Richard Brake is a name well known to many fans of the horror genre, and for good reason. He’s great in everything he does, and I’m sure that will include his latest film, The Last Stop In Yuma County, a crime thriller both written and directed by Francis Galluppi. Also starring Jim Cummings (“Thunder Road”), Jocelin Donahue (The House of the Devil”), and the legendary Barbara Crampton (“Reanimator”) to name a few, the movie is currently sitting at an impressive 100% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing.
We recently had the chance to chat with Richard about the film, and I get the impression that he really wants you to see this one! You can check out the trailer, official synopsis, and our exclusive conversation below!
“While stranded at a rural Arizona rest stop, a traveling salesman is thrust into a dire hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty-or cold, hard steel-to protect their bloodstained fortune.”
iHorror: Hi, Richard! What can you tell us about ‘The Last Stop In Yuma County’, without giving too much away?
Richard Brake: I’m very proud of my instincts on this one. The same with “Barbarian,” Zach Cregger is an incredible director, I just felt it. It was the same vibe with Francis (Galluppi). I’m really blessed. I’ve worked with Rob Zombie four times, it’s just heaven working with him, he’s a brilliant film maker. I don’t want to push my luck, but I’m very blessed.
The film has a great cast, too. I see Barbara Crampton is in it.
I love Barbara, I’ve known her for a while. That was the thing. Every single person was his first choice. I literally lost money doing the film, nobody made money, nobody did it for money. We did it because we loved the film, and we really dug Francis. By the end, he had cast most of it, and he thought he’d love to get Barbara Crampton on, and they were telling him that there’s no way he’s going to get her, and then she signed onto it. Everybody did it for the same reason as me, the script.
When I heard Jim (Cummings) was doing it, I was really excited because I love Jim. He’s an incredible artist. Very important figure in independent film in this country. It’s a pleasure working with him, and knowing him. His enthusiasm for film and independent film is crucial, I think, and he was a big part of this film as well, in terms of producing it, and obviously in terms of his performance. It was great.
It was just really lovely to get there with a bunch of character actors, incredibly talented people, making movies because we love making movies. Not because we’re going to make money, or become famous, none of those reasons. Just doing it for the love of indie films, and it’s not easy! There’s no nice trailers, the foods like, you have two choices, one veggie. Nothing fancy. Living in a Motel 6. It’s not what people think.
Faizon Love, known to many as Big Worm from the film “Friday,” is in the cast as well as Vernon?
He’s a character…
He’s a funny guy.
He came in, we had been shooting for a week, or so, when Faizon showed up. It was really brilliant having him. He comes in and just nails it. Then Michael Abbot Jr, who plays the sheriff, came very late in the shoot. His stuff with us in the diner is somewhat limited, at least with my character, but very emotionally packed.
He came in and I was blown away. Literally, the guy just arrived on set and had a very emotionally charged scene to do. I was like, “this guy is incredible!” It was like watching Gene Jones, and that guy’s just a legend. Sierra McCormick (who plays Sybil), I loved. My agent was really excited, he was like, “I’ve seen her, she’s an incredible young actor.”
If you could say one thing about the film, to give people a reason to watch it, what would it be?
Without saying anything clichéd, or giving anything away, it really is a great film. If you like 70’s films, and that kind of gritty stuff, then it’s worth seeing it. Honestly, one of the biggest reasons to see it, is to be in the know. Because it’s an indie film, it’s not going to get a huge push. It’s not a big studio film. Be that person who has seen that film and can say to people, man you have to see this.
I don’t think I have heard one person who has seen it, including my 21 year old who is an incredibly tough critic of his dad’s work, who didn’t love it. My son sent me a text the next day saying how much he loved it, and I promise you, that does not happen.
So, that’s saying something!
It really is. It’s one of those films that you stumble upon, or somebody tells you about, and you want to be the one to tell everybody to see it. It’s not going to get loads of press. It has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and it won the Sitges “Best Film” award, it won a lot of other festival awards, but it’s a small film and a lot of people will miss it. So go see it, and tell people about it.
It’s always a pleasure, Richard, we appreciate your time!
You can see Richard in THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY May 10th, in theatres or digital release! Courtesy of Well Go USA.