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.
Review of The Nightshifter
