Stephen King’s The Graveyard Shift (1990): Movie Review

Make sure you listen to episode 19: Stephen King’s The Graveyard Shift on the Vulture Droppings podcast for our unique take on the movie, as well as some sequel ideas (one of which involves a roller derby).

Anecdotally, the graveyard shift had referred to an actual job was to sit in a graveyard at night to listen for the bell. The bell was what was tied to the coffin or the body and would supposedly signal the movement of a mistakenly buried person. That’s also supposedly where the phrase ‘save by the bell’ came from. All that turns out to not be true. Saved by the bell is actually a boxing anecdote. It is possible that it had to do simply with the hours of the shift. The same website said that it could have originated in a maritime context. Again, referring to the hours, but more to do with the number of disasters that occur over that time (The Phrase Finder). Well, in this movie, there certainly be a few more ‘graves’ in town after this shift is over.

Stephen King’s The Graveyard Shift (1990) was directed by Ralph S. Singleton. It stars David Andrews (briefly), Kelly Wolf, Stephen Macht, Andrew DiVoff, and Brad Douriff as the Exterminator. By far my favorite part of the movie is Brad Douriff. Not too many people could bring a seething intensity to the role of the exterminator.