Day Shift
If “Day Shift” were a stake it’d miss the heart and if it were fangs they ain’t plunging deep.
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Vampires are probably my favorite movie monster. “The Lost Boys” and “From Dusk Till Dawn” were formative flicks from my youth. “Let the Right One In” is a modern masterpiece and my second favorite horror movie of all-time. “Blade” and “Blade II” are both bangers and walked (or ice skated uphill if you will) so “X-Men,” “Spider-Man” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole could run. (I also see you “Daybreakers,” “Interview with the Vampire,” “Vampires,” “Dracula” (1992) and “Near Dark”!)
I had high hopes going into “Day Shift” (now streaming on Netflix) as it’s a vampire horror action comedy starring Oscar winner and Binny’s Beverage Depot spokesman Jamie Foxx. It’s also the $100 million directorial debut of stuntman, fight choreographer and second unit director J.J. Perry, who’s been shepherded into the position by producer and fellow stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski (the “John Wick” franchise). Some of these hopes were met; a lot of them were not.
Foxx stars as Bud Jablonski (with that name this had to be written for a white dude – glad they got Foxx instead), a blue collar cat working as a pool cleaner. This serves as a cover for his actual vocation – hunting and killing vampires as a member of an international union of slayers.
Bud’s on the outs with the union. He opts to freelance by taking out an elderly lady vampire (Danielle Kennedy) and one of her awakened minions (stuntwoman Shai Debroux). Bud resorts to selling his target’s fangs to pawn broker Troy (Peter Stormare in a surprisingly small part) to make ends meet.
Bud must kick up some scratch in short order to prevent his estranged wife Jocelyn (Meagan Good) from moving with their daughter Paige (Zion Broadnax) from Los Angeles to Tampa, Fla. to live with her mother. Fellow slayer Big John Elliott (Snoop Dogg) goes to bat for Bud with mullet-headed Union Head Ralph Seeger (prestige television mainstay Eric Lange). Ralph relegates Troy to the lowly day shift (hence the title) and demands he have an overseer in the form of desk jockey Seth (a slightly annoying Dave Franco).
Turns out the departed elderly lady vamp had ties to bloodsucking bosslady Audrey San Fernando (Karla Souza), which places Bud, Jocelyn, Paige and Seth in the crosshairs of Audrey and her lackey Klaus (Oliver Masucci). Bud will need more than crosses to fight this pair of fangfaces. Assistance comes in the form of Bud’s mysterious neighbor Heather (Natasha Liu Bordizzo).
“Day Shift” is an undeniably dumb movie, but not an altogether unentertaining one. It’s entirely too long at 113 minutes and would’ve played much better at an hour and a half. The script by first-timer Tyler Tice and more seasoned hand Shay Hatten (a fixture of “John Wick” sequels and spin-offs and Zack Snyder’s recent output) isn’t especially good. The actors generally don’t do a great job of elevating the material either save for Foxx, who really came to play (and serves an executive producer). It’s clear Foxx’s experience as a comedic performer helped enliven uninspired material. Almost all of the female roles are grossly underwritten, which leaves Good’s Jocelyn unsympathetic, Souza’s Audrey unthreatening and Bordizzo’s Heather saddled with cypher status. Worse still DTV martial arts badass Scott Adkins is kinda wasted in what’s billed as a supporting role, but amounts to little more than a cameo. (Adkins probably signed on as a favor to Perry, with whom he’s often worked.)
I dug “Day Shift on a superficial level. It’s unsurprising for a flick directed by a former stuntman that the action’s pretty dope. Stunt coordinator Troy Robinson and fight coordinators Felix Betancourt, Eric Brown and Michael Lehr all deserve props. It’s rad to see Snoop rock a Gatling gun like he’s Jesse “The Body” Ventura in “Predator.” Speaking of “Predator,” I was tickled to see a movie marquee featuring “The Lost Boys,” “Robocop,” “Predator” and “Full Metal Jacket” during a chase sequence, but does this mean “Day Shift” takes place in 1987? As a 1990s hip-hop head I definitely felt needle drops such as 2Pac and Dr. Dre’s “California Love (Remix),” Ice Cube’s “Check Yo Self (Remix),” Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” and Body Count’s “Body Count’s in the House.” I also have love for the way costume designer Kelli Jones and her team dressed Foxx’s Bud – Jordans, Adidas, Hawaiian shirts and cargo pants – the dude’s donning the same duds as yours truly!
If “Day Shift” were a stake it’d miss the heart and if it were fangs they ain’t plunging deep. This vampire horror action comedy has plenty of vampires and action, but comes up lacking in the horror and the comedy department.