DAY SHIFT
(director:J.J. Perry; screenwriters: Tyler Tice/Shay Hatten; cinematographer: Toby Oliver; editor: Paul Harb; music: Tyler Bates; cast: Jamie Foxx (Bud Jablonski), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Heather), Peter Stormare (Troy), Snoop Dogg (Big John Elliott), Meagan Good (Jocelyn Jablonski), Karla Souza (Audrey San Fernando), Steve Howey (Mike Nazarian), Scott Adkins (Diran Nazarian), Oliver Masucci (Klaus), Eric Lange (Ralph Seeger), Danielle Kennedy (Old Lady), Shai Debroux (Old Lady’s Awakened Vamp),Zion Broadnax (Paige), Dave Franco (Seth); Runtime: 113; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Shaun Redick, Yvette Yates Redick, Jason Spitz, Chad Stahelski; Netflix; 2022)
“Short on laughs, filled with cliches and loaded with violence.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
An ultra-violent vampire thriller/comedy about a vampire hunter in L.A., Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx), trying to support his smart 8-year-old daughter Paige (Zion Broadnax) by paying for her expensive dental costs and private school tuition while trying to control California’s vampire population. The thriller/comedy is not only short on laughs, but filled with cliches and loaded with violence. It’s directed by the former stuntman J.J. Perry, in his directorial debut, and is written by Tyler Tice and Shay Hatten.Bud is strapped for cash though a hard working pool cleaner. He’s not only a swimming pool cleaner in the San Fernando Valley and a divorced man paying alimony to his frustrated ex Jocelyn (Meagan Good), living in Florida, but a vampire hunter. But he’s been removed from the hunters’ union (they operate the vampire killers business) for being a rules breaker, but works now at his craft on his own. He also makes extra dough by selling the vampire fangs to the sleazy black market operator Troy (Peter Stormare).
Because he needs the money, Bud manages to be reinstated in the union on probation with the help of his cowboy-hatted, ladies man vampire hunter mentor Big John (Snoop Dogg). The new union head Seeger (Eric Lange) harbors a dislike for wise guys like him, but because of Big John’s influence he puts him to work on the day shift and partners him with the uptight nerd union clerk Seth (Dave Franco) to keep track of him, and gets his promise he will behave this time.
The ubervamp character played by Karla Souza, who runs the Valley and sells real estate, and might be the most interesting character in a film where none of the characters are interesting, is pissed Bud killed one of her relatives and forces him to hide from her attempt to get revenge on him, as he hides in the LA. underworld.
Not much sense can be made of its premise.
REVIEWED ON 8/16/2022 GRADE: C+