Day Shift's Jamie Foxx Recalls How Pumped He Was With The Overwhelming Reaction To The Trailer - Exclusive

Oscar-winning "Ray" star Jamie Foxx is no doubt familiar with how it feels to have his work embraced by the masses, but that doesn't mean the acclaimed actor is required to hold back his excitement when he witnesses fans breaking out in a frenzy while responding to his upcoming movies.

Luckily for Foxx, fans are already coming out in droves in anticipation of the release of "Day Shift," a new action-horror-comedy that pairs the actor with fellow funnyman Dave Franco. Directed by J.J. Perry, "Day Shift," new on Netflix, stars Foxx as Bud Jablonski, a blue-collar pool cleaner who uses his business as a front for his high-stakes career, so to speak, as a vampire hunter. But Bud's penchant for breaking the rules got him expelled from the international union of vampire hunters. Since he's not earning union wages, it prevents him from earning a decent enough living to prevent his estranged wife, Jocelyn (Meagan Good), and their daughter, Paige (Zion Broadnax), from moving halfway across the country so they can afford their needs.

Tasked with earning $10,000 over a weekend to help pay for his daughter's medical and school bills, Bud calls on his fellow vampire hunter, Big John (Snoop Dogg), to help him get back into the union on a probationary basis. To keep Bud in check, the union assigns a nebbish desk clerk, Seth (Franco), to follow and report Bud's every move — a daunting task, considering the vampire hunter needs to break all sorts of rules to thwart the ambitions of a seemingly unkillable vampire named Audrey (Karla Souza).

In an exclusive interview with Looper, Foxx and Franco discussed the head-spinning work that went into the making of the action-horror-comedy, including a segment that kicks off the film's hyperkinetic first trailer.

When fans see the opening scene of "Day Shift," they'll finally get to experience the full sequence of what transpired in the trailer. In it, Foxx takes on a seemingly meek elderly woman who suddenly turns into a wicked vampire. Watching the fight scene — as well as several other scenes in "Day Shift" — is akin to an imaginary scenario where John Wick takes on the Deadites of the "Evil Dead" movies, except the creatures in this case look like the chilling vampires from "Bram Stoker's Dracula."

The combination of influences shouldn't come as a surprise, though, considering director J.J. Perry is not only a major fan of classic horror comedies but also a longtime friend and collaborator of "John Wick" director and "Day Shift" producer Chad Stahelski. In other words, there's a reason the trailer boldly informs its viewers that "Day Shift" is "from the guys who taught John Wick how to kick ass."

"[J.J.] showed me the pre-[visualization] of what the fight was going to look like. I said, 'Bro, I'm in all the way.' Our trailer that has that," Foxx told Looper. "Our trailer over-performed. It had 30 million views in less than 24 hours — because when you see me pull that gun and shoot that old white grandmother through the air, and she hits the back of her head and then turns it on, people went crazy for us. I said, 'Man, let's strap it up! Let's do it!'"

"Day Shift" is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.