Day Shift – Movie Review
Director: J.J Perry
Writer: Tyler Tice, Shay Hatten (Screenplay)
Cast
- Jamie Foxx (Ray)
- Dave Franco (Now You See Me)
- Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Hotel Mumbai)
- Meagan Good (Brick)
- Karla Souza (Jacob’s Ladder)
Plot: A hard-working, blue-collar dad who just wants to provide a good life for his quick-witted 8-year-old daughter. His mundane San Fernando Valley pool cleaning job is a front for his real source of income: hunting and killing vampires.
Runtime: 1 Hour 53 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Day Shift starts as pool cleaner Bud (Foxx) uses this job as a cover to hunt vampires. Bud gets the job done, using this role to help his daughter stay in the area, as his ex-wife Jocelyn (Good) wants to move away from San Fernando Valley. This leads to him needing to return to the union to give him financial security.
A new vampire Audrey (Souza) is using real estate as her cover to make her next play for the area. She promises to help vampires be able to let move around in the daytime. Meanwhile, Bud gets a new partner, a desk clerk Seth (Franco) as he needs to prove himself to the union.
Verdict on Day Shift
Characters
Bud is an experience vampire hunter who pretends to be a pool cleaner as his cover. He needs money to keep his daughter in the same town, meaning he must make up with the union for vampire hunters. To have this shot, he must work with a rookie field hunter. He must use his experience and play by the rules to keep this role, even though he has now enraged a new deadly vampire.
Seth is the rookie clerk that is forced to go and work with Bud. He is assigned to make sure he isn’t doing anything against union rules. Not being used to field operations, he clashes with Bud throughout their time together, while learning how to operate in the field.
Audrey is a new vampire in the area, she has the cover of a real estate agent. She is looking to make a move to take over the San Fernando Valley, one that promises to change everything for the vampires. There is one problem in her plan, Bud, who she needs to eliminate.
In the supporting characters, we have Bud’s family who doesn’t know about his real job. The different types of vampires they must fight against, different breeds that offer different fights. Along with this, we see the different hunters that have their own strengths in the fights.
Performances
Jamie Foxx is brilliant in the leading role, nailing the comedy and action to give us a fun character to watch operate. There are hints of the psychotic side we had previously seen in Baby Driver and all of nothing for the family side we saw in Collateral.
Dave Franco as the office clerk who has never been in the field brings comedy to the film. Being a complete fish out of water that needs to learn quickly.
Karla Souza as the villain in the movie does enough to make her villain work but is never given a chance to make her feel as deadly as she sounds.
The supporting cast does a great team, with the stunt team needing a massive shoutout for the fights.
Story
The story follows a vampire hunter that needs to make money quickly, forcing him to return to a union. This sees him clashing with the next deadliest vampire in town and her hordes of vampires.
In the vampire world of film, where we haven’t seen too many great movies in a long time, it is always the story that does something fresh that works. This brings much-needed madness and chaos to the world. even if the world feels organised, the fights feel like we are watching an everyday ‘Underworld’ creation. Where the war is real, but only for the ones fighting in it.
Themes
Day Shift is an action horror comedy, that gets the action down perfectly, being massive over-the-top fight sequences. The hive sequence is one the best in the middle of the film. The vampires are a physical threat, not horror filled threat. The comedy doesn’t always work, with a lot being the same on-running joke between Seth and Bud. Using the modern San Fernando Valley shows a war that is going on in a modern world, with plenty of potential for more stories to come.
Where to Watch: Day Shift is available on Netflix.
Final Thoughts – Day Shift is a great explosive vampire movie.