Day Shift (2022)

There isn't a lot to say about Day Shift. It's one of the more standard action comedies to come along in a while employing all the typical tropes of the "buddy cop" genre mixed with the fantastic vampire elements. It's generally watchable if entirely predictable. Everything about Day Shift feels average from the script to the performances. The only thing that doesn't feel average are the special effects which are pretty much terrible. Clearly the makers of this film didn't feel it was worth the investment to make it look real.  

The premise is good. Foxx is a vampire hunter who uses a pool cleaning business as a cover who gets paired with Franco as his union rep and they quite predictably become friends as they kill the bad vampires. But the execution is just so-so. As I said, you'll see everything coming. Some of the jokes are funny enough but the story is just so rote that it's hard to ever muster up enough energy to care about the characters (each a stereotype) or the outcome of the plot. 

Despite its fantastic elements Day Shift is made for a mainstream audience looking for something to watch while they scroll through their phones at the same time. This isn't a nerd movie. The world building here is some of the laziest I've come across in a long time. The plot of the villain is developing a sunscreen so vampires can walk around in the day. Yeah I know...

The film makes a number of illusions to The Lost Boys, including the funny and irreverent final line. But Day Shift is derivative for sure and holds little in common with that classic. 

But having said all this it really isn't terrible. If you go in just expecting something completely forgettable and mildly amusing you might get your money's worth. This is the kind of film streaming has really fostered as it's the sort of thing you'd be pissed off to have bought a ticket for but to throw on one night when you've already subscribed it can be decent background noise. 

Day Shift

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Dave Franco, Snoop Dog, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Megan Good, Peter Storemare

Director: JJ Perry

Writers: Tyler Tice, Shay Hatten