Central Park Driver

Vampire Stephen Tsepes (Michael A. Miranda) works the graveyard shift as a taxi driver, preying on the suicidal, the terminally ill and the occasional street gang. When he meets music video director Michelle Hayden (Helen Papas), who only has a few months left to live, he falls in love with the woman, much to the annoyance of her womanising husband Eric (Cliff Stoker), who teams up with a pal to try and end the vampire's existence.

Not to be confused with the 1990 Stephen King film of the same name, Graveyard Shift is an erotic vampire film that is more akin to Tony Scott's dreary dud The Hunger than MY favourite vampire films of the '80s, Fright Night, The Lost Boys and Vamp. Writer director Jerry Ciccoritti goes for style over substance, his film artfully shot, swathed in neon light, with plenty of fetishistic imagery. The visuals are undeniably pretty at times, but the whole thing is slow and somewhat pretentious in its approach, the pompous, oversentimental dialogue delivered in a surprisingly stolid manner that results in tedium.

Followed by a sequel, The Understudy: Graveyard Shift II, in 1989, so I guess someone must have liked it.

Jerry Ciccoritti's darkly erotic, appealingly stylised Canadian shocker has brooding swarthy-sexy vampire, Stephen Tsepes, (Michael A. Miranda) moonlighting as a taciturn NY cabbie, tirelessly working the gloomy night shift. This ancient predator hides in plain night; as some of, Stephen's more physically enticing female passengers only belatedly discover that their journey is about to take a terminal turn onto roads FAR less travelled!

This weirdly romantic, deliciously eccentric, unfairly neglected Canadian creature feature is engagingly performed by a talented cast of unknowns, with a number of splendidly grisly kills, plus an appreciably sensual, frequently skewed atmosphere that is heightened by ace composer, Nicholas Pike's spare, fabulously evocative synth score. An imaginative, creatively photographed, smartly directed horror film, and I think it's reasonable to say that in an era of conspicuously recycled mediocrity, it's more than just to single out the delirious hidden delights of uncommonly strange 80s horror fare like sleeper cult classic, 'Graveyard Shift' aka 'Central Park Drifter'. Jerry Ciccoritti's pervy, plasma-packed nightmare remains a toothsome terror treat well worth sinking your hungry, horror-loving fangs into! - In a blackened city infamous for its nefarious nocturnal denizens, sinisterly stalking Vampire cabbie, Stephen Tsepes, is a fare to remember!'

This was an interesting vampire flick for the premise at least. The 1980's style is great and the film is very noirish, but the pacing is a bit slow and the actual editing is too fast paced, cutting from scene to scene too quickly and leaving you wondering how people got where they were or how things ended up like they did. The score is sorta typical of the mid-late 1980's, which isn't a bad thing as most people would have you believe. The setting and style of the film reminds me of Miami Vice or even Fright Night, which was a better film in my opinion. Still, all things considered, I've seen way worse movies. All in all, worth one watch at least and not the horrible dreck that some folks on here make it out to be. Certainly not the worst movie ever done.

I have to disagree with the last reviewer. The movie is not as bad as he makes it out to be. Yeah, of course it has it's faults like majority of 80's B Grade movies but I haven't seen Central Park Drifter in years up until now and still find the film to be watchable. If you are looking for the hairs to stand up on the back of your neck and want to watch this for thrills you won't get it here. If you just want a horror film to watch with vampires involved and has an OK storyline then you can be entertained. If you want to take this seriously as I speculate the previous reviewer did, then you won't. I rate this movie half for its efforts based on storyline and the performances of actors was OK. As for killings...the murders were average and showed little blood. You won't find it gory here.

Silvio Oliviero has got to be one of the sexiest actors every to portray a vampire. His John Travolta SNF hair, muscular hairy chest, and ascent all add tremendously to the sex quotient of this film. So much hotter and more humane than any portrayal of Lestat could possibly be.