In Director JJ Perry’s Netflix Day Shift, vampire hunters are skilled workers who understand the value of work and the reality that they are strongest as a collective: a union, to be specific. The first full trailer for Day Shift only gives you the slightest idea of what exactly a whole demon-hunting union looks like and puts a lot more emphasis on the action of the film than on its vision of the vampire tradition. But the trailer is a reminder of the power that comes from workers who gather in times of need.
Day Shift tells the story of vampire hunter Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx), a man whose relationship with his wife (Meagan Good) and daughter (Zion Broadnax) is a bit strained due to his secret line of work. While Bud’s family in general goes with the story of working as a pool cleaner, he’s actually one of the many vampire hunters operating around the world to get the blood-sucking ghouls out for considerable rewards. Unlike Bud, who has somehow managed to get out of the union in the past, hunters like Big John Elliott (Snoop Dogg) have his membership to collect and stay involved in the bigger fight against evil.
As for its premises, Day Shift and John Wick’s films don’t seem to share as much narrative DNA. But the trailer leaves no doubt that producer Chad Stahelski and the rest of the film’s creative team infused it with an adrenaline-like feel that might be what Day Shift needs to be a success when it premieres on August 12th.