes time for some very funny moments. Its short runtime ensures that the story never overstays its welcome…and the time crunch the masked cult is under to eradicate everyone in the lanes keeps everything well on track.
Scare Value
Last Night at Terrace Lanes is a fun movie that gets the most out of its unique location. It touches on themes of family, friendship and the importance of/moving on from the past. A lot is accomplished in its 76-minute runtime. With a cast up for the ride and a script that doesn’t waste a beat…Last Night at Terrace Lanes is a good time watching people have a bad time at the bowling alley.
3.5/5
Last Night at Terrace Lanes Links
Rent/Buy on VOD from VUDU and Amazon
