Night Shift

It's a low-budget film, with a simple idea, simple actors, not very interesting characters and little blood, however, it's entertaining as much as possible and delivers an interesting ending.

There are much better films that take place in roadside hotels, like Vacancy from 2007, but this film here is actually cool. It's simple, but not terrible. The biggest problem, in my opinion, is that the film often doesn't find its genre! He goes through a lot of comedy, drama, suspense and horror, and never gets what he really wants to get right.

As positive points, I highlight the main actress who works well in the character, the scare scenes with rats and the ending which is a bit surprising and fun.

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.

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.

This is a good movie if you just want to watch something moderately entertaining on the cheap... but don't expect anything above that because you're not really going to be getting that. This is a pretty moderate and alright movie; it's not great, but not terrible either.

What you're going to get is a movie with a functional, albeit wonky at parts, story with alright characters that can give off some entertaining sequences and performances, and it does have a cool aesthetic with a pretty good setting of a motel in the middle of nowhere.

The movie has your expected tropes of whisper talking, references to other media, comedic relief sequences peppered throughout the movie, jump scare sequences, and an ending that you'd expect from a movie like this today. The movie does pull a considerable amount from Psycho and The Shining, which is fine. The only part that might not be good is that SOME scares last way too long, to the point that they're more goofy than scary.

Overall, this is okay. At best, it's decent enough, and it's ho-hum at worst. If you have a few dollars to spend, and an hour and a half to kill for the night with some friends or loved ones, then you could perhaps spend it on this... I'll give it a very light recommendation...

Apparently, this is a directorial debut from The China Brothers and, if this is just a showcase of skills and abilities, then I suppose it's cool... I guess this is just to show that they can get the job done... hopefully they go on to bigger and better things!

The acting and some elements are a little corny and cheap. HOWEVER, it's a fun horror film that has some twists, CREEPY parts and keeps you engaged the whole time.

Gwen picks up a one time cash job to take the night shift at an old motel, after not getting much sleep while moving cross country. It's a pretty dirty joint and ran down. She starts to see and experience a lot of creepy stuff, she starts to wonder if she's seeing things because she's sleep deprived. Things continue to get weirder, getting odd customers, phone calls, etc.

Definitely worth a watch if you're looking for something horror with a fun twist and a little dark humor thrown in.