Night Shift

MAXIMUM ENJOYMENT from a thriller - Night Shift is everything it needs to be at every twist and turn. Effortlessly a stand out in the genre with killer performances; Night Shift is an instant classic that ticks all the boxes. The China Brothers have delivered a story that weaves in the fun and scares at all the right moments and is nothing short of entertaining. Grab your popcorn, chuck on hour comfies, and tuck in for a ride that (if you're anything like me) you haven't had with a triller in a long time. Love that indie horror films are finally getting the attention they deserve! Can't wait to see what these guys do in the future.

I saw Night Shift, starring Phoebe Tonkin-Babylon, The Originals_tv; Lamorne Morris-Bloodshot, New Girl_tv; Madison Hu-The Boogeyman, Voyagers and Patrick Fischler-Barry_tv, Lost_tv. This is a better than average horror film directed by the China Brothers-this is the first movie they have directed together. This movie is not to be confused with the 1982 Night Shift, which was a comedy with Henry Winkler & Michael Keaton. It's totally unrelated. Phoebe is starting her first night as a night manager at the All Tucked Inn, a motel run by Lamorne. The motel is in a remote area, run down, rat infested and it is presumed to be haunted. There is even a sink hole in the swimming pool. The motel guests include Madison, who is running away from home, and Patrick and his wife that just want to do some kinky stuff for about an hour, before going home after leaving a boring party. Phoebe starts seeing apparitions and hearing strange noises, which doesn't help matters when Phoebe learns that a serial killer just escaped police custody and is in the area. The film does have a good twist near the end. It's not rated but it does contain bloody violence, language, sexual content-no nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour & 22 minutes. I enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to seeing more films by the China Brothers. I would buy it on DVD.

When I sat down to watch the 2023 movie "Night Shift", from writers and directors Benjamin China and Paul China, I had never actually heard about the movie, so I didn't know what I was in for. But with it being a horror movie that had eluded me, of course I opted to sit down and watch it. I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list, aside from Madison Hu and Patrick Fischler, and that is something I do enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie. The acting performances were good, and it was a rather interesting character gallery for sure. And while the trope of a remote, somewhat creepy motel (or even hotel in some movies) have been used in an abundance in the horror genre throughout the years, it is still a setting that works and sets the foundation for an interesting setting. Writers and directors Benjamin China and Paul China did cash in on the stereotypical horror tropes, but it worked out well enough. However, it made very little room for surprises along the way, making "Night Shift" a somewhat predictable viewing experience. "Night Shift", while watchable, just wasn't an outstanding horror movie. And thus, it will most likely never grace my screen a second time. However, I will say that it is worth checking out. My rating of "Night Shift" lands on a five out of ten stars.

I was prepared to waste an hour and a half on a Saturday night with this one but it turned out this was pretty good for about two thirds of the film and easily worth six stars (or more). Solid acting by Phoebe Tonkin, Lamorne Morris, Madison Hu, and well, pretty much the whole cast. Everyone played their part with gusto on conviction. There really was a perfect balance between humor, suspense and apprehension throughout the film. My reason for 3 stars is 'the big twist' in the story. The last few minutes were a complete disaster IMHO and although the directors thought they were being clever, let's face it, we are not that dumb.

Gwen (Phoebe Tonkin) is a newbie in the area. She has got a job working the night shift in an old grotty motel called the All Tucked Inn. Thye owner Teddy (Lamorne Morris) wants someone urgently as he is on a date that night. Gwen is creeped out of the place as Teddy was not expecting her early. He gives her a tour of the place. The place is not even deserving of a one star ranking on Tripadvisor. There is a sinkhole where the pool was. The cabins are rundown and there might be rats crawling about. Later Gwen finds out that the hotel might also be haunted. Gwen is certainly having strange visions. Not helped that there is a news announcement of a dangerous prisoner that has escaped. Night Shift is the directorial debut of the British twins, the China Brothers. It treads the well worn path of the psycho killer chiller. It starts off unnervingly but becomes immensely predictable. It was never going to be The Shining or Psycho but rips off from both movies. It is well acted and for a low budget movie and it has good production values.