Everyone pulling up “Day Shift” on Netflix has seen vampires more times than they can possibly count, a trait shared by the protagonists of the story and that the movie fully knows how to deliver the unexpected with.
As the directorial debut of stunt great J.J. “Loco” Perry, “Day Shift” is an action-packed, vampire- hunting blast with laughs in abundance and two supporting characters who need only ten minutes to walk away with the movie!
Trailer
Cast
Jamie Foxx plays the movie’s vampire-hunting hero Bud Jablonski, with Dave Franco portraying his associate Seth, and Snoop Dogg as his fellow vampire hunter Big John Elliott.
Meagan Goode also plays Bud’s ex-wife Jocelyn with Zion Broadnax playing his daughter Paige. Karla Souza portrays the movie’s villainess, Audrey San Fernando, with Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Bud’s neighbor and ally Heather.
Eric Lange plays Union head Ralph Seeger, with Scott Adkins and Steve Howey on hand to steal the movie as the Nazarian Brothers, Diran and Mike.
Plot
Bud Jablonski might seem to be an average Los Angeles-based pool cleaner, but his job is actually a smokescreen to hide his real career as a vampire hunter.
Times have been rough on Bud since his expulsion from the vampire-hunting organization known as “The Union”, with Bud claiming much lower paydays on the independent vampire-hunting market for items such as “vamp” fangs.
Bud also learns that his ex-wife, Jocelyn intends to move to Florida with his daughter Paige due to high bills their daughter’s private school education has left them with.
Determined to pay off their debts, Bud manages to get himself reinstated into the Union on a probationary basis with the help of his old friend, Big John Elliott.
He still has to work his undesired day shift under the supervision of Union rep Seth, and the two soon come to uncover a sinister plot by vampire evildoer, Audrey and her associates to reset the world to the days of humans worshipping vampires as deities.
Action
It’s obvious from the trailer that “Day Shift” is a very different kind of vampire movie, but it isn’t until the film starts that just how distinct it is really becomes apparent in its basis of Bud’s daily grind just to get by.
Of course, “Day Shift” isn’t not going to have fun with that, with tons of vampires on its docket, and fun it indeed has!
Vampire Slaying: “John Wick” Style!
Vampires might have a finite set of weaknesses, but “Day Shift” builds them out into a few dozen of different methodologies of vampire slaying from the “John Wick” school of gun-fu and martial arts.
Jamie Foxx and James Franco’s buddy movie pairing of a field vet, and an office bureaucrat keeps the laughter fast and plentiful on the ride of Bud’s seasoned methods of taking out vamps and Seth’s overwhelmed shock at being on the job for the first time.
The vampire-hunting action of “Day Shift” is also a creative cavalcade of stakes, silver, and garlic, and one set piece undeniably reigns supreme.
That, of course, is none other than the arrival of the Nazarian Brothers, Diran and Mike, who join forces with Bud and Seth for a vamp-slaying mission that is the highlight of “Day Shift” and then some.
Scott Adkins as ‘Diran’ Kicks and Slashes Vamps with every Tool Around!
Scott Adkins kicking and slashing vamps with every tool at his disposal as Diran, is a sight to behold, while his and Steve Howery’s brotherly chemistry carries the sequence as the highlight reel of vamp slashing that it is.
Scott all but patents “Bro!” as Diran’s catchphrase here, and despite just being present for one section of “Day Shift”, it can unequivocally be called a heist with the stealing of the movie that the Nazarian Brothers pull off.
Like any great vampire movie, though, “Day Shift” has some additional twists up its sleeve, and with a little help from Snoop Dogg’s Big John Elliott, the movie pulls the ace up its sleeve with Heather, Seth, and Audrey out at just the right time for “Day Shift” to wrap up on a hail of vamp-hunting bullets, blades, and banter.
Summary
“Day Shift” is brought to you by the guys who taught John Wick to kick ass, as the trailer boastfully mentions as a promise that the movie epically fulfills.
Creative vamp-hunting action scenes come frequently and hilariously with all the action you crave from an 87Eleven flick and just the right amount of light-heartedness with Bud’s family story.
Best of all, the Nazarian Brothers’ fifteen or so minute romp in “Day Shift” makes for a vamp battle that action fans can really sink their fangs into!
Favorite Quotes
- “That’s what I love about L.A. – all the damn vampires!” – Big John Elliott.
- “Vampire just tried to kill me….Now I just p****d my favorite f***ing suit!” – Seth (after supervising a vamp-hunting job with Bud.)
- “Works every time.” – Bud (after taking out a vamp with a wire-slicing trap.)
Trivia
- J. Perry’s past work as a stuntman, stunt coordinator, fight choreographer, and on-screen fighter includes such movies as (deep breath) “Mortal Kombat”, “Bloodsport III”, “Best of the Best 2”, “Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back”, “Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision”, “Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing”, “Iron Man”, “Avatar”, “Paranormal Activity 2”, “Warrior”, “The Fate of the Furious”, “John Wick”, and “John Wick: Chapter 2”, among many others.
- Liviu Covalschi was originally set to play Mike Nazarian, but had to depart the role due to scheduling issues.
- Following the release of “Day Shift”, many have expressed great interest in a spin-off focused on the Nazarian Brothers, and the topic has become very visible on social media. Jamie Foxx himself even sharing a fan’s tweet about this on his Instagram. (KFK, of course, fully endorses the Nazarian Brothers spin-off idea too!)
