We’re going back to the 80’s again with this hidden gem, diving deep into the neon-drenched sleaze with this tale of a vampire cab driver who, more often than not, takes his victims to their final destinations. I give you Central Park Drifter. Or Graveyard Shift, depending on your preference.
My skeleton friend Stuart Gore-don recommends this! Two dismembered thumbs way up!
Like a lot of foreign films, this one has more than one name. Central Park Drifter is the more USA-friendly title, playing on the dangerous, edgy, serial killer mien that was so popular at the time, while Graveyard Shift is the more artsy one. It’s an Italian production filmed in Canada that takes place in New York City.
It’s not really a Giallo film, although it apes certain aspects of it in style and gore. But honestly, its not a great movie. The script is pretty trite, and if you’re looking for deep meaning or characters to connect to, you’re not going to find it here. What you’re going to find is sex, blood, and melodrama. Most of the actors were primarily dancers, and while they do have the prerequisite hard bodies for a sexy 80s movie, that doesn’t really translate over into acting. And the film is dubbed, so there’s that.
If you like over the top gore and exploitation vampire movies, you might like this. It all depends on your tolerance for bad dubbing, gratuitous nudity, and pointless spectacle. The atmosphere is top-notch, though. It’s got the gritty, dirty, seediness of 80s yuppies down to an art-form. It’s worth a watch, but it’s not going to give you anything more than it says on the box. Check it out if you can find it.