With the China Brothers delivering tight efficient scares and Phoebe Tonkin providing a committed lead turn, Night Shift proves to be a solid addition to the pantheon of great hotel-motel horror movies.

From Psycho to The Shining, the hotel/motel has proven to be a dependable backdrop for many a horror movie. Night Shift – the latest film from Ben and Paul China aka the China Brothers – is an example of how to do this sub-genre right: engrossing, thrilling, and at a snug 82 minutes tighter than a freshly made hotel bed (albeit one with blood stains on it.)

Night Shift stars Phoebe Tonkin as Gwen, a new employee at the All Tucked Inn motel, whose first shift just so happens to be during that time when the freaks come out to play. Inherited by the well-meaning yet overwhelmed Teddy Miles (Lamorne Morris), the All Tucked Inn is overdue for a significant rehaul, with rats and cockroaches consistent guests at the establishment and the swimming pool engulfed by a nasty sinkhole. To top it off there may be a ghost in room 13, and a convicted murderer is on the loose.

Australian star Tonkin is on screen for the majority of the Night Shift, and she delivers a stellar performance as a spooked-out hotel employee with a mysterious past and a great scream that is used to full effect during those nicely times scares that the China Brothers prove to be a deft hand with.

Morris bring a jittery yet engaging energy as the hotel manager who (surprisingly) is not a deranged creep (as per the hotel-horror movie trope). Patrick Fischler and Lauren Bowles, meanwhile, go all out as an eccentric high-class couple who deliver a torrent of verbal abuse upon Tonkins’ Gwen with impressive venomous rage as such scene stealers should.

Night Shift doesn’t necessarily reinvent the hotel horror movie, yet the China Brothers sure have fun with the sub-genre, sometimes messing with tropes while also paying tribute to them.

What the China Brothers especially bring to Night Shift is a sense of personality to the proceedings. It can be felt in the twist-filled writing and in those small quirky moments such as a running gag involving a mounted bear head named Yogi.

That the China Brothers manage to combine paranormal, slasher, and crime mystery elements in the one horror package without it becoming a cluttered mess is testament to their skill, resulting in a pleasantly terrifying stay.