What’s better than Jamie Foxx killing vampires? Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg killing vampires together. “Day Shift” is a pure horror comedy that is perfect for a movie night with friends. The film has it all: vampires, action, destruction, and some family drama. And Jamie Foxx is easily able to bring out the swagger of a vampire hunter while maintaining his “daddy” side. He got into the vampire-killing profession to care for his family, i.e., ex-wife Jocelyn, and daughter Paige. However, when things go haywire, he has to up his game, but whatever he has to do needs to be done during his “Day Shift.” Or is it?
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In The ‘Day Shift’?
Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx) works as a pool cleaner in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles. But that’s not who he is. That profession is merely a cover. In reality, he kills vampires and sells their fangs for money. He once used to work for a vampire hunter union but was fired for violating multiple rules. Since then, he has worked on his own, making cash and sustaining his family. And what makes him look for more work is a $10k requirement for his family’s house and his daughter’s tuition, which, if he doesn’t do, will lead his ex-wife Jocelyn (Meagan Good) to take their daughter Paige (Zion Broadnax) and shift to Florida. Bud contacts his long-time friend and legendary vampire killer John Elliot, AKA Big John (Snoop Dogg), to get him back into the Union.
On the other hand, we have big-shot vampire Audrey San Fernando (Karla Souza), who uses her public face as a real estate developer to buy off properties so that she can move vampires to the Valley. Buying one home after another in the neighborhood is the beginning of their uprising. But she directs all her attention to Bud after he kills an old lady for her fangs, who turns out to be Audrey’s daughter. And by the way, Audrey is centuries old. She kidnaps Jocelyn and Paige. What follows is how Bud gets them back with the help of Big John, along with his new union representative, Seth (Dave Franco), and his new neighbor, Heather (also a vampire).
The Working Class
Bud belongs to the working class and gets paid on a daily basis. That he hunts vampires is no less than a metaphor for the kind of dangerous work many people do to earn a living and take care of their families, e.g., lumberjacks and loggers, deep sea fishers, miners, roofers, sanitation workers, metalworkers, ranchers, truckers, electrical power line technicians, mechanics, and many more. And yet the love that exists in Bud’s family is very much evident from the beginning of the film to the end. And considering that it is a horror comedy, the film is able to subtly include these emotional motifs without affecting the overall vibe.
A Real Estate Vampire
It’s funny how the creators of the film show Audrey San Fernando, who is a bloodsucker, as a real estate developer “sucking” money out of people for her personal benefit without any heed to them. It is almost a satire to mock US real estate, which was reported by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project as the number one destination for laundered dirty money the previous year. The report also said that US real estate poses a threat to national security by being a huge refuge for kleptocrats and criminals. “Day Shift” perhaps borrowed some of this information and turned it into a way to suit vampirism and their thirst for breeding and growing as a species.
The Characters
Jamie Foxx is the best at what he does. He seamlessly doubles as a father who is always trying to keep his daughter smiling as well as keep her safe, as well as an intrepid vampire killer, always maintaining his calm while “cutting necks and cashing checks.” Snoop Dogg, with his huge height and lean figure, certainly qualifies as the “Black Cowboy,” as Bud calls him in the second half of the film. His attire, as well as his mannerisms, suit his character perfectly, and Snoop pulls it off in style. Karla Souza as Audrey also does her part as a fearful vampire lord of sorts, in her tailored suits, bent on killing Bud.
‘Day Shift’ Ending Explained: Does Bud Jablonski Kill Audrey San Fernando?
“Day Shift” is predictable but doesn’t disappoint in the least. How Bud kills Audrey is cool (for lack of a better word) and “works every time.” It is made to look like Big John sacrifices himself but he comes out of a manhole at the end of the film. Perhaps this is a hint at a sequel. And we must remember that John has been bitten just like Seth. So if there is a part 2, we can expect Bud to return to action with two vampires at his side, Seth and Big John. To answer the question in the title, Bud is not a vampire hunter. He kills vampires for money. It’s his job. The way vampires have been portrayed in the film makes it clear that they are commonplace. And that there are more like Bud making a living out of cutting necks is made evident by the existence of the Union. Surely, it can’t be the only Union, and neither is the San Fernando Valley the sole place for vampires to live in. So it seems that Bud will have to do “Day Shift” and “Night Shift” if need be.
“Day Shift” is a 2022 Drama Thriller film streaming on Netflix with subtitles.
