Streaming Sundays: Day Shift (2022)

Netflix’ latest original movie Day Shift (2022) starring Jamie Foxx, Snoop Dogg and Dave Franco is now available for streaming, but is it worth the watch?

Pool cleaner by day, vampire bounty hunter also by day, Bud Jablonski (Foxx) is faced with a major dilemma – either he comes up with his daughter’s school tuition in a week, or his estranged wife (Good) is moving to Florida with their daughter. The only way our rebellious anti-hero can make that kind of money within seven days is to go back to his ex-employer and work the “Day Shift”. Bud reluctantly agrees to follow the rules under the watch of his new handler, Seth (Franco), in order to get past the probation period and keep his family in California. However, the situation takes a sharp turn when Bud becomes the prey for an elder vampire (Souza) seeking revenge.

If you are a fan of cult-classics, like Tremors (1990) or From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), you’ll enjoy this one. It’s a horror-action flick that doesn’t dare take itself too seriously. This is one of those movies where you know our anti-hero is going to save the day so we aren’t really sweating what’s going to happen – we just want to be along for the ride. Be advised that this is a zany movie, but the cast and action do not disappoint at all. If you like fun campy vampire flicks, this may be your jam.

Jamie Foxx is one of the busiest entertainers in show business. If you went to the theaters in the past six months, you may have seen him in one of the top grossing movies in box office history, Spiderman: No Way Home. If you watch game shows, you probably see that he is currently hosting his 5th season on FOX’s Beat Shazam. Now, if you log into Netflix, he now has the number one movie in the United States and the reason why is no mystery. Jamie Foxx can make anything entertaining, so put him in a scenario where he gets to pull off some impressive fight scenes, lean in on his comedic timing and kill off some vampires – it’s going to be a fun movie.

Foxx doesn’t have to carry this movie on his own either – he has plenty of help from Dave Franco and Snoop Dogg (playing Big John Elliott), who both have undeniable comedic timing and charisma that make you want to root for them. As they stab and shoot their way through the legions of blood-sucking ghouls, they are trying to find out why vampires are moving to famously sunny California in droves. No major spoilers here, but it has largely to do with the innovative elder vampire Baddie named Audrey San Fernando (Souza). 

The tone is set in the first fight sequence where Bud faces off against an elderly woman who is quickly revealed to be a vampire. From there the fight scenes only get better. We are talking car chases, bowling alley showdowns, ancient crypts – you name it! These creatures are crawling all over LA and they are not pretty at all when they bare their fangs – think Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s The Master and The Crypt Keeper rolled into one. They follow the “rules” that we all have become accustomed to in vampire folklore. They burn in the sun, they have fangs, they cast no reflection – still very cool on screen no matter how many iterations of vampire movies you see. Day Shift does ante up the vampires’ abilities by adding the fact that these creatures of the night are master contortionists. It adds an extra creep factor and serves really well in the fight scenes between the living and the undead, but that is not the only new cool trick up these vampires’ fangs. You will have to watch the movie to find out more.

All in all, Day Shift is a wildly entertaining vampire action flick that is just too damn fun to pass up. If you are in the mood to laugh, take in some beautiful visuals of everyday Los Angeles with some classic West Coast rap classics as a soundtrack, and watch Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg mow down the undead with heavy artillery, you may want to press play.