12 Hour Shift

By: Paige Zinaman

I, for one, am not a horror fan so watching this kind of movie was a challenge, but one that I was glad to have taken. 12 Hour Shift offers viewers a look into a nurse working her 12-hour shift at the hospital. She’s flawed and going through some major moral debates while doing her job. Watching a movie that offers insights into a certain struggle are films that I am drawn to and 12 Hour Shift did just that. It offered a dark, quick witted humorous take with a slight dry humor.

12 Hour Shift is a film centered around Nurse Mandy (Angela Bettis) who is desperate to make it through her double shift without incident. It becomes quite hard to do when you’re involved in a black-market organ-trade scheme. Everything goes south when her dangerous cousin Regina (Chloe Farnworth) messes up a kidney delivery. Chaos ensues throughout the hospital as both Mandy and Regina frantically try to get a replacement, only becoming more complicated when an injured convict Jefferson (David Arquette) is brought in.

Throughout the film Angela Bettis’ performance really stood out the most. During the movie she was able to portray Nurse Mandy’s emotional rollercoaster with true depth. Mandy was changing from start to finish. So, Bettis’ ability to bring Nurse Mandy’s plight to life really pushed the story forward.

I would be mistaken if I didn’t give credit where it’s due and mention the amazing supporting cast of this movie. Each actor brought their own special skill set and you can find it throughout each scene from their comedic timing to even the smallest of facial expressions. From Nikea Gamby-Turner, who brings Nurse Karen to life, has the best humor I’ve seen in a horror-comedy to Tom DeTrinis who plays Mr. Kent, a patient who is as bossy and one of the most straight up truth speaking person in the whole film. A team effort is what truly brought this film to life and without each of them I don’t think the 12 Hour Shift would be as good as it was.

This film wouldn’t be as good as it was if not for the amazing direction of Brea Grant and cinematographer Matt Glass. Their vision throughout the movie was to give moviegoers a dark comedy about a heist gone wrong. With dark and grimy moods and gory visuals both Grant and Glass brought a humor filled horror film to life. These two talented artists in their own right worked well together with one other and the cast and it truly shows in the final feature.

12 Hour Shift turned a corner in horror films. It offered a great plot, phenomenal actors and was directed fantastically. Unlike other films of the same category, 12 Hour Shift gave just what it presented from humor and comedy to horror that will surely appease every movie goer. I would recommend this movie for anyone who, like me, shies away from the typical horror films. And for those movie goers who love gory, gloomy, dark comedies – this is right up your alley.