This cheesy adaptation of a Stephen King short story is a bad film lover's dream come true. Fans widely agree that this is possibly the worst of the King stories, but I'm forced to disagree. Didn't anybody else realise how bad PET SEMATARY was? GRAVEYARD SHIFT is a hoot from start to finish, packed with atrocious acting, stereotyped characters, and all manner of rubbery gore to boot. There isn't really much of a plot with this one, it's just about people running around in the basement of a wool mill and in the catacombs beneath.
In most cases, it's as bad as you would expect. They forgot to add a story, the dialogue is stupid, and the acting is about as bad as you can see - I've seen amateur productions where the actors display more conviction with their lines. David Andrews is particularly poor as the charisma-free lead. An exceptionally poor performance from a young Andrew Divoff also comes as a surprise, seeing as he later when on to bigger and better things when cast as a villain in the likes of WISHMASTER.
Elsewhere, we have a totally forgettable love interest, a Fred Ward lookalike who goes crazy in the dank darkness, and a reliable Brad Dourif who is probably this film's only saving grace, giving as he does a hilariously over the top portrayal of a crazy exterminator who is the film's greasiest, most likable character. Where this film did surprise me were the number of atmospheric, haunting moments as characters run around some old caves while the beast lurks in the shadows. It's surprising for a film of this variety to actually be scary but it does work occasionally. I also liked the deeply macabre moment where one guy falls through the ground onto a giant pile of mouldering skeletons. With this and the tentacled monster, it's almost Lovecraftian in nature.
It goes without saying that the monster is most effective when we don't see it, and the final appearance is a rubbery monstrosity for all the wrong reasons. For the monster turns out to be a giant slimy bat, which has been eating people for ages without anybody finding out (they never explain this). It's painfully obvious how fake the beast is but I admired the gore-splattered finale which has it crushed to death in a press. This move is to be avoided by fans of decent films and rat haters. For those to like their cheese mature and enjoy playing "guess who's gonna be killed next" then GRAVEYARD SHIFT is for you.
In most cases, it's as bad as you would expect. They forgot to add a story, the dialogue is stupid, and the acting is about as bad as you can see - I've seen amateur productions where the actors display more conviction with their lines. David Andrews is particularly poor as the charisma-free lead. An exceptionally poor performance from a young Andrew Divoff also comes as a surprise, seeing as he later when on to bigger and better things when cast as a villain in the likes of WISHMASTER.
Elsewhere, we have a totally forgettable love interest, a Fred Ward lookalike who goes crazy in the dank darkness, and a reliable Brad Dourif who is probably this film's only saving grace, giving as he does a hilariously over the top portrayal of a crazy exterminator who is the film's greasiest, most likable character. Where this film did surprise me were the number of atmospheric, haunting moments as characters run around some old caves while the beast lurks in the shadows. It's surprising for a film of this variety to actually be scary but it does work occasionally. I also liked the deeply macabre moment where one guy falls through the ground onto a giant pile of mouldering skeletons. With this and the tentacled monster, it's almost Lovecraftian in nature.
It goes without saying that the monster is most effective when we don't see it, and the final appearance is a rubbery monstrosity for all the wrong reasons. For the monster turns out to be a giant slimy bat, which has been eating people for ages without anybody finding out (they never explain this). It's painfully obvious how fake the beast is but I admired the gore-splattered finale which has it crushed to death in a press. This move is to be avoided by fans of decent films and rat haters. For those to like their cheese mature and enjoy playing "guess who's gonna be killed next" then GRAVEYARD SHIFT is for you.