Stephen King's Graveyard Shift (1990)

Stephen King's Graveyard Shift (1990) (see below for trailer and preview images)

Directed by
Ralph S. Singleton
 
Starring: 
 
David Andrews as John Hall
(the drifter, on cleanup crew)
Stephen Macht as Warwick
(the mill foreman)
Kelly Fox as Jane Wisconsky
(tough chick, foreman has thing for her, cleanup crew)
Brad Dourif as Tucker Cleveland
(the wacky exterminator)
Vic Pilizos as Brogan
(a schmuck that likes to bully fellow workers, on cleanup crew)
Jimmy Woodward as Charlie Carmichael
(young, quiet rookie on cleanup crew)
Susan Lowden as Daisy May
(bossman’s latest fling, on cleanup crew to her dismay)
Ilona Margolis as Nordello
(mill worker)
Minor Rootes as Stevenson
(fellow schmuck and bully, on cleanup crew)
Andrew Divoff as Danson
(another schmucko that likes to bully workers)
 
IMDb 4.8/10                            Rotten Tomatoes 13%                        Metacritic 28%

It took overnight for this movie to really sink in and make sense.  To me, there are a lot of holes in the story.  The basic plot-line is this:
 
A mill that had been closed down for some time has recently been reopened.  It’s a cotton mill.  The problem is that due to lack of care during abandonment and severe weather and rat infestation damage, the basement needs to be completely cleared out and cleaned up to make space for offices to be set up down there.
 
The rat infestation is out of control.  They definitely seem to think they are in control of this mill and not human beings. Speaking of human beings, most of the men in this movie barely qualify for that title.  They are more like pigs are dogs, definitely animals.  
 
Anyways, a number of people are assigned to the cleanup crew, after all, it pays double-time. But, a few people are not thrilled that they have been picked for the daunting task.  Most of all, Daisy May, the foreman’s latest worktime squeeze.  I guess she figured she had earned no cleanup…on her back.  However, it seems that Warwick, the foreman, doesn’t mix business and pleasure in THAT way and she receives NO special treatment.
 
As they start the cleanup, which must be done on the graveyard shift so the mill can run during the day, strange things begin to happen…and people start to get scared…and killed.  
 
Now, this guy Warwick is a real sleaze.  He’s the epitome of a list of DON’Ts for being in management.  The guy could be the poster boy for employee abuse, sexual harassment and male chauvinism.  A real winner, let me tell ya.
 
Our drifter, John Hall, he’s a normal kind of guy.  A little quiet and withdrawn at first, he soon opens up to Jane.  Now, even though Warwick is already sleeping with Daisy May he has no issues with trying to get Jane into the sack.  Jane obviously loathes him but, apparently has agreed to an arrangement that if she sleeps with Warwick a few times a week she gets better hours, pay, treatment.  And he treats her like crap so, I can only imagine how he’d be if he wasn’t getting some from her.  Total jerk.
 
So, while they are all downstairs in this dark, dank, disgusting basement some are sorting through boxes of files, some are piling up damaged furniture and one guy is trying eradicate the rats with a firehose.  (That seems so counterproductive since the plan is too CLEAN UP the basement, not flood it.  But hey, moving on…)
 
So, throughout their cleaning and spraying the hell out of rats, they discover that a boatload of crap isn’t the only thing downstairs.  There’s some kind of monster, killing people, eating them.
 
Who is going to make it out alive?  You’ll have to watch to find out.
 
I thought this movie was okay.  I felt like there were a lot of open ended things that they could have wrapped up better. I’ve not read the actual short story so I don’t know what was included or omitted.  But, we get almost no background on this mill, no information as to what this monster thing is, no information about any of the characters. Everything was just kind of thrown together in this mill and people die.  I was disappointed in the special effects.  Just a few blood splatters and a tiny bit of the monsters.   I expected more gore.
 
Since this IS a Stephen King story I can’t hate it too much but, this isn’t one of the better movies made from King’s works.  Probably worth watching at least the one time.
 
RATINGS
2.5/5 Stars