Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Heh, man, I actually saw this in the theater when it came out, if you can believe that. And, in all honesty, I think I do remember feeling at the time that I wasn't overly impressed. But, I just watched an excellent HD Print of the film and I must admit that looking at it now I really appreciated it a LOT more than I did initially.Have you actually SEEN a lot of the Stephen King adaptations...? I'm not talking about the amazing Classic ones like 'THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION' which is likely one the GREATEST films ever made, or the other Classics like 'THE SHINING' or even 'SALEM'S LOT', but I'm talking about the run-of-the-mill other ones. Normally I find quite a few of them very overdone, plastic, and not terribly engaging. But, this one I felt was actually done fairly well for the type of film that it is.Remember, this is just your basic Monster movie, BUT with a really nice Gothic look and feel. I also REALLY liked the soundtrack which I thought was quite effective and added a lot to the mood (LOVED the male choir!) Apparently, even though the director never directed another film, I truly felt that he did a very good job crafting not only the excellent atmosphere, look, and sound of the film, but with SO damn many 'Horror' movies today filled with atrocious 'acting', I thought he did a great job bringing out the qualities of the characters in a more realistic way. That is one point in which I feel that many of King's adaptations do NOT do well. In my lowly and wretched opinion, in most cases the characters come across as 2 dimensional, empty, stereotypes that are completely unbelievable. And, even though this story had the requisite and mandatory Redneck types that flood King's work, in THIS case I think that the director had them come across in a much more believable and coherent way that didn't detract from the story like it has many times before.I guess I am kind of a sucker for this type of Old School Monster movie, ESPECIALLY when there is a strong Gothic look and atmosphere to it. Add to that the frigg'n OUTSTANDING performance by Brad Dourif (naturally...) and the surprisingly restrained but effective one by the boss dude (I personally thought he blew away the leading guy with the quality of his performance) you end up with a pretty good, entertaining old fashioned Horror movie that I felt was a lot of fun.I probably was a TAD generous with a '7' rating, and if I was grading it compared to ALL genres of Horror films, of course it wouldn't measure up as much. BUT... and it is a BIG BUT like Mariah Carey's... Compared within the TYPE of Horror movie that it is, I honestly felt that it was above average and merited a '7'So, I would say that as long as you DO like these older Retro Horror films, especially with a nice, moody Gothic atmosphere, and if you also like a good Creature Feature, I think that there is a good chance that you will enjoy it...

Based on the Stephen King short story from his "Night Shift" collection, about a drifter who comes to a small New England town looking for a job, and finds one in a cotton mill run by an obnoxious foreman(played by Stephen Macht). It turns out that workers have been mysteriously disappearing in the bowels of the mill, which is infested with rats, which the local exterminator(played by Brad Dourif) has been unable to wipe out, much to his annoyance. However, the rats are the least of the problems, as the workers who must pull an all-night shift will discover...Awful film is devoid of suspense or intelligence; despite the potential atmospheric chills of the underground setting, the direction is extremely poor, characters not developed or overacted, and result is a grimy, foul-mouthed piece of junk.

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.

Stephen King adaptations seem to be something of a hit or miss and this particular feature "Graveyard Shift" (from a short tale) seems to find itself in the latter camp. After watching it for the first time, I didn't think it was as bad as it reputation lets on but I wasn't wowed over by it either. Quite a lumbering, by-the-numbers and threadbare creature on the rampage outing.An isolated small town community sees its business mainly arrive from their local textile mill. This is re-opened, after an accident saw someone die. A team of workers are hired to work in it and also clean it up as the decayed structure is a home to a horde of rats. However that's the least of their problems as there's something much bigger and hungrier shacked up in the mill's cellar.The makeshift story is rather daft, nothing is truly explained and the set-pieces are only there to set-up the cheap, dreary shocks which are plastered throughout. There's a real nastiness within. Some moody atmospherics from its gloomily dirty windmill setting with a neighbouring graveyard (despite some stagy direction), along with a colourfully intense support role by Brad Dourif as a rodent exterminator make it worth a gander. David Andrews is in the lead and draws up very little, while Stephen Macht overdoes it. Kelly Wolf is half-decent and Andrew Divoff shows up in minor support. The f/x work is modest for it low-budget, so is the creature design; something of a bat cross rat hybrid. Never does the camera get you a good look of it, as it stays hidden or in the shadows with only glimpses. A so-so creature feature.