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Graveyard Shift (film)
Encyclopedia
Graveyard Shift is a 1990 film directed by Ralph S. Singleton, written by John Esposito and based on the short story
by Stephen King
; First published in the 1970 issue of Cavalier
magazine, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift
. The movie was released in October 1990.
. The interior shots of the antique mill machinery, and the riverside cemetery, were in Harmony. Other scenes (restaurant interior, and giant wool picking machine) were at locations in Bangor, Maine, at an abandoned waterworks and armory. A few other mill scenes were staged near the Eastland woolen mill in Corinna, Maine, which subsequently became a Super Fund site.
with no hair, eyes, or legs, while in the movie, it is an amalgam
of several rats featureed in the story; Firstly, it is a cow-sized and bat
-like rat monster
; It also has no hair or eyes which is likely yet another homage; Whilst, in the story, there were multiple bat-like rats among other unique sub-species (A strange and varied combination of creatures; Complete with its own bizarre, self-sustaining ecosystem
. Including large, armoured rats; Albino, weasel
-like rats that can climb up walls or burrow through the ground; And bat-like rats that have evolved to pterodactyl-like
sizes. In the story, Hall is killed by the rats as he tries to escape the sub-basement. In the movie, he survives after catching the monster in the picker machine which tears it to shreds. The exterminator, played by Brad Dourif, did not appear in the short story. In the story, the character of Wisconsky is a middle-aged man who Hall is somewhat friends with. In the movie, the character is a young woman, with the first name Jane, who becomes Hall's girlfriend.
Graveyard Shift
"Graveyard Shift" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the October 1970 issue of Cavalier magazine, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift...
by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
; First published in the 1970 issue of Cavalier
Cavalier (magazine)
Cavalier is an American magazine that was launched by Fawcett Publications in 1952 and has continued for decades, eventually evolving into a Playboy-style men's magazine...
magazine, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift
Night Shift (book)
Night Shift is the first collection of short stories by Stephen King, first published in 1978. Many of King's most famous short stories were included in this collection.-Stories collected:-Details:...
. The movie was released in October 1990.
Plot
When an abandoned textile mill is reopened, several employees meet mysterious deaths. The link between the killings: all occurred between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. - the Graveyard Shift. The sadistic mill foreman (Stephen Macht) has chosen newly-hired drifter John Hall (David Andrews) to help a group clean up the mill's rat-infested basement. But what the workers find is a subterranean maze of tunnels leading to the cemetery - and an unimaginable horror that comes alive in the dead of night...Production
The movie was filmed in the village of Harmony, Maine at Bartlettyarns Inc., the oldest woolen yarn mill in the United States (est. 1821). The historic Bartlett mill was renamed "Bachman" for the movie, an homage to King's pseudonym, Richard BachmanRichard Bachman
Richard Bachman is a pseudonym used by horror fiction author Stephen King.-Origin:At the beginning of Stephen King's career, the general view among publishers was such that an author was limited to a book every year, since publishing more would not be acceptable to the public...
. The interior shots of the antique mill machinery, and the riverside cemetery, were in Harmony. Other scenes (restaurant interior, and giant wool picking machine) were at locations in Bangor, Maine, at an abandoned waterworks and armory. A few other mill scenes were staged near the Eastland woolen mill in Corinna, Maine, which subsequently became a Super Fund site.
Reception
Graveyard Shift was a modest box office success for Paramount. The film was released October 26, 1990 in the United States, opening in first place that weekend. It grossed a total of $11,582,891 domestically.Comparison with the short story
There are many differences between the story and the movie adaptation. First, the main antagonist in the story is a cow-sized broodmother ratRat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
with no hair, eyes, or legs, while in the movie, it is an amalgam
Amalgam
Amalgam may refer to:* Amalgam , mercury alloy* Amalgam , material of "silver" tooth fillings* Amalgam Comics, publisher* Amalgam, Gauteng, South Africa* Amalgam , fictional character in the Marvel Universe...
of several rats featureed in the story; Firstly, it is a cow-sized and bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
-like rat monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
; It also has no hair or eyes which is likely yet another homage; Whilst, in the story, there were multiple bat-like rats among other unique sub-species (A strange and varied combination of creatures; Complete with its own bizarre, self-sustaining ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
. Including large, armoured rats; Albino, weasel
Weasel
Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....
-like rats that can climb up walls or burrow through the ground; And bat-like rats that have evolved to pterodactyl-like
Pteranodon
Pteranodon , from the Late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota, was one of the largest pterosaur genera and had a maximum wingspan of over...
sizes. In the story, Hall is killed by the rats as he tries to escape the sub-basement. In the movie, he survives after catching the monster in the picker machine which tears it to shreds. The exterminator, played by Brad Dourif, did not appear in the short story. In the story, the character of Wisconsky is a middle-aged man who Hall is somewhat friends with. In the movie, the character is a young woman, with the first name Jane, who becomes Hall's girlfriend.