Netflix‘s original movies aren’t always the most critically acclaimed films out there, but the streamer’s tactic of throwing a lot of money at the wall and coaxing big names on board often does the job of convincing users to click nonetheless. e.g. The Gray Man. However, the platform’s most recent pricey original has failed to both win over critics and find an audience, as it’s crashing hard in the global rankings.
Netflix had been hyping up action-comedy Day Shift for a long while before it finally landed on our screens in mid-August, as the premise of Jamie Foxx playing a hapless vampire hunter sounded like it could be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the film has proven to be one that viewers don’t have much interest sinking their teeth into. According to the latest stats from Flix Patrol, Day Shift has already exited Netflix’s global top 30, as it’s just fallen 11 places down the charts from yesterday to sit at a mere number 31 on the rankings.
From first-time director, but veteran stuntman, J.J. Perry, Day Shift stars Foxx as Bud Jabronski, who appears to be a regular joe who works hard to provide for his family as a pool cleaner. In actual fact, however, Bud’s real vocation in life is hunting vampires. Forced to rejoin the vampire hunters union to earn extra cash, Bud is paired up with supervisor Seth (Dave Franco) and the pair find themselves facing off against power-hungry bloodsucker Audrey (Karla Souza).
With Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Meagan Good, and Snoop Dog also in the cast, Day Shift is definitely not lacking star talent, and yet it’s clearly missing that something special that makes it a must-see. Critics didn’t necessarily hate it, but didn’t much like it either, as its shrug-worthy 56 perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes attests to. As RT’s critics consensus perfectly surmises, “Game stars and an appealingly goofy premise aren’t enough to make up for Day Shift‘s uninspired action-comedy hijinks.”
