I love the atmospheric setting for Graveyard Shift, a run down, rat-infested textile mill built over a network of tunnels and next to a cemetery. I love rodents: I used to own a lovely pair of white rats. I like bats (which are essentially flying rodents). And I like the rat/bat monster in Graveyard Shift, which isn't nearly as bad as some of the reviews here would have you believe.
What I don't like about this film, however, are the people. Drifter John Hall (David Andrews) makes for a bland hero, mill foreman Warwick (Stephen Macht) is an obnoxious bastard with a really annoying accent, Brad Dourif as The Exterminator is way too over the top (even by Brad's standards), and Andrew Divoff and Vic Polizos are terrible as Hall's co-workers Danson and Brogan, the latter almost making me switch off as he blasts rats with a high pressure hose (not because I felt for the rats, but because he screams at the top of his voice with each blast. Very irritating!).
Super cringe-worthy scenes include Warwick suddenly going nutzoid, smearing his face with dirt and acting like Rambo, and Danson suddenly breaking down in hysterics. Still, with a decent creature (I've seen plenty worse) and a fair amount of gore, Graveyard Shift is still worth a look, especially for Stephen King fans, on whose short story the film is based.
5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for the so-bad-it's-brilliant end credits song that is comprised of snippets of dialogue from the film set to a cheesy backing track.
