My Review of "Day Shift"

Day Shift is a 2022 Netflix exclusive movie. It's a got a few bigger names to the cast to give it some legitimacy but don't mistaken this for a big budget action film. That's not to say this movie isn't enjoyable. They did get a lot of things right but it definitely does have that straight to home video feel to it in the end.

The movie starts out with a nice action scene in a big house. We meet our protagonist Bud. At first he seems like your stereotypical mild mannered pool cleaner but things quickly change. We soon discover that this house is littered with ferocious vampires. Bud seems to be able to dispatch these vampires with ease.

This kind of kicks everything off in high gear because one of the people that Bud kills in that house happens to be the daughter of a very important vampire.

We then learn more about Bud and his regular daily life. He's struggling because he's a bit of a reckless individual. He's a take action ask questions later kind of guy and it's gotten him into a lot of trouble in the past. Now he's separated from his wife and close to losing his family. They don't have any money so his daughter and ex are close to moving to another city.

Now it's up to bud to try to kill as many vampires as he can to claim enough bounty to pay all the family bills. All this is happening while this big bad leader vampire is after him.

I like the fact that the pacing of this movie was pretty good. There's not a lot of wasted scenes in this movie but there's also a feeling that it's a little too rushed closer to the end. Bud develops a relationship with a union handler named Seth and they don't really build that relationship that well. It's kind of abrupt but they make the chemistry work relatively okay.

Each of the characters are pretty cookie cutter. If you've seen a lot of movies you definitely know where everything is headed. You'll also know personalities of each of the characters within a few minutes.

A lot of the movie is carried by the charisma of the cast. Each one of them are likeable and keeps you engaged to the movie. This is a tough feat to do when there isn't a lot for them to explore in this movie. It's a very straight forward and linear movie.

For families it is quite easy to watch. Kids can follow this quite easily and there isn't anything here to freak them out or parents away from watching. I think this is the target demographic for this movie. It doesn't help that the movie plays out like a video game.

There are very outrageous scenarios that are utterly unrealistic and certain scenarios that just feel like a video game. Even the pacing is very much like a quick action game. The fact that there are no lulls and relationship building makes me think this could have been translated well into a game.

Surprisingly they didn't have a ton of CGI in this movie which is a very good thing. I think that would have thrown me right out of the movie. Instead they have a lot of good stunt work with great practical effects. This gives this movie a little bit more of an organic edge to it.

Overall, there is a lot of fun to be had in this popcorn action film. The production values aren't the highest but what they did with what they got was impressive. It's a movie that can be enjoyed by the whole family but not on multiple viewings. It's definitely a one and done movie. That's why I have to give this one a 6 out of 10. There's an end scene that makes it look like they want to do another movie but let's not do that folks.