DAY SHIFT (2022)

DAY SHIFT (2022)

Tagline: Some jobs really go for the throat.  

(Action, Fantasy, Vampires Sort Of ) [R]

That's what I love about LA. All the damn vampires.

I think vampire stories are cool. My comic “Angelwolf” actually has a ton of vampires in it, but I never really mind when someone messes with the lore and this film does a ton of that. The vampires in this movie are more like undead wind-up toys with bad attitudes, but at least they have fangs, and generally, enough of the lore exists to make this a bit of a fun twist. 

This simplistic plot revolves around Bud Jablonski who is a former vampire hunter who is now a pool man making side money by selling vampire's teeth. He doesn’t want his daughter to move away with his ex-wife so he really needs more income than he’s been getting. As a result, he talks his way into a second chance with the vampire-hunting “police” and gets a partner named Seth whose sole intention is to get him fired so that he can have a better desk job. After killing the wrong vampire, a firestorm of “hunt” and revenge is coming Bud’s way. 

The main thing I noticed about this movie is that the first half doesn’t come across as comedic at all. I actually can’t stand Bud (played by Jaime Fox – SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME). However, around the time the second half of the movie starts and we get more interaction between Bud and his daughter Paige, Bud becomes far more likable and both he and Seth get some character growth that helped this storyline along. I also think the second half of the movie is quite a bit funnier, especially with some of the stuff that happens with Seth (played by Dave Franco who I really hope isn’t as creepy as his brother James). This is not to say there isn’t a lot of action in the second half of the movie either. There is, it’s just given a decent balance of both humor and darker tones. 

Acting-wise, I thought Natasha Liu Bordizzo was a great pick for Heather, but she isn’t really part of the plot till the last half hour or so. Karla Souza was solid as a vampire and was convincingly sadistic. She also gets a good motive which also added to the plot, because we get why she’s so pissed. Whenever Meagan Good (MONSTER HUNTER) is out there and you can cast her, just do it. She kills any role she does and this movie is no exception. 11-year old Zion Broadnax is really good as Paige. I love her interaction with Jaime Fox all through this thing. Snoop Dogg (TRAINING DAY) also gets in the action as Big John. His role in this is pretty cool, but there is an event that happens to him that is never explained in the plot and thus we get to the issue with this thing. 

Even with the “rule twisting” they do with the vampires, this movie just isn’t that original. It comes across as a “RENT-A-BLADE” or “NOT AS FUNNY DAYTIME LOST BOYS”.  It does actually have subtle nods to THE LOST BOYS and ABRAHAM: LINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER. Most of the dialog is pretty weak and the pretty funny parts are few and far between. As a result, I found myself expecting a much bigger climax with a higher price than what we got. The lack of any background or explanation on how the vampires in this universe work were more annoying than anything. I don’t mind filling in the blanks once in a while, but when you are trying to create a 113-minute world for people to enjoy, you have to at least give us an “ounce” of background. I have seen more exposition in 9-minute DUST sci-fi short films. 

Overall this is a decent enough film with just enough wind-up in the second half for me to give it a 4 out of 7. With better writing, it could have been something amazing. It’s good, but not amazing.

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