Day Shift

Day Shift is a new Netflix horror comedy following vampire hunters in Los Angeles. It is the directorial debut of stuntman and martial artist J.J. Perry, ...

- Zion Broadnax as Paige Jablonski - Karla Souza as Audrey - Meagan Good as Jocelyn Jablonski

Day Shift movie review: Jamie Foxx and Dave Franco's new Netflix film is a fun throwback to 90s action cinema that features a particularly memorable Snoop ...

Franco previously appeared in a supporting role in the two Jump Street reboot films, and while Day Shift leans more heavily on the action and doesn’t warrant Lord-Miller comparisons, it has an odd-couple energy similar to those films. So, when he’s instructed to accompany Bud on ‘hunts’ and report back to his boss the moment Bud puts a toe out of line, Seth is thrown completely outside his comfort zone. But it’s also the kind of film in which the hero trips and falls on the goo, immediately after being puked on. He’s a dorky foil to the braggadocious Bud. Seth has the rulebook memorised, thinks guns are ‘immoral’, and is very proud of his most recent purchase — an ergonomic chair for his office desk. Jamie Foxx plays a down-on-his-luck vampire hunter in Day Shift, his second major Netflix film after the similarly comic book-y Project Power. A tongue-in-cheek throwback to the glory days of Michael Bay — at least when it isn’t actively reminding you of the early Netflix tentpole Bright — Day Shift is the kind of film in which an elderly lady vampire vomits black goo on the hero in the very first scene. After a series of misdemeanours, Bud was thrown out of the union and forced to sell his wares — vampire fangs and the like — on the black market.

Look out, Dracula: Jamie Foxx hunts bloodsuckers in Netflix's 'Day Shift,' one of several new-school vampire movies you can stream right now.

(And no, we're not including the superhero film "Morbius" because that just sucks.) (Don't bite the messenger.) "Day Shift" adds some fresh bits to the vampire legend with a villainous hierarchy and freaky fight skills.

Netflix's Day Shift adds up to an interesting idea and a couple of good action sequences brought down by a truly awful script.

No, it's mostly just there to make a joke about not getting the powder in a very sensitive part of the body. It's just too bad that the rest of the film can't live up to Perry's strengths. Day Shift had a great opportunity to possibly explore hustle culture and the gig economy through the lens of vampire hunting. The central idea behind Netflix's Day Shift is a good one: vampire hunting is a 9 to 5 job complete with a union that offers up benefits and other perks for being a member. Think of it as a more blue-collar take on something like Men in Black, where taking on the extraordinary is just a way to make a living. Bud's wife, from whom he is separated, is threatening to move his daughter to Florida unless Bud can come up with $10,000 in a week to pay for private school and braces.

One of Netflix's biggest movies of summer 2022 is here with the new Jamie Foxx action-comedy streaming around the globe. The movie not only has plenty of ...

(a movie series renowned for its soundtrack), John Wick 3, Atomic Blonde, and Deadpool 2. The movie is about a pool cleaner who moonlights as a vampire hunter in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley to provide for his daughter. One of Netflix’s biggest movies of summer 2022 is here with the new Jamie Foxx action-comedy streaming around the globe.

Too bad dollar theaters don't really exist anymore, because this action-horror fest would be a hit there.

Aside from a handful of twists in the final act, there's nothing in "Day Shift" that you can't see coming long before it shows up onscreen, and the more potentially emotional aspects of the story are treated as glancingly/jokingly as everything else. His comic pitch is impeccable, and with his skinny frame and six-foot-four height, he looks magnificent in a ten-gallon hat and leather vests and dusters, like an animated cartoon version of an Old West gunfighter. The movie gets much more assured in the second half, when Bud and Audrey's stories begin to intertwine, and it finds the right balance of goofy deadpan comedy, martial arts-inflected supernatural brawls, gunplay, car chases, and gore. Elsewhere in the City of Angels, beyond the awareness of Bud and his workaday money troubles, a conspiracy is brewing. (Kudos to the Van Helsings of Los Angeles for unionizing; hope they have a good medical plan, because they get knocked around a lot.) Bud is a struggling divorced father whose wife Jocelyn ( Meagan Good) still loves him but just can't live with him because he's never around and keeps too many secrets from her. The first part of the movie is about Bud ramping up his vampire hunting to accumulate and sell more teeth so that he can make $10,000 in less than a week, give it to Jocelyn to catch up on the mortgage, pay private school tuition for their adorable daughter Paige ( Zion Broadnax), and eliminate the financial necessity of Jocelyn selling the house, moving away, and taking Paige with her.

Prepare yourself for some fairly hard-R gore and violence, but also hopefully some laughs, with Snoop Dogg and Dave Franco joining Foxx in this horror-action- ...

He gets his foot back in the door thanks to his old pal Big John (Snoop), who surely won’t disappear for a big chunk of the movie and later turn up at the exact perfect time with a giant weapon for the big third-act display of wanton violence. Somewhere in this premise – vampire hunter fights the system to take down evil Realtor vamp and also stop his family from moving away – is the potential to satirize bureaucracy and, um, predatory property-acquisition firms, I guess? Our Take: Today I learned, by watching Day Shift, that “vampires don’t pee or poop.” I was convinced this movie exists solely to wedge this notion into vampire lore, until I Googled whether or not they eliminate waste – and the results were far more entertaining than this forgettable assemblage of color, noise and cliches. Once Bud decaps a vamp, he gets out the pliers and yanks the fangs so he can sell them to a black-market collector played by Peter Stormare, who isn’t as crazy as you want him to be in this movie. Bud parries with his mulleted mustache-jackass boss (Eric Lange), who finally agrees to readmit him – and get him in the dental plan for the braces! He’s separated from his wife Jocelyn (Meagan Good), who’s having a tough time making ends meet, and is on the cusp of taking their adorabobble little daughter Paige (Zion Broadnax) to Florida to live with Grandma. School tuition needs to be paid and braces ain’t cheap, so Bud’s gotta sell enough bloodsucker canines to earn $10k by, like, Monday, or they go bye-bye, and if you think his hope of putting his family back together seems as threadbare as this plot, you’re right on the money. It doesn’t faze him of course, and soon enough, this becomes one of those movies with a beheading right off the bat, in the first few minutes. Of course, the rep is a greenhorn doofus, Seth (Franco), a pacifist who doesn’t like guns and routinely pisses himself during their vampire raids. Neato. That’s Bud’s signature move – hiding an extendable silver-coated wire in a hallway so it’ll lop off the noggin of a charging vamp, which seems like quite the accomplishment considering the relatively precise physics involved, you know, like setting it up at the exact perfect height so it slices right through the neck, and also doing it when the camera isn’t looking so we’ll be surprised by it, and maybe this is when you say SHUT UP IT’S JUST A MOVIE, and you may have a point. Its operator: Bud Jablonski (Foxx), who soon busts out his shotgun and ammo belt, because inside the house is an old lady who ain’t just an old lady – she’s a deadite zombie demon jiu-jitsu vampire lady who can bend and twist into all manner of unnatural shapes with the CRACKITY BONES sound we always hear in crappy horror movies. Now let’s find out if this one will enliven the dog days of summer, or just be a dog. Netflix movie Day Shift casts Jamie Foxx as a Hawaiian-shirted fella who pretends to be a pool boy but is actually a mercenary vampire hunter.

"Day Shift" is about vampires, but it's one of those Frankenstein-like movies stitched together from used parts, with Jamie Foxx as a family man version of ...

That produces lots of banter, bickering and unfortunately, pants wetting, a natural if low-brow response to the new-to-him prospect of getting killed. Making his directing debut, veteran stuntman J.J. Perry and writers Tyler Tice and Shay Hatten seek to unearth laughs and fun where they can, which includes having Snoop Dogg on board as a veteran vampire hunter. Parenthood is again at the heart of the plot, such as it is, in "Day Shift," which could just as easily be titled "Dad: Vampire Slayer." Foxx plays Bud Jablonski, a bounty hunter (he masquerades as a pool cleaner) struggling to make ends meet financially, suddenly given a major motivation to earn cash: His ex (Meagan Good) is planning to move away from Los Angeles with their young daughter (Zion Broadnax).

Day Shift, starring Jamie Foxx and Dave Franco, has a fascinating world, but rarely explores it substantially.

If this world does decide to open up more in the future, there’s plenty to explore in the Day Shiftiverse. This is where Day Shift shines, as Perry has decades of experience in the world of stunts, working on such films as Mortal Kombat, Iron Man, and Avatar. The fights in Day Shift are fast-paced and blunt, and almost always manage to feel spontaneous and brutal. Yet even though it never quite reaches its full potential, Day Shift is enjoyable for the aspects it does want to focus on, even though it’s hard not to wish it would investigate the larger world further. There’s plenty to be done within this world of vampire hunting unions, vampire realtors, this apparent underground collection of vampires, and the partnership between Bud and Seth. But again, Day Shift seems only to exist to show the possibilities of this universe, without embracing them or exploring them in any significant way. But while these fights are often impressive to watch, it’s the elements of Day Shift that aren’t explored further that feel like a missed opportunity. Once the coast is clear, Bud abandons cleaning a dingy pool and goes inside, where he takes out two seething vampires, and then pulls their fangs out to sell on the black market.

Given the cast features big names like Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg, it wouldn't be surprising if Netflix was mulling opportunities to expand the Day Shift ...

However, the chances of there being a Day Shift 2 are favorable. As of August 10, Netflix has not announced if there will be a sequel. The action-comedy vampire horror film Day Shift is now streaming on Netflix and people are already stoked to watch what looks like a super exciting summer movie.

The movie features garden variety vampires and plenty of cartoon blood-spurting, but the always watchable Jamie Foxx goes above and beyond the call of duty.

(Even Dave Franco’s Seth, the hapless union rep charged with tailing Bud on the job, eventually masters some of the necessary skills.) The action scenes are choppy but brisk, and there’s plenty of cartoon blood-spurting, de rigueur in a work such as this. Day Shift is the story of a guy who’s able to reclaim his past glory—and get some of those all-important dental-insurance benefits—but it isn’t easy: union honcho Ralph (Eric Lange) doesn’t want to let him back in, but one of Bud’s old pals, a union member in good standing, advocates for him. But Foxx goes above and beyond the call of duty, seemingly without even trying. Day Shift, directed by J.J. Perry and written by Tyler Tice and Shay Hatten, is designed to be fast, gory and silly, and it’s all of those things. He and his wife, Joceyln (Meagan Good), have split, and Jocelyn is now threatening to whisk the couple’s young daughter, Paige (Zion Broadnax), away to Florida in the hopes of giving her a more stable upbringing. Vampire entertainment is as eternal as vampires themselves, and from the ever-fertile dust of this genre springs Netflix’s Day Shift, in which Jamie Foxx plays Bud, a modern-day San Fernando Valley vamp hunter fallen on hard times.

Jamie Foxx, Scott Adkins, Dave Franco, and Snoop Dogg flex their action muscles in Day Shift, J.J. Perry's first directorial project after more than 30 ...

Day Shift is a treat for genre fans and a perfect example of the unusual, flavor-filled projects Netflix should be investing in for the future. Day Shift’s place on Netflix means it will have a lot of competition for viewers’ attention, with the platform’s seemingly never-ending content stream always moving on to the next film or series without giving new releases much time in the spotlight. The chaos in this set-piece feels entirely fitting coming from a director who the stunt community lovingly nicknamed “Loco.” Best of all, none of the intricate fight scenes, intense shootouts, or wild car chases featured in the film are obscured by poor editing or unnecessary CGI. It’s all presented clearly, and fine-tuned for maximum visual impact. His 30-year-plus career as a stunt performer and action coordinator is nearly unparalleled in Hollywood. So when the action design collective known as “87eleven,” (the group behind the John Wick franchise, and many of recent cinema’s best action sequences) decided it were going to proceed with Day Shift as its first fully branded 87eleven film project, the team reached out to Perry, as a longstanding member of the group, to steer the ship. Day Shift’s action has echoes of that “tacticool” Wick style, but the supernatural setting allows him to incorporate more exaggerated elements. Scriptwriters Shay Hatten ( Army of the Dead) and Tyler Tice handle this without falling into the all-too-common mentality of “saving it for a sequel,” which has stopped so many film franchises before they ever really began. The refreshingly low stakes and the way the mundane and the supernatural effortlessly intermix here are just two of the ways Day Shift will remind savvy viewers of the many ’80s and ’90s video-store staples the film is so clearly a love letter to. Someone who has never seen the older films the script and directing nod to will still find a lot of quality subtle world-building that hints at where sequels (and spinoffs) could fit if there’s a suitable demand. Perry’s action sensibilities have always been a bit more freewheeling than those of his 87eleven colleagues, and it shows in the ways Day Shift looks different from Nobody or the John Wick movies. At his core, Bud is just a working schmo trying to get through the day, dealing with a boss who wants to see him unemployed, a partner he doesn’t want to deal with (Dave Franco), and unforeseen complications making his job more difficult, like a gentrifying elder bloodsucker (Karla Souza) who has plans to remake the Valley into a new vampire hot spot. In a blockbuster landscape where all big-budget movies are starting to feel frustratingly similar, Day Shift stands out for its clear point of view, obvious swagger, and decidedly old-school approach. Netflix’s vampire battling action movie Day Shift feels like the antithesis of that pattern.

Do Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg survive their fight against the vampire hordes in Netflix's latest film, Day Shift?

A still-alive Seth, who is hiding his decapitation quite well, backs up his new partner, saying that Bud has adhered to the rules of the union, and therefore, should stay instated into the group. Believing his time to be running short, Big John stays behind while Bud goes forward, with John running out of ammo, then setting off what seems like a giant bomb attached to his chest. Bud’s ex-wife Jocelyn (Meagan Good) is planning to move away with their child, Paige (Zion Broadnax), if Bud can’t afford the $10,000 it will cost to put Paige in school and to get her braces.

Snoop Dogg and Jamie Foxx standing next to each other in a cluttered office in Day. (Image credit: Parrish Lewis/Netflix). Vampires are ...

Playing the role of Troy — a pawn-broker with connections to the vampire-hunting business — is Peter Stormare, who last worked with J.J. Perry on John Wick: Chapter 2. Bud’s neighbor, Heather, is played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo — who made her debut in an action-packed Netflix original movie (2016’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny) and later starred on the platform’s short-lived coming-of-age fantasy seriesThe Society in 2019. As Bud and Jocelyn’s daughter, Paige, we have Zion Broadnax — who has already acquired a lengthy resume in her few years in the business. As Bud’s vampire hunting partner, Seth, we have Dave Franco — certainly no stranger to horror having starred in the 2011’s Fright Night remake, as well as writing and directing The Rental, to name just a few. Look for his name in just about any article related to Batman. Adkins is also part of the MCU, having played one of Kaecilius’ henchman in Doctor Strange in 2016. Making his horror debut as vampire hunter Bud Jablonski in Day Shift is Jamie Foxx, who has done almost everything else under the sun since his stand-up career led to a break-out spot on the In Living Color cast. Lange also has a horror-comedy under his belt with 2016’s Fear Inc., with Abigail Breslin. Dracula and Godbrand on Netflix’s Castlevania. Day Shift is only his latest Netflix collaboration — following Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! and Project Power — and won’t be his last in 2022 with upcoming sci-fi comedy They Cloned Tyrone. Among his other roles, he voiced a sentient joint in Machine Gun Kelly’s Good Mourning. I mean that both in the sense that these creatures of the night are ageless (as long as they drink enough blood, avoid garlic, and don’t get stabbed) and that stories about this classic staple from some of the best horror movies will likely continue to get made until the end of time.

Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx) works as a freelance vampire-hunter in the San Fernando Valley. When his estranged wife (Meagan Good) demands money for their ...

This is the directorial debut of J. J. Perry, the latest stuntman from the 87eleven stable to cross over into directing, and his experience with wirework and practical effects pays dividends here, the film full of kinetic camerawork, acrobatic stunts and inventive kills. It’s a lot of mildly-guilty-pleasure fun. He’s essentially a working stiff, given a deadline by his ex-wife: three days to earn ten grand for tuition and dental braces, or she and their daughter move to Florida. As vampire fangs are his main source of income, he’s forced to go legit, teaming up with Dave Franco’s squeamishly uptight, pescatarian desk-jockey Seth. It’s hardly a dynamic we’ve never seen before — something even the filmmakers realise, making a sly nod to Foxx’s previous buddy-movie experience in Miami Vice — but the two actors at least share an easy chemistry.

Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx) is no ordinary pool boy. Plumbing the depths of Los Angeles, Jablonski has a secret – he's actually a vampire hunter. It turns out ...

Day Shift has a lot to say, too, about the socio-economic landscape of modern L.A. There’s a clear dichotomy between the working-class Black vampire hunter and his white supervisors at the union. That’s the good thing about Day Shift – it’s a film that knows exactly what it is. Soon enough, Day Shift turns into a vampire buddy cop movie with Franco and Foxx becoming the vampire-slaughtering odd couple we never knew we wanted. It’s not quite a straight-up vampire movie, with a lot more going on beneath the bloody, vampire-busting façade. Foxx, Franco, and Snoop Dogg tear down the walls, laying bare a dark, cruel Los Angeles that puts a twisted spin on real-life SoCal sensibilities. Perry’s background as a stunt coordinator is felt throughout as Day Shift offers up some of the most intense vampire fights you’ll see on screen. Jablonski may not be the best pool boy in the world, but he’s a decent vampire hunter and an even better dad. These little touches elevate Day Shift from a rote vampire action flick to something more. Kicked out of the union for a long list of code violations, he’s down on his luck and then some. Jablonski is a bona fide badass and smarter than he seems, and Foxx plays it perfectly, walking the line between wise-cracking smartass and genuinely ingenious vampire hunter. He’s forced to turn to back-alley merchants to shift his trophies – fangs collected from the vampires he’s slain. Day Shift is a ruthless, bloodthirsty romp through all the traditional vampire cliches. and that’s just the realtors.On top of that, there are plenty of vampires, too.

'Day Shift', a vampire action flick on Netflix starring Jamie Foxx, Dave Franco and Snoop Dogg, has been released. Is it a thumbs up or a thumbs down?

The movie also features a memorable cameo by Chad Stahelski(director of John Wick movies) and appears to be a throwback to the 90s action films. Unfortunately, the magic of action does not return in the rest of the movie, which is a disappointment. The lady is a vampire, and she pulls herself up from the ground and shows her vampiric colours. Despite being flashy and colourful, the movie turns out to be lacklustre. Jamie Foxxis the vampire hunter.

Day Shift, the new action comedy vampire movie starring Jamie Foxx on Netflix, comes from legendary stunt man J.J. Perry. The director spoke to Polygon ...

“Make them the character.” “MMA changed everything, because of the expectations,” Perry says. “But getting Jamie Foxx was like winning the lottery.” “You’re watching MMA and you’re watching people really hit each other, then you turn on a movie and all of a sudden the punches are stacked in a weird way. “There’s a lot of tells when you shoot in reverse,” Perry says. Add a dash of lucha libre and MMA moves, and you’ve got a fresh take on one of the oldest movie monsters around. In addition to the contortionism, Day Shift brings an MMA-style set of fighting moves to its vampires. The older vampire in the opening scene was played by four different performers, Perry shares. So when the opportunity came for me to use it, I was like, I got something fresh and new.” The unique take on vampires in Day Shift leaps out from the very first scene, when Jamie Foxx’s character clears out a house of vampires. “Look at [John Wick directors] Chad [Stahelski] and Dave Leitch, and it started with Hal Needham from the American guys,” he says. “And also you have the burden that somebody could get killed on your set.

Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx) is no ordinary pool boy. Plumbing the depths of Los Angeles, Jablonski has a secret – he's actually a vampire hunter. It turns out ...

Day Shift is a raucous, over-the-top vampire flick that goes for the jugular. Gruesome. Right from the very first scene, Day Shift erupts into a no-holds-barred romp through vampire clichés that feels like From Dusk Till Dawn on steroids. Day Shift has a lot to say, too, about the socio-economic landscape of modern L.A. There’s a clear dichotomy between the working-class Black vampire hunter and his white supervisors at the union. That’s the good thing about Day Shift – it’s a film that knows exactly what it is. Soon enough, Day Shift turns into a vampire buddy cop movie with Franco and Foxx becoming the vampire-slaughtering odd couple we never knew we wanted. Perry’s background as a stunt coordinator is felt throughout as Day Shift offers up some of the most intense vampire fights you’ll see on screen. It’s not quite a straight-up vampire movie, with a lot more going on beneath the bloody, vampire-busting façade. Foxx, Franco, and Snoop Dogg tear down the walls, laying bare a dark, cruel Los Angeles that puts a twisted spin on real-life SoCal sensibilities. These little touches elevate Day Shift from a rote vampire action flick to something more. Kicked out of the union for a long list of code violations, he’s down on his luck and then some. Day Shift is a ruthless, bloodthirsty romp through all the traditional vampire cliches. It’s more From Dusk Till Dawn than Interview with the Vampire, and Day Shift knows it, playing up every over-the-top fight scene with gory extravagance. and that’s just the realtors.On top of that, there are plenty of vampires, too.