Graveyard Shift

Where Misery restored one's faith in Stephen King adaptations, this travesty buries his reputation alive. Bland hunk John Hall (Andrews) drifts into a small Maine town and lands a job at a dilapidated mill. Working the graveyard shift in a basement, he's on hand when a crew of disposable extras discover the subterranean lair of a giant rat-like monster. Introduced to up the love interest, spunky co-worker Jane (Wolf, making what she can of a poorly written role) sweats a lot and holds her own among the all-male crew. The most engaging character, Dourif's crazed Vietvet vermin exterminator, adds some much-needed humour and class before suffering a premature burial. Neither Singleton nor scriptwriter John Esposito has grasped the anti-capitalist undercurrents of King's story, relying instead on cheap shocks and dodgy creature effects.