Night Shift Review: A Suspenseful Slow Burn with a Shocking Twist

Gwen is the newest employee working the night shift at a remote motel, The All Tucked Inn. As her shift gets underway, she begins to suspect a sinister presence lurking around the eerie motel. Paranoia begins to set in as Gwen continues to do her job tending to guests. Once she begins confiding to a young guest about her past, that’s when the shit starts to hit the fan. I discovered this thriller from someone’s random post on Instagram and I’m glad I decided to check it out. This movie was filled with plenty of suspenseful and ominous moments and a crazy twist ending so let’s jump right in!

THE GOOD

I enjoyed the setting and plot of this movie. Very good acting as well. Phoebe Tonkin played the lead character, Gwen. She played her role very well and was believable as the quiet, yet troubled, young woman. I also enjoyed the performance by Madison Hu. She portrays Alice, a young girl staying at the motel who had run away from home. At first, I thought her role would be a minor one, but she played a much bigger part, and it was great. My favorite was Lamorne Morris’ character, Teddy, who was the owner of the motel. He wasn’t in most of the film but when he was it was pure comic relief and I loved it. This is a solid first entry and the directorial debut of the China Brothers, Paul and Benjamin. Towards the end, I thought I knew where it was going but the ending had a good twist that I did not see coming. I liked that even though this movie used an overdone horror theme, it still felt like something fresh.

THE BAD

The movie was a bit slow-paced at times. In my opinion, it didn’t make it boring but I can see how it may deterred some viewers. I can also see how someone can say the ending was predictable, and in a way, it was, but I still enjoyed it.

OVERALL

There are a lot of reviews hating on this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. To me, it was giving some Alfred Hitchcock vibes. It was a decent flick that was part horror, part psychological thriller with a dash of dark comedy. I say this is a movie worth checking out. Night Shift is available to view now on Amazon Prime Video.