Gwen’s arrival at the motel named “All Tucked Inn” begins with an unsettling welcome from the manager and owner, Teddy. He informs her that she’ll be paid in cash for her night shift, as no one enjoys working there at night.
Gwen, who recently moved to the area alone, expresses her gratitude for the job, but as Teddy gives her a tour of the motel, she immediately notices that it’s plagued with cockroaches and rats. The place is in a state of disarray, with dirty rooms, making her feel like she’ll have to manage everything herself.
From rats to red hands, Gwen’s new job quickly becomes a nightmare she can’t escape (Photo: Night Shift/Defiant Studios, Bradley Pilz Productions, Jax Media, Kodiak Pictures, and Sunset Junction Entertainment)Gwen also realizes that the cleaning closet’s door only locks from the outside, and the parking lot behind the motel is filled with old cars. The pool is non-functional, with a sinkhole large enough to fit many people.
Most concerning is the complete lack of security, leaving Gwen wondering how she will cope alone, especially since there is only one CCTV camera positioned at the front of the motel and none elsewhere. The eerie atmosphere in the motel leaves Gwen with an odd feeling, almost as if the Addams family once lived there.
Teddy, however, remains optimistic about the place’s future, even dreaming of turning it into a franchise. Despite his optimistic outlook, Gwen begins to doubt his plans and starts to reconsider her decision to work there.
Complaining about the rats, she’s handed some money by Teddy, who offers her dinner to keep her from leaving, explaining that it would be hard for him to find a replacement. He also reassures her by mentioning Carmen, another lady who’s worked there without issue, implying that Gwen shouldn’t be worried.
Once Teddy leaves, Gwen begins cleaning the rooms and observes their disorder. She finds that only one room is occupied by a woman named Alice. Gwen approaches Alice’s door to ask if she needs anything, but Alice only responds from behind the door, refusing to open it fully.
Gwen becomes unsettled when she notices that Alice’s hand appears to be red, which further disturbs her, and she quickly leaves. Later, while handling the front desk, Gwen receives a call from room 13, but when she checks, she finds no guest there.
Her nerves are frayed, and she enters the room cautiously with a knife. At first, the room appears normal, with the lights off, but she hears something from the bathroom. She finds no one there, but suddenly, a strange woman appears, causing Gwen to panic and flee the room.
Outside, she notices a car loitering around the hotel, which heightens her fear. Just then, Alice arrives to help Gwen by asking her to assist in dyeing her hair. Gwen leads her to the cleaning supply closet, but Alice accidentally locks the door from the outside, trapping them inside. Fortunately, a food delivery boy arrives in time to help them escape.
Why Did Gwen Threaten To Sue Teddy?
As the food arrives, Gwen and Alice sit down to share a meal, exchanging personal stories. Alice confesses that she had run away from home due to her strict mother, who never let her do things like watch horror films or dye her hair.
Alice chose to color her hair red as a symbol of breaking free from her mother’s control. The hotel, known as one of the most haunted places in the state, attracted Alice, who saw it as the perfect opportunity for an adventure her mother wouldn’t be able to prevent.
Hearing Alice’s story, Gwen suggests that she should return to her mother and reconcile, revealing her sadness about her family, who had tragically passed away. Gwen shares the heart-wrenching story of how her mother and sisters were murdered by a man named Walton, and her relationship with her strict mother wasn’t easy.
Gwen begins to suspect that Walton might be following her, as he had been in a psychiatric facility after the incident but escaped two days earlier. She had recently received the butterfly locket Walton had taken from her the night of the tragedy, raising her fears that he had returned.
Gwen warns Alice to lock her door before going to bed for her safety. After their conversation, Alice decides to patch things up with her mother and return home, leaving behind the tension between them. Later, after dinner, Gwen walks around the hotel and once again encounters the eerie figure near the abandoned pool.
She also notices a little girl on the CCTV footage standing at the front door, which disturbs her further. Realizing she can’t stay there any longer, Gwen calls Teddy to tell him about the creepy occurrences, threatening to sue him for not being upfront about the motel’s haunted nature.
Teddy, however, dismisses her concerns, insisting that nothing like this has ever happened before. He agrees to return to the motel to investigate and ensure Gwen isn’t alone for the rest of the night.
Did Gwen Survive?
As night sets in, a new guest arrives at the motel, and Gwen fears that it might be Walton, the man responsible for her family’s death. Despite her fears, she checks him in and leads him to Room 8, which she had previously cleaned and knew had a pair of scissors inside.
After the man locks the door behind them, Gwen’s panic escalates. She grabs the scissors and, in a rush of fear, stabs him in the neck. However, the truth soon shocks her: the man isn’t Walton, but Raymond, her doctor.
A simple tour of the motel reveals more than Gwen bargained for (Photo: Night Shift/Defiant Studios, Bradley Pilz Productions, Jax Media, Kodiak Pictures, and Sunset Junction Entertainment)Gwen learns that she had been in solitary psychiatric confinement after killing her mother and sisters. She had escaped just two days prior, and Raymond had come to the hotel to check on her and administer medication, as her condition had worsened.
He had brought two other men to take her to the hospital. The butterfly locket she wore was a grim reminder of the horrific night she committed the murders. Hearing this truth sends Gwen into a frenzy. In a fit of madness, she silences Raymond by cutting out his tongue with the scissors. She then turns on the two men, attacking them in a violent outburst.
As the chaos ensues, Alice, hearing the commotion, enters the room only to witness the horror play out before her. Terrified, she tries to run, but Gwen, now completely deranged, grabs an axe and kills her. Gwen then drags the bodies of her victims to the pool’s sinkhole, disposing of them.
When Teddy arrives and sees Gwen by the pool, he cautiously approaches her but is also dragged down into the sinkhole. Gwen survives, but all the others perish. In the final scenes of Night Shift, we see Gwen’s unsettling transformation from a night shift worker to the new manager of the motel, one year later.
The murders she committed are a secret, and the once-foreboding motel now has a vibrant, cheerful atmosphere, with bright pink colors and flamboyant flamingo statues. When a new guest arrives, Gwen leads him to the back of the pool area, joking about the giant sinkhole that once stood there, claiming it could fit five people.
She assigns him to Room 8, the same room where the gruesome events occurred, and with a light-hearted tone, refers to it as the “best room in the hotel.” This darkly comedic approach masks the room’s horrifying past.
The ending leaves a lingering sense of discomfort, as Gwen’s cheerful demeanor contrasts with the dark undercurrent of the motel’s history, suggesting that while she may have taken control of the place, the ghosts of its past remain, ensuring that the horrors are far from over.
The murders she committed are a secret, and the once-foreboding motel now has a vibrant, cheerful atmosphere, with bright pink colors and flamboyant flamingo statues. When a new guest arrives, Gwen leads him to the back of the pool
