Netflix produces a handful of poor-quality films. Day Shift is a welcome exception to the trend. Starring Jamie Foxx as Bud Jablonski, a loving father who works for a group of covert vampire hunters. This is an action comedy, so don’t expect logical decisions or realistic dialogue. The movie is jampacked with ultraviolent fight scenes. It is balanced by the humor between Bud and his partner Seth (Dave Franco).

There are set pieces comparable to comic book films. The cast has a decent amount of talent that aren’t used properly such as the big bad, Audrey (Karla Souza) of How to Get Away with Murder fame. Big John (Snoop Dogg) is underutilized and treated like a special attack in a video game. The same can be said for Bud’s ex-wife, Jocelyn (Meagan Good), who is confined to the living room for the first two acts.

The vampires don’t adhere to the traditional archetype, possessing the ability to contort their bodies and operate during the daytime. Many of them are trained in martial arts which distinguishes them from most blood thirsty antagonists. Information dumps are frequent throughout. World building is executed in a bit of a heavy-handed way. Almost as if the producers took a narrative meant for a series and forced into feature length form.

Third act falls apart quicker than butter in a hot pan. New characters are introduced with no development. The main antagonist, Audrey, transforms into a mustache twirling villain. This story suffers the same setback as many Netflix original films, which is a poor script. It lacks any real stakes but is charming at certain points. Day Shift is streaming on Netflix and gets a 6.5 out of 10.

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