Plot Summary
Kevin has it all, true love, purpose, and meaning…until a car accident (or Satan?) takes that all away from him. Kevin is suddenly thrown into at least one alternate reality, where he must decide how the rest of his life will play out. As he navigates living alongside Shifters, complete strangers, and living in a godforsaken world full of suffering, Kevin must make a decision if he wants things to change. What will he choose?
Production Quality (1.5 points)
The Shift’s production has many instances of poor lighting, shaky cam and tight shots. Add together the limited sets and locations, okay props, and the slight improvement of all areas while the movie progresses, and you get a barely average score as a total.
Plot and Storyline Quality (1 point)
While the plot has some potential, it is disorienting. Plus, the world-building is confusing and both it and the storyline go over the audience’s head. There are moments of good dialogue. Likewise, there are interesting philosophical concepts woven throughout the story. The intruiging twists are engaging enough, and if this is based on the book of Job, the movie turns out a fair portrayal of the devil (it’s hard to say if this is a good thing). While we’re on the topic, this team of critics agreed that the biggest issue with the film is the bleak outlook it has on life and faith. If this is a faith-based film, it sure spends a lot of time on the devil. So this review doesn’t duplicate the error we’re criticizing, we will be brief. In a nutshell, the film seems to be sending the message that Satan dictates and manipulates the type of life people will live (in whatever reality you want to pick from, lol), and that the best a human can do is choose to live a good life. For instance, the Shifters may be the most balanced characters in the film. We beg the question, where is God in this perspective!? Is He helpless in the face of Satan’s ‘great power’? Since when do people get to pick and choose their destiny from a list of different realities? Anyway, there seem to be a few major holes in the film’s fabric regarding Who is in charge of things topside. On the whole, it seems like the movie was mostly written for the prologue and the epilogue.
Acting Quality (2 points)
This is no doubt the strongest aspect of the film. Sean Astin may have finally found his acting purpose in his role as a ….well, we can’t tell you because this is a major plot point. Liz Tabish and other cast members also turn out above average performances. There are mostly realistic emotions and authentic line delivery throughout. The only cons are that the costuming leaves something to be desired and there are some forced moments.
Conclusion
The Shift is an interesting exploration of philosophical ideas and alternate realities. It would have been nice for the writers to put more of an emphasis on hope, Jesus, and true meaning of life. Trouble, hardship, and times of testing do happen, but they are not all there is to life. It boils down to a good idea that didn’t quite come to fruition.
Final Rating: 4.5 out of 10 points
Box Office Revolution 
What does costuming have to do with acting? Wrong section…
Anyway, I agree it had a lot of potential but didn’t quite live up to it. The doom and gloom aspect is kind of accurate to the book of Job, so I didn’t have a problem with that. Disagree with you about Sean Astin… I thought he was the weakest actor in the movie. Definitely felt like he was only there for a paycheck.
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