Stephen King's Graveyard Shift will never win an Oscar. It will never change anybody's life or be mentioned on any top one-hundred lists. But it's easier to find flaws in a little horror film than to 'mine' it for good points as so many have failed to do.
Adapting a short (very short) story from Stephen King's collection Night Shift, Ralph Singleton took a small budget, unique sets, and a remarkably gifted group of actors and spun a film called Graveyard Shift.
Plot: A group of over-worked misfits in a textile mill run afoul of a strange, mutant creature and a large number of rats. Simple, huh? The film has a very dodgy quality as it suffers from budget restraints, unreliable accents, and an uneven pace. Stephen Macht is divinely evil (if that makes sense) as the unscrupulous Warwick, who runs the mill like his own demented clubhouse. Macht's performance is over the top as his accent wavers at certain times and his mania takes over but somehow it seems to fit in this guilty pleasure.
But it's hard working character actor Brad Dourif who walks away with this picture slung over his shoulder as he portrays an intense exterminator with an unnatural hatred for rodents. His screen time is limited but, as in Exorcist III, Dourif fills it with charisma. The rest of the cast is quite good as well including the likable David Andrews, the sweet Kelly Wolf, the slimy Vic Polizos, and the underrated Andrew Divoff playing a bit of a jerk (go figure).
It would be easy to kick the movie while it's down, as critics and audiences do quite often. But this movie's grimy, unusual charm has won this reviewer over time and time again.
Shut your brain off and tune in.
"Okay, show's over!"
Adapting a short (very short) story from Stephen King's collection Night Shift, Ralph Singleton took a small budget, unique sets, and a remarkably gifted group of actors and spun a film called Graveyard Shift.
Plot: A group of over-worked misfits in a textile mill run afoul of a strange, mutant creature and a large number of rats. Simple, huh? The film has a very dodgy quality as it suffers from budget restraints, unreliable accents, and an uneven pace. Stephen Macht is divinely evil (if that makes sense) as the unscrupulous Warwick, who runs the mill like his own demented clubhouse. Macht's performance is over the top as his accent wavers at certain times and his mania takes over but somehow it seems to fit in this guilty pleasure.
But it's hard working character actor Brad Dourif who walks away with this picture slung over his shoulder as he portrays an intense exterminator with an unnatural hatred for rodents. His screen time is limited but, as in Exorcist III, Dourif fills it with charisma. The rest of the cast is quite good as well including the likable David Andrews, the sweet Kelly Wolf, the slimy Vic Polizos, and the underrated Andrew Divoff playing a bit of a jerk (go figure).
It would be easy to kick the movie while it's down, as critics and audiences do quite often. But this movie's grimy, unusual charm has won this reviewer over time and time again.
Shut your brain off and tune in.
"Okay, show's over!"