| Graveyard Shift (1990) Dir: Ralph S. Singleton Cast: David Andrews, Kelly Wolf, Stephen Macht, Brad Douriff, Andrew Divoff, Vic Polizos Rated R, Approx: 86 minutes Paramount Pictures Video and DVD |
| Here is an adaptation of one of Stephen King's earliest short stories, it's certainly not one of the best King screen ventures, but there's quite enough distinction throughout this film to maintain interest for its relatively short running time. The author's more hardcore fans will probably want to avoid this one unless curiosity grab the better of them and at the same time, the more cynical, demanding horror fans are also advised to steer clear here. Essentially what this picture amounts to is little more than a subpar monster movie and your enjoyment of it will probably depend entirely on how much you like them. Not nearly as bad as the majority of reviews have claimed, it's not exactly memorable either. Graveyard Shift is a modest little film for the undemanding, despite the cliches and contrivances, it remains strangely compelling, best experienced on a rainly day (or whenever you're at your least demanding), it may not be great, but at least it's entertaining. |
| Set in the fictional Maine town of Gates Falls, within the Bachmin Mill, a textile mill which keeps the majority of the townsfolk employed, where series of gruesome deaths are occuring during the mill's graveyard shift. It seems that the mill foreman Warwick (Stephen Macht) isn't exaclty concerned about the deaths (which conveniently appear to be accidents) of his employees, but with keeping the mill running. When it's discovered that the mill's basement is a cluttered, rat-infested death trap, Warwick manages to buy more time to avoid penalty and recruit a small group of mill employees to function as a clean-up crew and work the graveyard shift over a holiday weekend in an effort to get the basemet cleaned. What the crew discovers however, is a massive, mutant creature lurking beneath the basment, thriving in a subterranean dwelling. A monster intent on feeding off the crew, stalking them one by one, killing and feeding at every turn as the survivors frantically search for a way to escape. |
| Graveyard Shift strongly benefits from its textile mill setting. The grimy, dirty surroundings of the main characters lend a gritty, realisitc atmosphere to it, but furthermore, the casting is excellent. The two leads (David Andrews and Kelly Wolf) aren't developed nearly as well as they should be, but their performances are adequate. As the human villian, Warwick, Stephen Macht is very entertaining in the bastardly sense. Little more than a stereotypical 'jerk', Macht gives the part his all. Mentally and physcially abusing almost all of the characters at least once, Warwick is the kind of character that audiences either love to hate, or end up rooting for (even if only for the fact that he is the most colorful character of the film). The most noteable role however, belongs to Brad Douriff's brief stint as the rat exterminator, Tucker Cleveland. With very little to do, Douriff steals the show whenever he's on screen. Particularly amusing is his conversation with Andrews' character regarding his philosophy on extermination. None of this really amounts to much however, while saved by Macht and Douriff, the characters are essentially all flat and underwritten. This aspect alone should be enough to turn off those expecting a story based on the works of an author well known for his brilliant ability to spin a story featuring fully fleshed out and convincing characters. You'll find none of that here. |
| Director Ralph S. Singleton (who in part also produced the excellent Pet Sematary and the not so excellent Pet Sematary II) fails in generating suspense, partly due to unsympathetic characters, but also because the director refuses to take advantage of the surroundings. The mill setting is interesting and the film has a unique feel for the first half, but by the time our characters have entered the mysterious dwelling of the creature, complete with thousands of skeletal remains, the tension is strangely absent. Singleton does try and conceal the appearance to the mysterious monster for the majority of the running time, perhaps in an effort to exploit the "fear of the unknown" element, but the massive rat/bat hybrid is glimpsed enough at the end that it manages to be both silly and disgusting all at once. |
| This write up may give off the impression that I didn't really enjoy Graveyard Shift, but on the contrary, I think it's fairly good. Those simply seeking a relatively bloody monster show should derive some enjoyment from this one. Under the Stephen King banner, this is sure to be a shock to some (although considering how much worse other King adaptions have been, maybe not), but check your cynisicm at the door and settle in for a decent monster movie heightened by its distinctive grittiness. It's far superior to many of the monster films that saw the light of day around this era, but whether or not that's a good sign for this one is up to you to decide. |
| Matt's Rating: *** (out of 5) |
| Reviewed by Matt Serafini 05/27/02 |
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