We need some bureaucratic vampire movies to balance out the middle of our horror month, and take on Day Shift!
Day Shift!
Movie Details:
- Release Date: 2022
- “Run”time: 1 hour 53 minutes
- Where to watch it: Streaming
- Directed by: J.J. Perry
- Written by: Tyler Tice and Shay Hatten
- Starring:
- Jamie Foxx
- Dave Franco
- Natasha Liu Bordizzo
Synopsis: A vampire hunter was kicked out of the union. He’s given one more chance to be a union man and save his family.
Open Stab Wounds (out of 10): 6
Review: Brandon and I were talking about our appreciation of film the other day. The topic led to two ends of the spectrum: on one side, Popcorn movies, which are those that you can sit down, turn your brain off, and just enjoy what they are. On the other hand, well-made cinema, the films that keep continuity throughout sequels, have well written dialogue and stories, and they suck you into the world being displayed. Both ends have their enjoyable qualities and can be appreciated for what they are. I think today’s film falls in the former category. Today we watched Day Shift.
The film opens on Bud (Jamie Foxx), a pool cleaner busy with work, but it quickly establishes that this is just a cover. Bud is using his pool cleaner persona as a cover for his real gig as a vampire hunter. He makes short work of a couple of vampires and pulls their teeth to go hock them at a pawn shop. Apparently, in this world, vampire hunting is a unionized business and those not in the union need to sell their fangs to pawn shops and the like. Unionized or not, the rest of the normal world isn’t in on the secret.
Bud does not get the money he expected and we find out that he’s fallen on hard times. Jocelyn (Meagan Good), his ex-wife, is saying that she is thinking about moving to Florida and taking their daughter Paige (Zion Broadnax) with him. He needs to come up with $10k in a week or he won’t be able to afford Paige’s school tuition and braces, which are apparently the deciding factors on them going to FL. It’s a silly premise, but that is the main plot.
In order to earn that kind of money, Bud needs to get back into the union. He calls in a favor to a wartime brother-in-arms Big John Elliot (Snoop Dogg), who is now a bigshot in the vampire hunting world, who everybody seems to love. Big John convinces the union boss to give Bud one last chance (he’s violated union codes over and over, and lost his membership). Not wanting to really give him a chance he assigns a union representative to make sure he follows the rules; this brings in Seth (Dave Franco), a bookworm who just wants to work a desk job and not be in the field.
Predictable hijinks ensue, vampires are slaughtered, and the big baddie has a master plan. If you want spoilers, shoot me a message, but I’m not going to ruin it for all.
From the opening scenes, I could already tell that this was a “throw popcorn at the screen and laugh,” type of movie. With that in mind I think I just let my brain shut down and enjoyed it. The practical and visual effects were ok, but not spectacular. Jamie Foxx is a stellar actor and it felt like the rest of the cast was just kinda tagging along with his charisma. There were some chuckle worthy jokes, but nothing that will give you a big belly laugh.
This movie was probably what you’d get if the movies Lethal Weapon and Blade had an illegitimate child. Sure, there might have been okay parts from them, but it doesn’t live up to either. If you’re looking for something to just pass the time, I recommend this, but if you are bothered by plot holes, lazy writing, and mediocre acting, you might want to pass on this one.
BRANDON’S THOUGHTS: On the subject of popcorn vs. well-made films… I’m not a fan of this one. I rolled my eyes once too many times, haha. HOWEVER, the brothers from Glendale were amazing and I would’ve loved a film that focused more on them. In some world, they are the main characters in a turn my brain off popcorn flick. They made it John Wick in Vampire Land. They were cool.
I’m a little stubborn about this one, but I give it 5.5
Thanks for reading and watching along with us! Be sure to keep up with all 31 days of our Halloween Horror Film coverage!
Oh, and make sure to follow Brandon on Twitter @BarnyardCruz and Kevin @Solucid!