Interesteg What makes it different from others?

ClassyWas Excellent, smart action film.

Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Gordon-11 This film tells the story of a law student who works in the local morgue to make some extra cash. He is unfortunately involved in a series of murder."Nightwatch" has a very good story. Initially it is a little slow as it provides the background to the jigsaw, and the constant reference to mortality was a little too much and too contrived. After the jigsaw was laid out, the twists and turns were quite engaging. There were so may clues pointing at one direction, but you will have to watch the film to see what happens at the end. The final scenes were filled with urgency and thrill, making the ending so memorable and engaging. I liked "Nightwatch" because it is very unexpectedly scary in the end!

Scott LeBrun Co-writer / director Ole Bornedal's English language remake of his earlier Danish hit "Nattevagten" is pretty good stuff, a substantially atmospheric and creepy thriller that milks the ambiance of its locations for everything that they're worth. Ewan McGregor, doing a superb American accent, is law student Martin Bells, who takes a part time job as night watchman at the city morgue. His best friend James (Josh Brolin) is bored with their humdrum lives and goes about doing some reckless things, while a serial killer is haunting the city and taking the eyeballs from his victims. The movie can boast some solid suspense sequences, and is also beautifully lit (by Dan Laustsen) and scored (by Joachim Holbek). It's got some decent gore going for it, but mostly it's all about the mood with "Nightwatch". The cast is excellent all the way down the line, with McGregor highly likable in the lead. Patricia Arquette plays his girlfriend, and figures in what is one of the best moments in the film, as she comes very close to encountering the killer. Brolin is fun as the risk taking friend, and Nick Nolte offers an interesting and entertaining performance as the police inspector on the trail of the killer. Brad Dourif has a great supporting part as the grumpy duty doctor who suggests McGregor get acquainted with drugs from the "zine" family when the latter cries wolf, Alix Koromzay is memorable as a prostitute, and Lonny Chapman has a great little bit as the veteran night watchman who trains McGregor. John C. Reilly appears uncredited in the key supporting role of Deputy Inspector Davis. The build up to the finale is so strong that the ultimate confrontation & action can't quite measure up (intriguingly, our killer is identified sooner than we'd expect), but Bornedal still does an impressive job of marrying soundtrack and image throughout his film. It gets off to a great start with its opening credits, and is fundamentally a neat little story, well told and well paced with no filler to have to deal with. It's an enjoyable film that deserves another look from genre fans. Seven out of 10.

inspectors71 As I get down to my last 100 or so VHS movies that I'm transferring over to DVD, I'm going through a number of flicks that I got from my in-laws, the ones who ran a rental place for almost fifteen years. I figure, I want to see if some of this stuff is worth the effort of putting on disks.Nightwatch is not worth the 20 plus cents for the blank DVD-R.Yet, lovers of all style/all the time, blood and semen soaked gutter trash will want the collector's copy (whatever additional gore, smashed bone, and defiled corpses that might contain, I don't want to know).The only reason I stuck with this murky, incoherent, and sophomoric phlegm is that I kept waiting for Nick Nolte to rip off that ludicrous toupee he was wearing, and command . . ."Give me a f___ing drink!" I'm against being an enabler, but I think he earned this one.

BaronBl00d Somewhat messy thriller with regard to plot but what it suffers from logic is buttressed well with suspense and atmosphere and acting. The story concerns two friends who come to a crossroads in life and what life has to offer and what defines living. This part of the story is subtly woven into another story of Martin taking a job at a school morgue that is one creepy place. Add to this mix a series of serial killing going on investigated by Inspector Nick Nolte and you have an intriguing blend that does basically captivate and satisfy. Ewan McGregor plays Martin and is more than adequate as he learns what life is like in this atmospherically eerie morgue is like. The scene where he picks up tips from the night watchman who he is replacing is one of the best in the film as the director pulls no stops in creating mood and character actor Lonny Chapman does a phenomenal job in his small but significant role. Well, the story quickly moves to tying all the film's plot threads together in a less than believable fashion. But director Ole Bornedal has skills making plot take a backseat to suspense. Helping along the way are good, solid performances from the likes of Josh Brolin as his reckless friend James, beautiful if less than wonderful Patricia Arquette as his girlfriend, Brad Dourif playing a snooty doctor(doesn't he thrive in films like these?), and Nick Nolte as Inspector Cray - a more than solid effort from Nolte in a very strong performance. Thomas C Reilly also has a small role as another inspector. All these actors take a backseat though to the creepy settings of this morgue with its empty corridors, red-tinted embalming room, and large body room - not to mention the 1950's look for the filer room and office. The setting pieces are really eye-catching - just like the serial killer himself. I had never heard of the film before as it seems to have flown under the radar. Shame as it is pretty good.