The question’s very basic: do you pay with cash, or by watching commercials. When it’s the same three commercials the whole way through—for products you’d never buy—just paying the cash may seem the better option. But it’s too late for that. It’s the Graveyard Shift. There’s no doubt that Stephen King is responsible for the ideas for more horror movies than probably any other single individual. I’d read his story, “Graveyard Shift,” many years ago. I was warned, though, that this was one of the least favorite of his adaptations, and that’s a pretty low bar. Still, it was just a matter of sitting through the same commercials over and over. And one of them was more entertaining than the movie. Of course, I don’t really watch for entertainment. This is a learning opportunity.
Let’s start with the basics: You need at least one sympathetic character. Okay, you kinda like Jane, because she shows basic humanitarian traits. And Carmichael. Then you want a plot that makes some sense—what is Warwick’s motivation? The writing is particularly bad. If there’d been a bit more intentional camp, this might’ve made a reasonable horror comedy. I mean, you’ve already got the empty aluminum cans being fired by slingshot. As it is, it’s played straight with an evil foreman, rats everywhere, and a giant bat in the basement. By the end you’re kind of rooting for the bat. And whose idea was it to use voiceovers of the sub-par dialog over the closing credits? Is this so bad that it’s good? I’m having trouble deciding.
Although set around the fourth of July I wouldn’t call this holiday horror. Nevertheless, there are some moments of religious imagery that pop out. The graveyard sinking in the river has a listing statue of Jesus near the start of the film. And the exterminator—the only real camp in the flick—narrates how in Vietnam they pinned victims down, like Jesus, to feed them to the rats. The final couple of minutes—well earned, I assure you—have Hall fighting the wicked foreman with the jawbone of an animal (one has to assume an ass), inexplicably among human bones (some still in their coffins). And his slingshot ultimately killing the giant (bat). The references are to Samson and David, respectively. Perhaps this movie’s an indictment of capitalism, since the basement cleanup is on Independence Day. Or maybe it’s just tired horror tropes on a break. (Having one of the characters reading Ben in the diner was a nice touch.) It may become a holiday tradition after all.
