Writer and director Francis Galuppi Last Stop in Yuma County We don't know exactly what's going on. But we do know it's not 2024, where no one has cell phones and everything is a lot cheaper in price. Most of the action in this 90-minute crime thriller takes place in a rundown diner/motel/gas station complex in Yuma County, Arizona. A fuel tanker truck is delayed, so customers who need to fill up have little to do in this small town except wait. The next gas station is about 100 miles away.

A sly knife salesman (Jim Cummings) makes awkward small talk with a waitress (Jocelyn Donahue). A devoted older couple walks in. There's a rowdy young couple. But the spotlight is on a group of shady guys who've just robbed a bank. Galuppi provides an intriguing cast of eccentrics that feel like the left-out bits from Tarantino, the Coen brothers, and Guy Ritchie. The suspense builds pleasantly as the waitress (whose husband is the town sheriff) tries to figure out who the bad guys are and how they'll react.

As for low-budget, mostly direct-to-video films (which made a few bucks at a few dozen cinemas), Yuma County is pretty compelling. Unfortunately, Galuppi doesn't seem to know what to do with his motley crew after assembling them; most of the characters turn out to be complete misses. It's not that Galuppi is backed into a narrative corner, it's just that after an interesting and varied cast of characters, the film falls back on crime movie clichés instead of making something interesting.

Cummings plays a knife salesman ostensibly there to celebrate his daughter's birthday. There seems to be more to his story than that, but we never learn much more about him. Donahue is intriguing as Charlotte, hinting at more than a dive-diner waitress, but as anyone rolling the dice would suggest, Yuma County As you'll surely notice, Galuppi shows little interest in developing these colorful sketches into real people, and the cast is ambitious and deserves better.

That being said, Last Stop in Yuma County There are enough fun moments and unexpected twists to make it worth a watch for fans of the genre, but don't expect a lot of depth or repeat viewing value.Well Go USA's Blu-ray edition includes three audio commentaries for those who want to dig deeper.