Customer Reviews

Graveyard Shift

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

This movie is made rather half-heartedly, but it wallows so deep in the strange and disgusting that a fan of the horror genre can't help but be intrigued. It is based very loosely on Stephen King's story out of Night Shift. Its about a drifter who gets a job at an old mill where a bizarre death has just occured. The foreman is a sleazy adulterer who sleeps with his lady employees. The drifter falls for one of them and they become good friends. When one of the secretaries finds out she was put on cleanup, she trashes the foreman's car. Drifter stops the foreman from hitting the woman and the foreman asigns him to cleanup to take her place. That is when the party really gets started. The movie is by all means horrible, but it is still incredibly entertaining. It has no logic and the story is par at best, but you feel so compelled to watch it because it does hook you. Wich is why this is still one of my favorite horror movies. Look out for Brad Douriff as the exterminator.

Graveyard Shift is always high on the list of bad Stephen King films but I don't think it's all that bad. I have the advantage of never having read the story so I have no point of reference to compare it to, which helps I think. As most King movies do, this one is set in Maine, Gates Falls specifically. David Andrews is John Hall, a drifter who blows into town, looking for work. Well there's basically just one business to work at, and that's the old, decrepit textile mill that pretty much supports the town.

The mill is run by the hard-nosed, and sadistic Warwick (Stephen Macht) who hires Andrews to run a machine that can only be run at night due to the high summer heat. Andrews is alone in a dingy, dungeon of a room running his machine and encountering rats...lots of rats that even get inside the bags of cotton he's loading into the machine. Here he meets Tucker the exterminator, played by Brad Douriff with his usual flair for offbeat characters.

Soon Warwick volunteers several employees for the unenviable task of cleaning the basement. The basement makes the upper levels look like a palace, as its filled with water throughout its maze-like halls. But the little group soon finds themselves hunted by a very nasty creature.

Is Graveyard Shift a classic? heck no! But it does have some very heavy atmostphere. If you're the least bit claustrophobic the Mill's basement will really give you the creeps. It's got solid performances, especially from the over-bearing Macht. The creature may not be the greatest but you can do far worse on the video shelves than this film.

Bachman (get it?) Mills has a rat problem. A really BIG rat problem. Get it?

Stephen King's Graveyard Shift is one of those movies some people think Stephen King had something to do with. Kind of like John Carpenter had something to do with John Carpenter's Halloween. But Maine's #1 Horror Writer (oh, excuse me, "American Novelist") had nothing whatsoever to do with this movie, outside of demanding that it be shot in Maine, so his home state could get a little extra income. The meaning of the title is not dissimilar to Bram Stoker's Dracula or Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The movie does draw a commendable amount from the source story (there's a crappy boss named Warwick, a fire hose is used to squirt rats to oblivion, and there's a giant monster rat, and a mill), so King had no legal ground to have his name removed, as he has done with the movie Stephen King's [NOT] The Lawnmower Man. Not that he wanted to, as it is Graveyard Shift is a dopy piece of b-movie fun.

A drifter shows up in town and takes the job at the local mill that had been vacated by some poor dude that got mulched by The Picker. Seems Mr. Poor Dude got so scared of whatever was casting this really big shadow that he just fell into The Picker. The drifter is played by David Andrews, who would later open the Pandora's Box that is Skynet in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (way to go!), and all we really learn about him is that his wife died. What was her name? What was she like? Why is he drifting? Dunno, never explained. The mill is run by a nasty guy named Warwick (character taken from the story) and he is played by character actor Stephen Macht (who played Jack Deth's boss in Trancers III and got possessed in Amityville 1992: It's About Time). Warwick has a funny accent. At one point he says "Ayuh", so I guess he thinks he sounds like someone in Maine. He doesn't. He sounds like someone from another country, but he's the type you DO NOT ask "Where are you from anyway?" The drifter catches the eyes of two local cuties (one is having an affair with Warwick, the other refuses to - the refuser is from Castle Rock, end of characterization for both) and three local bullies (one is played by future Wishmaster Andrew Divoff). Eventually they all face off against the giant Rat Bat thingie in the sub-basement.

Graveyard Shift has some nice things about it. Brad Dourif gets to chew up some scenery (which gets to give payback when it chews up him) as The Exterminator. No, not the character from those 80s vigilante movies, just some local yocal that Bachman (get it?) hired to kill the rats infesting his mill. This character is added to the story and serves no real purpose other than to give the lead something to look at other than The Picker and the rats and it gives Dourif the chance to deliver a rather gruesome speech on the horrors of Vietcong Rats, but other than that you don't miss him when he's not around. The other characters are just fodder. Heck, I don't think that screenwriter John Esposito even bothered to name them. Wait, I was talking about good things...uh...atmosphere. The movie has some nice atmosphere...and the monster is pretty nifty, even if it looks like a wad of gum with teeth. The end title mix of dialogue is something to hear as well.

If it were made today, it would probably be a DTV or cable movie. Disposable b-movies like this seldom gets a theatrical release anymore. Pity.

A drifter is looking for a new start and applies for a job at a mill in a small town. Conditions at the mill are not great but work is work. The foreman is a total jerk and get off on wielding his power. But things really start to get bad when a crew is sent to clean out the mill's basement. Due to the heat, work is done at night. The whole mill is infested with rats but there is something else lurking in the dark.

As the work progresses cleaning out the basement, it becomes clear that there is more to the mill. A trapdoor leads into another level showing where the mill used to run on river power. This level leads to other spaces and caves. It soon becomes apparent that there is something very deadly lurking down in the dark. The crew's numbers drop quickly and it becomes a race to survive. What lurks in the dark? Who will get away? Will the creature be stopped? Watch and find out.

This is one of the earlier Stephen King films and it is based on one of his creepier stories. Unfortunately the set design leaves a little to be desired. For instance, the old water wheel's bottom is in workspace inside the building. I have no idea how water was ever supposed to get to the wheel and turn it. But the story holds together well even if some of the scenery needs some continuity work. The creature is scary and characters colorful and interesting. Really one of the better Stephen King adaptations. Check it out.

Graveyard Shift is one of those movies that most people have seen or caught part of at one time. It's not a great movie, but memorable enough that it gets stored away in the back of your mind. The only time you recall it at all is if someone refers to "that movie with the giant bat thing in it." Then you most likely know what they're talking about. Similar to Krull-Everyone remembers the cool throwing star, boomerang weapon thingamajig. The movie is based(very loosely)on a Stephen King short story. You know the film is in trouble when they adapt a short story and attempt to stretch it out to 90 minutes-there's a reason why short stories are short, ya know. Therefore, 5% of the film belongs to King, and 95% to the screenwriter. Yeah, drifter comes to town, gets job at textile mill, there's a rat problem and a bunch of guys try to clean it up, they run into giant bat monster. This is basically it, folks. You could actually make an entertaining flick from this premise, but this film is way too slow. The pre credit sequence has a gruesome giant bat thing murder, then we don't really hear from him again till the final ten minutes or so. The whole chunk of the film is used for boring subplots and character development that doesn't work. The three stars go towards Brad Dourif's great performance as the exterminator and the cool Lovecraftian underground bat lair. Otherwise, this is pretty cruddy.

This movie, is not for the weak stomaches, but most of all its a great STEPHEN KING film. Funny laughs, and a great screen play.

This is a good example of a b horror movie. There is plenty of gore & bloodshed to be found here. The plot is decent as well, set in a textile mill in Gates Mill, Maine because Stephen King lives in Maine. It is set in a mill that still uses the picker system instead of the automation.
The best part of the flick is the final 20 minutes when we first see the giant bat/rat demon in the basement of the mill.
David Andrews & Kelly Wolf have never starred in a movie together to the best of my knowledge, but here their chemistry & love for each other is great. David is a drifter who gets gired to work in the mill for the 3rd shift, I work 3rd also. Kelly is Jane a beautiful millworker. Stephen Macht stars as the boss of the mill. Brad Dourif stars as the loveable exterminator, too bad he only gets 5-10 minutes worth of action.
A team to clean up the basement is assigned & David is the leader, they find the bodies of the missing co-workers, some rats which are bigger than they are, but the monster stays mainly unseen until the end.
The camera work is pretty good, but at times seems like it was done just to say it was done. The fact that the movie is set during the 11pm-7am hours of 3rd shift makes the atmosphere of the movie be very good.
The directing by Singleton is sub-par at times especially when the monster is seen on the first floor instead of the basement but mainly is pretty good. The special effects & elements of suspsense in the movie are really good.

Only two things wrong with the movie: 1. The acting is sub-par at times, but not enough to really hurt the quality of the movie. 2. The pace seems a little too brisk because the movie only runs 87 minutes, I would expand on it more, esp. showing the monster more.
The best parts are: 1. When they first discover what is in the basement & their reaction to it. 2. A secretary loses some papers & goes down to the basement after them, but trips & breaks her back, then she looks to see her demise. 3. The blood & gore of the movie is enough to satisfy horror buffs.

A lot of changes made from King story to movie, but the atmosphere of the old mill with graveyard next to it is perfect. Warwick character played by Stephen Macht is very strong. David Andrews is excellent as the mysterious drifter. Interiors of mill are very well done. Very good special effects and plenty of gore. I cant leave out Brad Dourif as the exterminator,perfect. Everything combined this is an excellent horror movie. Can be watched over and over to pick up more details each time. Last but not least is the final credit theme with lines from the movie stung together in a chilling and memorable song.

From Horror master Stephen KIng comes this most terror filled tale yet.....Gates Falls, Main. When an abandoned textile mill is reopened several employees meet mysteriouse deaths. The Link between all the killings, they all occured between the hours of 11 pm. and 7 am. otherwise known as the graveyard shift. The sadistic mill foreman has chosen a group to clean up the mills rat infested basement, but what the workers find is a subterranean maze of tunnels lreading to the cemetary, and an unimaginable horror that comes alivew in the dead of night.
This is a bare bones movie with no dvd extras, though the dvd itself and the artwork on it, are very cool. Not the best Stephen King movie, but definately not the worst.

Ten Best and Worst Things About this Movie:
1. Stephen Macht and Andrew Divoff's horrible New Englad accents, ayuh..
2. Brad Dourif's zany turn as the Exterminator.
3. Kelly Wolf's midriff.
4. David Andrews' stoic Spaghetti western performance.
5. The fact that it doesn't really resemble King's short story at all.
6. The rat/bat creature is never justified..where did it come from?
7. The rats surfing.
8. Andrews slinghost with Diet Pepsi cans.
9. The really ridiculous voice overs during the end credits.
10. The graveyard of bones.
In other words, it's a b flick with a capital B, and if you like that kind of film, you'll love GRAVEYARD SHIFT.