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.

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.

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.

In 2023's Night Shift we are introduced to a young woman who is tackling her first night shift in a remote motel. When she was young her mother and her sisters got killed by a serial killer and apparently the motel is haunted. Therefore she spends most of the night walking around being scared of pretty much everything.

Sadly that is most of the plot. We get some side characters that don't have much to do and there are a few lame jumpscares scattered throughout the movie. The movie is pretty slow paced and there's not much to see, making it a rather boring watching experience. There are some humorous scenes that I didn't mind and also the acting was decent.

In the end I thought that the movie was pretty predictable and did not have any tricks up its sleeve. Also without spoiling anything I think the ending didn't make much sense but you can see that for yourself if you want. I think it's a below average movie that is slow paced and mostly uneventful, even though it has a semi-interesting premise. [4,9/10]

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!