Summary

The Shift is a disappointing attempt at merging sci-fi and religion, with a lack of clear genre consistency throughout. The film fails to offer deep themes or insight, with weak action and dialogue that doesn’t effectively scare or engage the audience. While the filmmaking and visuals are competent, the mixed bag of acting and lackluster dialogue detract from the overall quality of The Shift.

The Shift is flat and way too long. Writer-director Brock Heasley (Flicker) does his best to interpret the story of Job, but his attempt at merging sci-fi and religion misses the mark entirely. The film simply cannot decide which of the two genres it will be from scene to scene, and it shows. The lead performance by Kristoffer Polaha (Jurassic World Dominion) won’t blow anyone away, but it is solid enough to carry the film throughout its two hours of meandering soliloquies.

When Kevin (Polaha) is ripped into another reality, he is approached by a man simply known as The Benefactor (Neal McDonough). The Benefactor explains to him that people can be swapped between dimensions with their doppelgängers. At first, Kevin doesn’t believe him, but after The Benefactor uses a device, called a deviator, to shift someone right in front of Kevin’s eyes, he understands how dire the situation is. The Benefactor asks Kevin to join him as a shifter to change the balance of society by shifting key politicians and important figures out of power. Kevin refuses, insisting he only wants to get back to his wife, setting him and The Benefactor on a collision course.

Neal McDonough in The Shift

The Shift does not offer any deep themes or insight into its subject matter. The film tries desperately to scare us with the idea of a world without belief, but has neither the action nor dialogue to pull off such a feat. The emotional stakes are disguised as a man fighting to see his wife again in a post-apocalyptic universe but does not commit to either concept. At every turn, the script deviates to make a larger point and always fails. The Shift is a modern retelling of Job, but is too concerned with its secondary plots to do the story any justice.

The filmmaking is quite competent, though, and The Shift is shot with the sincerity of modern science fiction. The handheld camera work brings an indie flare to a film with the concept of a large-scale epic, and the gritty feel works well in this universe. The original world Kevin comes from is in sharp focus and well-lit, while the world he spends most of the movie in is grainy and draped in shadow. The look of The Shift changes with memories and flashbacks, but it puts more effort into those mediums than differentiating between the worlds Kevin traverses.

The acting is a mixed bag. On the one hand, the script is full of on-the-nose dialogue that is not actor-friendly. On the other hand, though Polaha is a serviceable lead, he and the rest of the cast are not capable of moving the needle. Given the subject matter, eyes will roll at Sean Astin’s Gabriel brandishing a pistol saying, “I’m always packing.” Paired with Kevin speaking his role as Job into existence, too often the dialogue is the film’s weakest element. Arrow’s McDonough is as reliable as ever and plays the antagonist very well. He is easily the best performer in The Shift, though he is doing something we have seen him do time and again.

The Shift is a hallmark movie at best and will do nothing for those who are uninterested in faith-based cinema. As a work of science fiction, it does little to make the audience think. In our current landscape of interdimensional storytelling, The Shift simply cannot hold its own. Heasley’s work is admirable, and he is certainly a good director, but as far as writing goes, his latest offering is seriously lacking.

The Shift is in theaters December 1. The film is 115 minutes long and rated PG-13 for violence and thematic elements.