Michael_Elliott Graveyard Shift (1990) ** (out of 4) Silly adaptation of the Stephen King short story takes place at a textile mill where there are more rats than actual works. The problem starts when various employees go missing and it appears there's some sort of giant rat offing them. GRAVEYARD SHIFT has a few memorable moments but in the end it's a pretty laughable film but it's hard to really blame anyone other than the producers for giving this a green light. I'm not sure how good or bad the short story was but it's clear that it shouldn't have been turned into a feature. The entire idea of a giant rat killing people just isn't very scary and when you're doing a horror film that can't possibly get any scary moments then you're already playing behind the eight ball. Another problem is that there's just not too much going on here. A new guy (David Andrews) gets picked on by co-workers. Someone gets killed by a monster. The new guy starts to fall for a co-worker (Kelly Wolf). Someone gets killed by a monster. The jerk owner (Stephen Macht) picks on someone. Someone gets killed. There's really nothing for the viewer to do except wait for the next kill and wait for the next person to get picked on. The kills are somewhat memorable simply because how often to giant rats kill people? The rat creature (or whatever it is) looks rather silly and perhaps this is why they don't show it too much. I will say that the death scenes are quite graphic and bloody, which is somewhat shocking considering what the MPAA was doing to horror films in this era. The performances are all rather good with the exception of Brad Dourif who plays an exterminator. Whoever decided to have this character do comedy relief certainly didn't have the actors best interest in mind. GRAVEYARD SHIFT is a fairly forgettable movie but one almost needs to watch it just because of how silly it is.

Scott LeBrun Mostly an average shocker, based on a short story by Stephen King, "Graveyard Shift" does have a couple extra things going for it to make it a fairly amusing view. What distinguishes it is its commitment to looking as grungy and unappealing as possible. In fact, it may be the grimiest genre film since "C.H.U.D.", which also took place underground. King's grisly and ghoulish tale tells of the crew of a textile mill in a small town. The mill is infested - yeah, that's the understatement of the year - with rats, and periodically the employees disappear. As it turns out, there's something in the bowels of the mill that's much bigger and uglier than any ordinary rat. Atmosphere and set decoration are pretty strong here; horror fans will dig a particular chamber that's just stocked full of human bones. There's a sufficient amount of gore and very crude yet undeniably entertaining creature effects. David Andrews is a good looking but rather bland hero, but Kelly Wolf is cute and endearing as his feisty leading lady. It's very cool to see a pre-stardom Andrew Divoff ("Wishmaster") as one of two bullies; Vic Polizos plays the other (and *he* was actually *in* "C.H.U.D."!). The cast members that really make watching this thing worthwhile are Stephen Macht and Brad Dourif. Macht hams it up something fierce, speaking in an exaggerated Maine accent that's so hilarious one may crack up every time he utters a line. He's a mighty fine white trash villain; perhaps his best moment in the movie is when he goes completely bonkers, rubbing the dirt from an old bottle on his face as if he's going to war. And Dourif, as a mangy exterminator, delivers a performance that's really way too good for this sort of thing; he even manages to shed a tear during a riveting monologue wherein he explains the Viet Cong's use of rats as torture devices during 'Nam. One of his best lines has him firmly state that he's not the kind of veteran one would see Bruce Dern playing on film! The direction is by Ralph Singleton, in his sole feature film directing credit; he's usually been a producer, assistant or second unit director, or production manager. He makes this a pretty clunky affair that's still a hoot in all of its tacky glory. There's certainly much more prestigious Stephen King cinema than this, but there's still a respectable amount of entertainment value to be found here. That extends to the choice of music for the end credits, a decidedly non funky beat over which dialogue from the movie is played. Six out of 10.

mattressman_pdl Stephen King's Graveyard Shift will never win an Oscar. It will never change anybody's life or be mentioned on any top one-hundred lists. But it's easier to find flaws in a little horror film than to 'mine' it for good points as so many have failed to do.Adapting a short (very short) story from Stephen King's collection Night Shift, Ralph Singleton took a small budget, unique sets, and a remarkably gifted group of actors and spun a film called Graveyard Shift.Plot: A group of over-worked misfits in a textile mill run afoul of a strange, mutant creature and a large number of rats. Simple, huh? The film has a very dodgy quality as it suffers from budget restraints, unreliable accents, and an uneven pace. Stephen Macht is divinely evil (if that makes sense) as the unscrupulous Warwick, who runs the mill like his own demented clubhouse. Macht's performance is over the top as his accent wavers at certain times and his mania takes over but somehow it seems to fit in this guilty pleasure.But it's hard working character actor Brad Dourif who walks away with this picture slung over his shoulder as he portrays an intense exterminator with an unnatural hatred for rodents. His screen time is limited but, as in Exorcist III, Dourif fills it with charisma. The rest of the cast is quite good as well including the likable David Andrews, the sweet Kelly Wolf, the slimy Vic Polizos, and the underrated Andrew Divoff playing a bit of a jerk (go figure).It would be easy to kick the movie while it's down, as critics and audiences do quite often. But this movie's grimy, unusual charm has won this reviewer over time and time again.Shut your brain off and tune in."Okay, show's over!"

Toronto85 Stephen King's Graveyard Shift is a gritty and messy little film about rats and yarn mills. The story is about a group of workers who are instructed by their boss to clean out the rat infested basement of the mill they work at. Meanwhile, a few other people have been murdered by a mysterious creature roaming the workplace. Also there is a hoard of rats down there which love to lick up human blood. So as soon as the cleaning crew start their work, they get attacked by the huge creature and many of them die. The creature's death at the end is done well, but it doesn't make up for the boring movie.Now, I still don't know what the hell the huge creature is at the end. It's supposed to be a giant rat (I think) but it looks like a bat. Maybe it's a mutation, who knows? It does look gruesome though. The death scenes involve lots of gruesome gore as well. The problem with this film, which was originally a short story, is that it goes on and on too long. It's very dull and just plain boring at times. And I have to say watching this film, I wonder if the actors were told not to shower at all during the making of it. They all looked so dirty and nasty. The grittiness of the movie is at an extreme.And all of the characters are plain scum. As viewers you root for them to die in a way just so they'll shut up. Like the guy down in the basement killing rats with a water hose. Did he have to scream every time he pumped out the water? That scene went on for a good three minutes. I couldn't wait for him to be off my screen. This is one of Stephen's King's worst adaptions. Children the Corn is often frowned upon when King's films are mentioned, but this is far worse.3/10