The year is 1999, the place is Arkansas, and Mandy (Angela Bettis) is a nurse with a drug addiction and money problems. In order to generate some cash, she has struck up a side hustle in which she steals organs for the local mob boss. Figuring her double shift will be the same as any other, she is horrified when her cousin (by marriage), Regina (Chloe Farnworth), botches up a kidney delivery. Now in the position of needing a brand new set of kidneys to harvest, she starts to assess those in her care to uncover who could be the most viable candidate for ‘donation’. Regina however, takes matters into her own hands and chaotic calamity ensues. Throw in a recently admitted murderer (David Arquette), and you have all the ingredients for disaster.
As much as 12 Hour Shift revolves around Mandy, and as good as Angela Bettis is in the role, it’s Chloe Farnworth as Regina that steals the show. Initially introduced as a scatty simpleton, Regina is soon revealed to be as ruthless as Mandy, more so in fact, as she doesn’t appear to accept societal rules. Farnworth’s performance is like watching a hurricane inside a building, as Regina she dials it up to one hundred and her unpredictable nature keeps the viewer on edge. Should Margot Robbie ever wish to step down from the role of Harley Quinn, Farnworth would be a perfect fit. The part has that same frenetic energy that she uses with Regina, and just like Quinn in Suicide Squad, she steals every scene she’s in.
The interplay between these two very different females is pitch perfect. In many ways they are like two sides of the same coin. Both posses the capacity for extreme violence, but their approaches are very different. Mandy is cool, calm and calculating, she never appears to not be scheming. Through Bettis, you can see that Mandy’s cogs are forever whirling as she is faced with problem after problem. Regina’s casual anarchy repeatedly poses Mandy with further issues, and the friction and frustration between them is palpable.
Written and directed by Brea Grant 12 Hour Shift is a darkly dry comedy that makes for compelling viewing. Grant has been writing for years and that experience shines through here; her script is tight and purposeful with hardly a line of dialogue wasted. It’s a script that has been lovingly finessed and sounds so natural when being spoken by the cast that it almost feels like your watching an improv show. Grant’s background as an actor has obviously helped open up lines of communication with her cast as she gets some fantastic performances out of everyone.
12 Hour Shift also looks wonderful. There’s a hospital yellow sheen cast over most of the film, but patches of reds and blues bleed in every now and again, reflecting the chaos that starts to permeate Mandy’s place of work. The camera is also almost always moving. This works in two ways, firstly it helps to literally keep the story moving forwards, but it also works as a demonstration of how working nurses are in constant motion. It’s an important element as, underneath all the insanity of the plot, Grant manages to highlight the sheer force of will it takes nurses to get through their physically demanding and emotionally draining shifts. The whole story works as a fantastic metaphor for the life of a nurse; how each shift has the potential to fly off the handle if they don’t maintain control and order. It demonstrates how much medical professionals have to think on their feet.
With so much being thrust Mandy’s way, at times, it gets a little confusing trying to work out exactly where we are, and there’s a random musical break partway through that momentarily throws the viewer off. All in all though, 12 Hour Shift is a nifty, thrifty razor-sharp comedy packed full of talent, both in front and behind the camera.
12 Hour Shift was reviewed at Arrow Video FrightFest 2020.
12 Hour Shift
Summary
A razor-sharp witted dark comedy that perfectly encompasses chaotic calamity.
