Wondra: I have to say, Graveyard Shift (1990) is probably the closest thing you’ll find to a b-movie on this list. Okay, it's totally a b-movie. Don’t get me wrong… I liked it. It’s a lot of fun – but it doesn’t exactly have the depth that a lot of the others do. It’s more… what was the word you used? Pulp?
Jay: Yeah. It’s not his best story, but it’s not bad. It’s
contained to a couple of locations. The cast isn’t… stellar. Nothing wrong with
their ability, but they’re not household names, are they?
J: Certainly horror film royalty. If you’re aware of horror
films, you know their names. I don’t know if I would call myself an aficionado because there’s just
too much to remember now. There’s such an influx of horror movies now, it feels
impossible to retain. But I remember Graveyard Shift because it was from a time
when you weren’t being bombarded by twenty or thirty new films a month.
W: The thing with Graveyard Shift is that if you’re afraid
of rats, it becomes a thousand times scarier. If not, it’s just really… yucky.
I mean… I can’t watch it without thinking that they all probably have
listeria!
J: Rats can be very clean animals. I love rats. They can be the
world’s survivors. They adapt. The can live in the worst scenarios. There’s a
rat within so many feet of anywhere in Britain. After mankind has polluted the
earth, everything will come back. The rat will just carry on adapting. They’ll
still be here, probably just be a lot bigger.
W: The social commentary about money, greed, and power are not
subtle in this one…
J: No, but that’s Stephen King. That’s why he got on so well
with Romero. They’ve always been very aware of social climates. Whenever
there’s a republican in the white house, watch how political King’s works get!
W: I’m a little confused about the rats, actually… If there
are storm drains that lead to the river, why are they still there? Rats are
hellish clever. Wouldn’t they have just scarpered when there was nothing else
to eat there?
J: With that thing killing everything that wandered too close? They had a ready made source of
food. That bat thing was killing just to get rid of people so there was always plenty to eat. Would you leave?
W: There are so, so many rats you don’t immediately recognize
the big bad for what it is. Eventually, you start asking yourself, ‘Is that a wing?’
And then you get the reveal at the end and… what the crap? How does a movie
about a rat infestation turn into a battle against a giant bat?
J: That was the downfall with Graveyard Shift. It never explained
why one involved into something else. You have to think that it was
exposed to chemicals but… you never find out. It’s also weird that the other
rats don’t seem to mind it. With as cannibalistic and territorial as rats are,
it’s odd that they would just ignore it.
W: In the book, it’s supposed to just be this giant blind
rat without any legs. That would have made so much more sense. Do you think it
would have worked better if they had stuck with that or do you think it would
have been less effective? I like the monster this way… but maybe in a different
movie.
J: If it was just this slug rat? It couldn’t have been better. I
suppose it’s down to the director, though, isn’t it? The right director can
make nothing look scary.
W: Honestly? When it gets to the monster’s nest, it feels
like a whole different movie. It goes from gritty modern to massive classic
horror. What the heck? The set is impressive, don’t get me wrong… it just feels
like an unnecessary shift.
J: It’s been sealed off so it really is from another time. No
one has been there – except for its prey. It’s untouched by everything that’s
been built on top of it. It’s necessary because it shows how people deal with
things. Rather than dealing with it, they just bury it and move on. And with
rats, what do they do? You catch one in your bathroom and the first thing they
do is straight down the drain.
W: Of course you have the typical pissing contest between the locals, Danson and Brogan (Vic Polizos,) and the Drifter, John Hall (David Andrews.) That insecurity is always there, isn’t it? You’re only the best thing going until some strange comes along… Why does it always seem like the men in these small towns starting shit when someone new shows up?
J: It’s putting people in their place. You don’t know anything
about him but you’re making sure you assert your dominance. It starts in
school. You remember when the new kid shows up at school. People don’t go up
and just make friends, they always go up and show they’re the top dog.
W: Ugh. Warwick (Stephen Macht) is another Entitled White
Man piece of shit, isn't he? Anybody who so much as looks at him the wrong way
gets sent to the basement. For awhile there, I thought he was working with
whatever was down there but, no, he was just an asshole who knew bad shit
happened and wanted to punish people who pissed him off.
J: Yeah, he’s as big a killer as the thing. He’s feeding it.
He’s getting rid of his competition. Of his problems. He’s a real monster.
W: And you know, of course, the one thing that pissed me off
most about the movie… they killed the fucking dog. I hate it when they bring a
dog into a film, just to kill it. Was there any need for the dog, except to
die?
J: It gets you, though, doesn’t it? Guaranteed to pull on your
heartstrings.
W: What was the deal with Warwick losing his mind? Sometimes
that feels like a copout in horror. I feel like maybe people live through
pretty horrendous shit all the time and they do it without instantly losing it.
So, was Warwick just two fries short of a Happy Meal to start with or is it a
case of lazy writing?
J: It’s both. If he didn’t get what he wanted, he was off on
one anyway. You can never call King a lazy writer, but Warwick’s character was
just the bomb, wasn’t he? Tick, tick, tick, waiting to go off. He was a tool, more than a well-rounded character.
W: Once again, women in horror get a shitty deal. Nordello
(Ilona Margolis) almost gets assaulted by Warwick in the middle of town and
nobody does a damned thing to stop it - presumably because she's a slut - while
Jane (Kelly Wolf) tried to report Warwick for sexual harassment and was told
to see a therapist. Sheesh. The men are either psychos or assholes and the
women are treated like scum. Is that just narrowing down humanity to our worst
bits or is it just using stereotypes for convenience?
J: Honestly? I can’t answer that. It’s like a big, flashing
arrow. Bad guy! Hero! You find that sometimes. With some movies, you get that
Police Academy thing. “I am a bad guy. I am exiting the window. What do you
do?” That’s the problem with some films. You’re not allowed to make up your own
mind. This is one of those films.
But they’re all frightened of him. Both because he’s a white
man with power and because he’s obviously a nutcase.
W: Even though Graveyard Shift is totally a b-movie, it’s a
lot of fun to watch. It’s way down the pecking order for a King film, though!
What are your final thoughts on it?
W: It’s a good, mindless night’s viewing. You don’t have to
think too hard. It’s not his best work, but it’s worth a watch.
Jay’s Rating: 💀💀
Wondra’s Rating: 💀💀
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