Night Shift

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.

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!

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.

Being a predictable movie could be a good thing, if you are the "I told you so", kind of person when you are at the movies, that is...if your friends can stand you.

The thing here, is that everything has been seen in other movies, series, anthologies and that is because it's always entertaining.

Motels, Hotels, no matter how big or small, expensive or cheap have that creepy atmosphere that makes your imagination run wild, just thinking about what is going on next door, could be exhilarating.

This movie is not Psycho, or The Shining, but it's entertaining and fun to watch.

A lot of plot holes, but I liked it.