The Nightshifter (2018) User Reviews

Mixed bag, but satisfying

[praescaio · 7/10 · 15 October 2019]

The acting is excellent, the settings are very good, the music is atmospheric, but the CG effects really suck.

This is a low cost horror movie about a mortician who talks to the recently deceased. He then breaks unwritten rules regarding the secrets of the dead, which brings nefarious consequences.

The movie is satisfyingly scary, with good amounts of gore, jump scares, and many scenes that elicit desperation. It is not a one-trick pony as so many horror movies are.

Overall, the production values are low and present a ceiling to the grade of my review.

Not your average horror movie...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 3 August 2019]

I happened to find "Morto Não Fala" (aka "The Nightshifter") by sheer luck. And seeing that it was a horror movie, of course I had to sit down and watch it. How could I not, when I am a life-long horror fan?

This 2018 Brazilian horror movie was actually a nice surprise of a movie, as it turned out to be rather interesting. And it also had a very interesting and captivating storyline, so I was caught up early on in the movie.

The acting in the movie was good, and I always enjoy watching movies with no familiar faces on the cast list, so I was in for a treat here.

"The Nightshifter" does happen to be sort of generic, in terms of how the storyline and plot is constructed and built, for better or worse. But still, regardless, then I will say that the movie was actually quite enjoyable.

There wasn't really a whole lot of scary things going on in the movie, but director Dennison Ramalho was good at setting the atmosphere and building it up to the point where the audience becomes involved in the storyline.

All in all, "The Nightshifter" is an enjoyable movie, especially if you enjoy horror movies. So if you have no quarrel with non-English language movies, and if you have the chance, then do yourself the favor to sit down and watch "The Nightshifter", because it is quite entertaining.

Patchy Haunting Horror

[HairyMart1 · 6/10 · 19 April 2019]

A morgue attendant who can talk to the recently deceased sounds like a good premise for a ghost story. Add in the fact that many of those who are brought in are from Sao Paulo crime gangs, and should have the makings of something special. Unfortunately it does not live up to its potential, it does have some well constructed scares, and the backscape of Sao Paulo underworld is used well, building on the theme of the cycle of violence. The film does not quite hang together mostly due to its pacing - a slow build of tension, is a tried and tested technique, diving head first into the full blown terror can work, but can also get repetitive. Which is what happens here, leaving the film stuck for over half its running time, with no progress or story development. You understand that characters have limited choices due to their circumstances, but the complete inertia the story gets stuck in does underplay the scares. Still not a bad effort, and definitely not for the squeamish, as the morgue scenes do not hold back.

Once you get into it's scary!

[MovieQween-33622 · 7/10 · 11 November 2019]

This was much scarier than la Llorona that was made earlier this year. I really didn't know what to expect when I started watching this but I was pretty impressed. It was quite scary! Original

It has all good ingredients maybe some of them were overcooked - still good

[agostino-dallas · 7/10 · 14 October 2019]

I am a long time horror movies fan. I loved The sixth sense, The others, some of the Paranormal Actitvity etc. This Brazilian movie is the type of movie which horror movies fans will enjoy no matter what. You can get some nice bone chilling moments. Sometimes, it even looked like an American production. The issue for me is that the movie took a loop which could have been better developed but unfortunately it satyed in the loop. It is a fair 7 rated movie. It means it is Worth watching. Over time, this movie can be used for future Brazilian movies to set some standards. It is also a movie using Brazilian poorer neighborhoods - outskirts if you will, those are the places where violence punches in, 24/7.

a nice movie with good suspence

[yamahapic · 7/10 · 29 July 2019]

The movie is a nice horror movie with a good casting..the suspense and twist are good and overall an original script

I hear dead people

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 10 January 2020]

Stênio (Daniel de Oliveira) works at the morgue late at night. He talks to dead people. All is fun and games until a dead gangster tells him his wife is having an affair. He has the boyfriend killed and she gets killed in the process. Dead wife haunts him.

The film starts off good and held my interests and then the dead wife's revenge thing got old. The film is dubbed in English or you can watch it with subtitles. Had potential. The personalities didn't come through.

Guide: F-word. Sex. Nudity (Fabiula Nascimento)

Dead People Talking

[hyperfixx · 8/10 · 24 May 2019]

The Nightshifter (2018)

A man who works at a morgue can communicate with the dead. One of the stiffs tells him something private and he decides to use it against someone who wronged him, with dire results. The cool part about this movie is the CGI effect used to make the dead bodies talk. It's nothing spectacular, but it does add to the overall unreality of the situation. Add some decent plot twists and an engaging enough story and this one is highly watchable. It does have its reaching moments though. Sometimes the scenes feel a little forced, like 'here is something creepy for you to be scared of,' but the film makes up for that with realistic dead morgue bodies, complete with cut open chest cavities, heads in jars, and various body parts laying around. It looks like the morgue from hell. A solid film about what happens when we take the law of the dead into our own living hands. 8 out of 10 stars.

The Ring of Power, just like in LOTR.

[fedor8 · 5 April 2022]

The first third is interesting, but after the murder the plot quickly starts stagnating and keeps going in circles. Once the repetitive hauntings start, the story no longer varies but keeps moving in a more-or-less predictable loop. The movie starts off as an unusual crime horror drama about a poossy-whipped mortician who has the ability to talk to the dead, but devolves unfortunately into a haunted house formula movie after he has revenge on his cheating evil wife and her lover.

At almost two hours it is inexcusably long. I was already starting to lose interest half-way through. You wanna do 110 minutes? You'd better stay away from genre cliches then.

The movie looks like the other Brazilian movies I'd come across recently, that is to say vibrant colours dominate. This is no mono-colour American crap. Brazilians seem to be way ahead in terms of cinematography.

The last scene is inconclusive, revealing yet another flaw in this script.

Good Brazilian Horror Movie

[fba-03470 · 6/10 · 16 May 2022]

As both a Brazilian and a horror movie fan, this was entertaining to me. This movie might not be so attractive to non-Brazilians who will not understand the local culture references and language, but it was certainly very entertaining to me.

As a horror movie, it's quite average. It's a ghost story, and it kinda unfolds in a familiar way, kind of reminding me of the classic Supernatural series in some ways. In that, it was a bit disappointing. I was rather hoping to see some genuine Brazilian juju at play here, instead of playing out in a clichéd manner.

What really kept me going was the "Brazilianness" of some aspects of this movie. References to organized crime, gang fighting, soccer-related violence, periphery language and culture, the depiction of the life of someone who works in the São Paulo's police, and São Paulo paradoxically is the richest state in the country, but one of the worst-paying states in the federation. So you can get an understanding that not only the supernatural haunts him. Perhaps the real horror is his real life.

A shame the moviemakers chose to portray the supernatural in a generic way. Nevertheless, it's worth the watch, definetely a good movie in all.

Great opening

[armadilla17 · 4/10 · 25 April 2020]

The start was really really good then the second half just died on me. Still worth the watch though.

Very entertaining film with great gore FX.

[Jester222 · 8/10 · 18 August 2019]

Stumbled upon this film by chance. The name caught my eye and I thought I'd give it a look. It was far better than I had expected it to be. Great FX, acting and story.

Far far better than 95% of Hollywood horror films. Well worth watching.

3 stars for I Couldn't Finish This

[Delrvich · 3/10 · 2 November 2021]

Not much else to say. Found it a dull and skipped to the end. The mild-mannered mortician quickly adapted and exploited his ability. Not missing much.

Very unique. Terrible script.

[frankblack-79961 · 5/10 · 21 September 2021]

As much as i wanted to like this movie, the main character is terrible. Guy is dumber than a box of rocks. One of the weakest and most impotent characters ive ever seen in a movie. With a different charachter with an ounce of sense this would have been a good movie.

Jammed packed with horror entertainment

[Horror_Flick_Fanatic · 9/10 · 23 August 2019]

I was not expecting to like this film as much as I did but it exceeded my expectations. This film is creative and jammed packed with gore and supernatural scenes. The CGI faces of the corpse are terrible and not well done, but if you overlook it and focus on the story and dialog at hand you will probably appreciate the film. While the CGI faces are bad, the actual special effects of the corpses are pretty damn good and disturbing. From what I heard, this film was based on a book and it seems the director put everything humanly possible into it. Not sure why some people were turned off by this because I felt the story was rich and entertaining. It's almost like I watched the equivalent of three horror movies in one. Not a boring moment with this film. I did find the subtitles a little challenging because the dialog flys buy quickly, but that's why they invented the pause and rewind buttons lol.

This isn't a jumpscare movie. More of a horror drama. If you like good stories to follow along, this movie is worth the watch. If you constantly need jumpscare stimuli, then perhaps a slasher film is better for you. I give it a 9. if the facial CGI were better, I probably would give it a 10/10

Not worth the $1.25+tax I paid for it.

[solomongamorrah · 2/10 · 11 April 2022]

I gave it a chance because I saw "SHUDDER Orignal" on the case. I thought " how bad can it be?" That's because at the time, I couldn't imagine how bad it could be. Don't make the same mistake! Poorly written, poorly acted, poorly directed, poorly edited. There are some truly gruesome special effects from time to time, but it's inter-spliced with terrible CG. CG worse than the writing, acting, etc. Combined. The cliche-ridden plot is over-convenient at first, twisting into a stale haunted house/possession/jump-scare piece of garbage by the end. It's 150 minute runtime will be sure to have you checking to see how much longer it is at multiple points of the film. If you see this at your local Dollar Tree (which I did) leave it in the bin (which I didn't). Skip this one if you value your time and $1.25.

Great discovery of Brazilian movies!

[megapaphos · 10/10 · 3 January 2020]

This was first ever Brazilian movie I've watched and I'm glad it was rocking. It's really atmospheric, putting you into horrific routine of a regular morgue besides the main storyline.

Nice movie with terrible special effects

[crunchycloset · 5/10 · 14 August 2019]

The history is great, the acting too, but the special effects are very poor!

A Good Brazilian Horror Movie.

[JPOrsi · 5/10 · 15 October 2019]

A great jump-scares and great work out non-actors, but the storie and special effects is not good.

Very well done

[GustavoSilveira0 · 8/10 · 2 February 2020]

Simply put, a very well done movie. The script is consistent, the history flows nicelly and the plot is good. Much better than this Annabelle/conjuring movies.

Moment the dismembered corpse began to speak it was impossible,for me,not to think?

[Neptune165 · 4/10 · 2 June 2023]

Why did he tell his wife it was him that was really stupid?!! I really hate the wife. The film Very very corny. The general idea is good, but the control of tone, tension and the underdeveloped narrative get in the way of it being a good experience. It is clear that this movie was made before the director had enough experience to pull it off. It tries to be a horror movie but it fails to create tension with poor execution. The actors did a good job and there were some good decisions, but, overall, it is a movie that wants to be more than what its creators could do. I thought the idea of 'betraying the secrets of the dead would lead to a more elegant reprisal, and not just slamming doors, flashing knives, and possessed babysitters. The Sao Paolo setting and good performances carry it off but it's a pity it devolves into a domestic dispute since the societal violence and chaos seems to be a string factor early in the film. Stênio is a refreshingly despicable anti-hero.

Original movie !

[super_zomby · 8/10 · 20 November 2019]

Interesting movie that goes off the beaten track. Good scenario and good acting ! Warning : some very gore scenes...

It is delighted

[experten-1 · 8/10 · 19 August 2019]

It is delighted! I expected a banal horror, and in reality there was a mystical drama, even more of a parable. On the theme "Fear your desires..." and Confucian "Before entering the road of revenge, take out two graves" (in the sense - one for yourself). Smart plot, great acting. I really liked it. Makes you wonder.