9 minute read
speechless
Cheerfully gory vampire comedy has all the right moves
By Derrick Bang Enterprise staff writer
This is the sort of film that would have scandalized your parents, had they caught you watching it as a kid.
Actually, more than a few adults likely would be similarly horrified, were they to dial it up by mistake.
The rest of us will have a grand time.
Director J.J. Perry’s kickass horror comedy won’t be more than a gory footnote in cinema history, but it boasts momentum, a sassy script by Tyler Tice and Shay Hatten, and a richly entertaining performance by star Jamie Foxx. It’s fun to see him return to his comedy roots, although this isn’t actually a comedic performance; the humor derives from the way Foxx plays this material straight, with deadpan sincerity, even as everything around him slides into cheerfully gruesome lunacy.
Matters begin innocuously, as San Fernando Valley pool cleaner Bud Jablonski (Foxx) arrives at the home of his latest client. Ah, but Bud isn’t your average pool cleaner. Trays of chemicals are a cover for somewhat more lethal tools, as he quietly slides inside this homeowner’s residence.
And the apparently terrified little old lady within isn’t nearly as helpless or frail as she seems.
Let us pause, for a moment, to acknowledge that this isn’t an old-school vampire movie, wherein the fanged nasties can be dispatched with a simple wooden stake through the heart. No, Tice and Hatten have gone old-school, where legend dictated that decapitation was the only way to truly kill a vampire.
Needless to say, make-up designer Christopher Nelson and his massive team are kept quite busy, with what soon follows.
Bud’s unusual profession notwithstanding, he’s an ordinary blue-collar guy struggling to make ends meet. The financial situation suddenly grows dire when his estranged wife, Jocelyn (Meagan Good), threatens to move their daughter Paige (Zion Broadnax) to Florida. This isn’t a fit of pique; Bud and Jocelyn’s relationship is prickly but still mutually devoted. She simply can’t get by on what Bud has been providing.
Things have indeed been tight, since the headstrong Bud was thrown out of the more lucrative international union of vampire hunters, following numerous code violations. It has been difficult to make ends meet, when his only income has derived from selling fangs to seedy black-market dealers such as Troy (Peter Stormare).
Bud begs for just a few more days; he then swallows his pride, enlists the support of his legendary vampire-hunting pal, Big John Elliott (Snoop Dogg), and begs to be reinstated by hard-ass union boss Seeger (Eric Lange).
Seeger derives considerable joy from agreeing, with a no-argument stipulation: Bud must be babysat by nerdy union rep Seth (Dave Franco), a desk-bound pencil-pusher who’s finicky enough to note even the slightest transgression.
The subsequent Mutt ’n’ Jeff dynamic, between Foxx and Franco, is this film’s beating (and bloody) comedic heart.
Franco’s Seth is all twitch and tremble; one suspects he’d jump at the sight of his own shadow, and close his eyes if confronted with any rough stuff. But no; Seth gamely tags along, Franco rolling his eyes, shrieking girlishly in abject terror, and repeatedly, ah, staining his pants.
Bud, not wanting a colleague’s death on his conscience — even one so inept — soon equips Seth with a neck guard.
Unfortunately, Bud’s frantic return to more profitable wet work draws the attention of Audrey (Karla Souza), Southern California’s most dangerous vampire. What ultimately ensues — as Bud and Seth blast and slash their way through lightning-fast, impossibly bendable and martial-arts trained vamps — builds to a dog-nuts third act just as crazy as that in 2004’s “Shaun of the Dead.”
This film also gets considerable pizzazz from the fact that so much of the action is captured live, rather than built via CGI. Fight coordinator Felix Betancourt’s huge team of stunt doubles, drivers and performers — many of them contortionists, for that extra ooky-spooky look — are choreographed superbly in all-stops-out melees crisply edited by Paul Harb.
Perry’s initial career as stunt coordinator and second unit (action) director stretches back three decades. “Day Shift” may be his first time in the top dog’s chair, but his considerable experience is evident in every frame.
Although Tice and Hatten carefully adhere to common vampire lore — protective garlic, the burning threat of direct sunlight, and so forth — they also insert a clever spin by dividing their savage blood-suckers into distinct categories: Juvenile, Eastern, Southern, Uber and Spider. (Draw your own conclusions about the latter two. You’ll be correct.)
Snoop Dogg’s Big John Elliott radiates lethal calm and resourcefulness, even when the odds seem insurmountable. Steve Howey and Scott Adkins are a hoot as the Nazarian brothers, Mike and Diran: cocky and confident, but with more brawn than brains. Natasha Liu Bordizzo has an intriguing role as Heather, Bud’s sympa-
Rating: R, for strong violence, gore and profanity Starring: Jamie Foxx, Dave Franco, Karla Souza, Snoop Dogg, Meagan Good, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Steve Howey, Scott Adkins, Oliver Masucci, Eric Lange, Peter Stormare, Zion Broadnax Available via: Netflix
When the vampire-hunting Bud (Jamie Foxx, right) is saddled with Seth (Dave Franco), a nerdish, pencil-pushing babysitter, the latter is warned to stay the heck out of the way. What could possibly go wrong?
thetic neighbor, whose hip 1970s vibe conceals … something.
Souza’s Audrey is flatout creepy-scary, and Oliver Masucci is similarly menacing as her hulking, mute henchman, Klaus.
Horror comedies are hard to pull off; it’s difficult to balance the gore with the giggles (the latter often filed under “I shouldn’t laugh at this, because it’s so appalling … but I will anyway”). Perry, Tice, Hatten and their cast succeed, and the result is a rip-snortin’ guilty pleasure.
But definitely not for the faint of heart. — Be sure to join Derrick when he hosts 1963’s “The Pink Panther” at 7:01 Sunday, Sept. 4, as the first in a series of light-hearted heist films, presented at the Davis Odd Fellows Hall, 415 Second St. Read more of his film criticism at http://derrickbang. blogspot.com. Comment on this review at www. davisenterprise.com.
Courtesy photo
The Woodland Opera House’s production of “Dear Edwina” features, from left, Kate Loscutoff, Lanea Christianson, La Emily Delk, Marie Campbell and Ayden Burns.
Growing up is fun at Woodland Opera House
Special to The Enterprise
The Woodland Opera House will present “Dear Edwina,” a heartwarming musical about the joys of growing up from the creators of “Junie B. Jones the Musical.”
Thirteen-year-old Edwina would do anything to be a part of the Kalamazoo Advice-a-Palooza Festival. While her siblings both have proof of their accomplishments, poor Edwina has nothing. When a talent scout visits her hometown of Paw Paw, Mich., she trots out her musical advice, giving shows live from the family garage in hopes of finding her place in the spotlight.
Shows run from Sept. 9 to 18 — Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. — at 340 Second St. in downtown Woodland.
Reserved seats are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors 62-plus, and $10 for children 17 and under. Balcony tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for children. Flex Pass specials and group rates are available. Tickets are on sale online at www. woodlandoperahouse.org and in the box office, or by phone at 530-666-9617. Box office hours are Tuesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. Tickets are also on sale two hours prior to each performance.
In accordance with the updated indoor mask requirements from the state of California and Yolo County, masks are no longer required in the Woodland Opera House. Special to The Enterprise
In 2014 the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge launched the Davis Odd Fellows Classic Film Festival, offering classics from the Golden Age of Hollywood, twice each year.
After a two-year COVID hiatus, the film festival is back with three movies on three Sundays at the Odd Fellows Hall, 415 Second St. in downtown Davis. The bar will be open with wine and beer for sale, along with free popcorn. As always, Davis Enterprise film critic Derrick Bang will be present to give viewers the backstory of the films, the actors and the directors.
The Classic Film Festival is open to the general public and there is no admission charge. It's free, but donations are gratefully accepted. Doors open at 6:29 p.m. and the show begins around 7:01 p.m.
The Odd Fellows Lodge follows Yolo County and State of California health and safety protocols.
The genre for this Fall Classic Film Festival is "Light-Hearted Larceny": "The Pink Panther," "Charade" and "The Fortune Cookie." They are true classics with well-loved performers including Peter Sellers, Claudia Cardinale, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and many other stars of the era.
In addition, on Sunday, Sept. 18, Bang will feature the two books he’s written, along with an evening of film clips, fun, surprises and prizes. There will also be a book signing.
The schedule: ■ Sunday, Sept. 4: ‘The Pink Panther” ■ Sunday, Sept. 11: “Charade” ■ Sunday, Sept. 18: “Book signing” ■ Sunday, Sept. 25: “The Fortune Cookie”
Local musician releases summer single
Special to The Enterprise
On Aug. 12, Davis musician Lillian Frances released her new single “Direct Sunlight.”
Written, recorded and produced by Frances herself, “Direct Sunlight” meshes poppy drums with bright mandolin and dreamy synths, making it the first song you’ll want to play on your summer road trip.
In February 2022, Frances did something she had been dreaming of for years: finally moved out of her parents’ house into her own apartment. COVID had been in swing for nearly a year, and she was champing at the bit to get out of way-too-close quarters with her mom, dad and sister.
Well it finally happened, and Frances was overwhelmed by a beautiful wave of freedom. Suddenly, she felt like she could go anywhere, do anything, be anyone (within reason, of course), and so she did.
Week after week, she found herself hopping in her Chevy Volt, jetting off to some new outdoorsy destination (usually revolving around rock climbing … Joshua Tree, Smith Rock, Ore., or Red Rocks, Nev.). On the road, she experienced a level of freedom, adventure and romance that reminded her what it’s like to be truly alive.
It is from these road trips and campouts and climbed mountains that “Direct Sunlight” came to be. Not only was Frances figuring out how to be a good plant mom (where in the house is sunniest? shadiest?), she was figuring out how much sunlight she really needed.
In “Direct Sunlight,” Frances takes you along for the ride: sailing through oceans of blooming yuccas at sunset, cruising through crisp mountain passes seeped in sage and pine and cooling off beneath rushing waterfalls in Oregon.
Listen to “Direct Sunlight” wherever you get your music. You can also find the artist on Instagram at @lillianfrancess.
