What this vampire action comedy lacks in plot originally and coherent world-building it makes up for in action sequences and amiable odd-couple buddy comedy.

Premise: Although his family thinks he’s an LA pool cleaner, Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx) is actually a blue-collar vampire hunter. However, since being kicked out of the vampire hunting union some time ago, Bud’s been struggling to make ends meet, and so to support his daughter he has no choice but to team up with by-the-book union rep Seth (Dave Franco) in order to get back into the union.

Review:

In some ways, the premise for Day Shift is incredibly original and unlike any vampire film that I’ve seen before. Unfortunately, the way in which that premise is executed leaves a lot to be desired, and ultimately, I was left with the overwhelming sense that the film was a missed opportunity that sadly feels like half-a-dozen other vampire films rather than the breath of fresh air that it could have been.

Perhaps the film’s biggest issue is that it never satisfactorily establishes the rules for its world. For example, there’s a whistlestop explanation of the different categories of vampires and how different types can (or must) be killed in different ways, but even as a lifelong fan of vampire flicks, I was still left confused about which types of vampires were which, and how some vampires seemed significantly easier to kill than other (apparently similar) vampires. It was all quite muddled to say the least.

“…there’s a lack of attention given to the world-building throughout the film…”

But that’s by no means the worst issue with the film’s world-building, which is that it’s never explained precisely why Bud needs to get back into the union in order to make any decent money. Now don’t get me wrong – there is a superficial explanation, which is that Bud will get better “rates” for the fangs that he pulls from dead vampires if he sells them to the union, rather than if he sells them on the black market via Troy (an always reliably sleazy Peter Stormare). But this explanation doesn’t really stand up to any surface level scrutiny – it's never explained whether the fangs have any intrinsic value (for example, can they be used to make or do something?) or whether the vampire hunters are paid for fangs simply because they are evidence of a vampire kill. If it’s the former, then surely the fangs would still have an intrinsic value even on the black market (and why would the union be paying so much over the market value?), but if it’s the latter, then why would a black-marketeer pay anything for evidence of a vampire kill (unless they were planning to then resell the fangs to the union, but that then undermines the whole importance of being a union member in the first place).

And look, I totally understand that I'm probably overthinking the economics of this vampire hunting secret society, but it’s indicative of a lack of attention given to the world-building throughout the film. Even on a basic level, one of the fundamental issues that any vampire film needs to make absolutely clear is whether or not there can be “good” vampires. Some (perhaps most) vampire flicks adopt the position that when someone is turned into a vampire, they permanently lose their soul/humanity, they’ll feed on their friends and family without remorse, and they cannot be saved. Some other films, on the other hand, suggest that in certain cases, the transformation can be reserved if, for example, the lead vampire is killed before the victim feeds on human blood. Whatever the lore of the particular film, it’s vital that viewers understand who can – and who can’t - be saved, otherwise nothing makes sense (and, at worst, viewers may think that the “heroes” are executing victims who could actually be saved). Suffice to say that even after watching Day Shift, I’m still not clear on the rules of this particular universe.

“…the cast are a lot of fun to spend time with…”

The issues with the film’s world-building are exacerbated by a very predictable and straightforward plot that feels like it was taken from a 90s straight-to-DVD vampire flick. Just as the world-building showed promise but ultimately squandered it, the plot also hints at some original ideas (the main vampire, played by Karla Souza, initially appears to have some sort of grand scheme involving property developments and sunscreen) but then does nothing with them. So instead of playing with an interesting or original masterplan for vampire domination, we end up with a straightforward antagonist-wants-revenge-on-protagonist plot.

But despite all of those missed opportunities, I still had a good time watching Day Shift. For one, the cast are a lot of fun to spend time with, even if none of them are stretched that far by the material. Jamie Foxx is as charismatic as ever, making Bud an engaging character even when there’s not much to him, and despite playing an archetypal by-the-book desk-jockey character, Dave Franco is actually genuinely funny in his role as the union rep assigned to supervise Bud and report on any infractions of the union rules.

“…the action scenes are where the film really excels…”

The film is, primarily, a mismatched buddy comedy starring Foxx and Franco, meaning that the rest of the cast don’t get a huge amount of screen time to work with. Meagan Good plays Bud’s ex-wife, but doesn’t get to make nearly as much of an impact as she did in, say, Shazam!, just as Natasha Liu Bordizzo is less memorable in this than she was in Guns Akimbo (although thankfully both should soon get more to do in Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Star Wars: Ahsoka respectively). Meanwhile, Snoop Dogg does what he does in most of his roles, and plays his character of "Big" John Elliott as if Snoop Dogg was simply a veteran vampire hunter himself.

But ultimately, the film’s saving grace is unquestionably its action scenes, which is where the film really excels. This is the directorial debut of former stuntman J. J. Perry, and the film comes from 87North Productions, the action-oriented production company responsible for Nobody and Bullet Train – so it’s perhaps not surprising that the action sequences are so inventive and well-choreographed. The opening fight sequence in which Bud tackles a contortionist vampire is unlike anything I’ve seen in a vampire film before, and the action highpoint of the film is probably an impressively staged attack on a vampire nest near the middle of the film.

“…an enjoyable couple of hours if you fancy it…”

Ultimately, this is probably best thought of as a guilty pleasure, where you can simply sit back, relax, and enjoy Jamie Foxx looking cool in a series of creative, vampire-killing action sequences. In this respect, Day Shift is perhaps the ultimate 3-star movie – it's an enjoyable couple of hours if you fancy it, but if not, you’re probably not missing too much either.