It’s bad.

It’s so bad.

Graveyard Shift, based on th short story by Stephen King, has been dismissed by the author. It’s not as unnerving as the story, and it’s nowhere near as well-produced as it could have been. The only upside is that a lot of it was actually shot in Maine.

It also has a couple of character actors I like including David Andrews who headlines the film. There’s also Stephen Macht (throwing out ‘ayuhs’ and a rough Maine accent), Andrew Divoff and a scene-chewing Brad Dourif.

John Hall (Andrews) is a bit of a drifter, and he’s just taken a job at the Bachman (as in Stephen King’s secret pen name) Mill. He doesn’t quite click with his boss Warwick (Macht), who is intent on exploiting his female employees and treating everyone like trash. And that includes the exterminator (Dourif) he’s hired to deal with the huge rat infestation.

But there’s not just your average rats in these walls. There’s something bigger in the depths. Something monstrous. I will say that the practical effects on the big monster rat are surprisingly solid and well-executed.

But everything around it, set design, acting, story, the production in general… isn’t so great. The actors can only work with what they have, and we’ve seen solid performances from all of these actors. You wouldn’t know it from this film.

Nothing really works in this one. The story is cobbled together, and it’s obvious that the budget went to the creature and the final twenty minutes of the story. It’s all feels rushed, with no exploration of story or character, and that just works horribly.

The short story takes you in, and can really unnerve you. There’s a mood that pervades the short story, something that is completely lacking in the film.

Dourif delightfully chews scenery, but I feel he’s wasted here. And Andrews is a solid character actor but he’s given absolutely nothing to do here. It’s given the barest sketch of a character, and the hint of a story and he’s meant to carry this? He deserved better.

I would like to see this short story adapted again, and given the attention and development it needs. Make it engaging, develop your characters first, and then kick it into high gear. It’s not just about the kills, King is great at creating characters and this just shoves all that aside.

Between thee and me, I should have left this one on the shelf, and just pretended it didn’t exist. Ugh. Cool poster, though.