Frances Chung
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Matylda Swan
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.
Red-Barracuda
A student takes a job as a night watchman in a morgue. Very quickly he becomes the chief suspect in a series of grisly murders that are happening around the city…There aren't too many Danish thrillers out there. Nightwatch along with Pusher proves that back in the 90's the Danes were certainly capable of making very good ones. This film is another in the serial killer cycle of movies that was especially popular back in those days. It doesn't especially break the mould to be perfectly honest but its pretty effective never-the-less. The morgue setting is good and does lend a certain morbid atmosphere to proceedings. Where the film falls a bit short in my opinion is in the domestic scenes. The watchman and his buddy set themselves a series of challenges throughout the picture. I found these to be mostly annoying distractions that, with the exception of the introduction of the young prostitute, don't really add anything to the overall whole. I guess they are mainly there for character development purposes and I concede that on that score I suppose they do actually flesh out the principal leads but only to make them seem like a couple of unsympathetic bozos. The film works best when it concentrates on its thriller principles. There is one very creepy scene in the film where we experience the killer at work, and the aforementioned parts in the morgue are very worthwhile too.Ultimately, Nightwatch is something of a mixed bag. But the most important thing is that it does work well as a creepy thriller. If you like serial killer movies then I certainly think this one will be right up your street.
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews
I haven't watched any other film by Bornedal(including the American remake, which I understand is inferior to this), but he certainly nailed this one. From start to finish, this establishes and maintains an atmosphere and crafts a tension so thick, you *can't* cut it with a knife, you'd need a razor-blade. The editing and cinematography, with only a handful of exceptions, are inspired, using light and darkness immensely well, and utterly terrifying the audience. This is marvelously well-shot. The plot is excellent, and the twist is unexpected and has a relatively subtle, yet nicely effective reveal. Granted, when you think it all through, you do have to accept one or two details that strain credulity. Still, this is exciting and creepy whenever it attempts to be, and the relatable story and credible, well-developed, human characters are the driving force of the movie. Inbetween the sequences of suspense - to keep it from overstimulating the audience - there is humor, and every joke and gag are funny, none fall flat or try too hard. The acting is impeccable, every performance is spot-on. While there are jump-scares, most of the build-up pays off, big time. The music is excellent, and contains a good bit of rock, as well as a cue that they must have composed with Psycho in mind. There is a lot of disturbing content, some sexuality(including in dialog), brief nudity and a little bloody violence in this. The DVD comes with a well-done half-hour long behind-the-scenes featurette that covers the majority of the areas of production, and the theatrical trailer. I recommend this to every fan of horror. 8/10
Henryk von Babenberg
Not much to say about this film. The actors are BRILLIANT and towards the end you are against on the wall clawing at the wallpaper for sheer excitement. Forget the 5th-rate US remake and watch the original horror, but don't do it alone.........
godless savage
I really wanted to like this movie, I'd read about it for years before it finally came out on video here. Maybe my expectations were too high. Really, I don't know what everyone else is raving about here, I thought this was a very average thriller. I'm not surprised this was remade by hollywood, as the plot and characters and dialogue already seem quite "hollywood" influenced to me in this original, though with that careful european touch, which really just made the movie seems slow to me.I thought this movie was going to be atmospheric and creepy, but there was hardly any atmosphere at all, the direction was pretty dry and by-the-numbers. There were maybe 15 minutes filled with scary going-ons, and the rest was quite slow and talky, with no sense of buildup or dread whatsoever. The red herrings and forshadowing were so obvious in this, it was like getting slapped in the face.Like I said, I went into this with good intentions. I like horror from extreme gore, to atmospheric chillers, from "Dead Alive" to "The Others. This movie filled neither of these needs. Not so much bad, as just average. I suppose if all you watch is mainstream hollywood films, or if you liked that pointless piece of crud "With a Friend Like Harry", then this will probably seem great to you.
