To the uninitiated Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx) is a mild mannered pool cleaner, keeping the swimming pools of the San Fernando Valley well chlorinated. But the reality is quite different. Because he's actually a vampire hunter, and on top of dealing with the ever increasing population of blood suckers in Los Angeles, he has just one week to raise enough cash for his daughter's tuition or his ex-wife will move them both to Florida.
Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a vampire hunter? Beyond the cool shades, the fancy weaponry, and the flash car, that is. Does it pay well? Is it even possible to make a living as a vampire hunter? More importantly, is there a union? And if so, do you get dental? If these are questions you have pondered then this may be the movie for you. Either that, or you're just a fan of action comedies, because Day Shift certainly fits that bill. Jamie Foxx sports some very snazzy Hawaiian shirts - as well as some other colourful attire - as he and first time director J.J. Perry deliver the more human side of vampire hunting. In other words it's Blade with a sense of humour... and the joys of parenting. And as directorial debuts go, this is a good one. Despite being more than a tad predictable, Perry has found the right blend of genres to make this action/vampire/horror/buddy comedy a rather fun ride.
The newly minted director's background in stunt coordination means that the action is of high quality too. Everything is brilliantly shot, so that you can savour every beatdown, gunshot and vampire slaying. It's all delightfully over the top and ridiculous, which fits perfectly with the movie's general style - including the buddy comedy and the Twilight references. Foxx and Franco are great together, with the latter thankfully able to make his character annoying only to our hero. We all know that Foxx does cool and action hero very well - he definitely does so here. But he also nails the comedy, and when you add Seth (Franco) into the mix, running around screaming and quite literally pissing his pants while Foxx (and friends) dispatches the undead in style, you get a high degree of hilarity in the carnage.
A scene in which Bud and Seth team up with some other hunters is a particular highlight, as they rain down some serious (but overly stylised) carnage on a hive of the undead. Not to mention an intense car chase featuring an array of crazy vehicles, and cowboy vampire hunter Snoop Dogg armed with a minigun! Moreover, the prey aren't simply there to bite, hiss and scratch. It is a horror/comedy, after all. Karla Souza does a pretty good job as the big evil with plans to reassert her kind's dominance over us mere mortals, despite not getting much to do. However, real creativity has been applied to the legions of bloodsuckers, and their many variants. The spiders are particularly impressive - or should that be horrifying? - given that a lot of it was done for real with contortionists. All in all, if Foxx and Perry were going for exciting, over the top entertainment, they nailed it!
Netflix asks what it's like to be a vampire hunter, and this is what they came up with. It might be more than a tad predictable, but Day Shift is the perfect option if you're looking for an easy/fun watch.
7/10
What did you think of Day Shift? Leave a comment below or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also email us at moviemoustache@gmail.com.
Comments
Post a Comment