So far in 2006, the only other film I gave four stars too was “Running Scared” which you al know is not a horror film, but an action/thriller. Thus I will now give my first four star horror film review of the year, which just so happens to be this great masterpiece from Russia titled “Night Watch”. As you may or may not know “Night Watch” broke the box office record in Russia, and shattered just about every other box office record in the former U.S.S.R. It was released here in the United States in limited release in February of this year, though Fox Searchlight. I for one am disappointed that I did not get a chance to catch this film in theaters, it is by far one of the best films I’ve ever seen. And most likely will probably end up as my number one film this year. (However that remains to be seen.)
Night Watch is a story about good vs. evil. At the beginning of the film we are thrust right into the middle of an endless battle between, you guessed it; good and evil. After countless days of battle the leader of both the dark and the light call a truce. And while calling the truce they whisper their secrets into a mans ear. We are then thrusted into the present time where we find out that there are two orders the Night Watch which is lead by the good, and the Day Watch which is lead by the bad. Because of the truce they police one another and anyone who breaks the truce on either side is arrested or killed for breaking the truce. At the beginning we are shown an example of this when our hero (Anton Gorodetsky) of the film confides in a witch who happens to be part of the “Day Watch” using her magic she will try to kill the unborn child of Anton’s wife whom is cheating on him. Anton is told by the witch that the baby is not his and belongs to his wife mother. Anton then pays her to have her have a miscarriage, however the Night Watch stops the witch before any the unborn child is killed. However Anton can see the “Night Watch” and he is then classified as an “Other”. An “Other” once they find out about the Night or Day Watch must choose a side. The side of the light or the side of the dark. Wanting to be forgiven for his sins, Anton joins the light. (Night Watch). Then once again we sent twelve years into the future. Anton is now a full member of the “Night Watch” and is out on duty, making sure that the members of the dark don’t do anything wrong. From here is where the real story starts to take place, and as always I’m not going to spoil the plot for you.
“Night Watch” has one hell of a complexed yet very interesting screenplay. The plot has plenty of twists, and the fact that the film is originally shot using the Russian language is not something that most English speaking Americans want to watch. However the DVD is dubbed in English so we can understand what’s going on without having to read subtitles. However I will say that the dubbing job is done pretty dam good on the DVD. Anyway the story is odd and does have a lot of twists and turns as well as a side plot. However the story is one of great imagination, and will keep you glued to your seat well after it’s over. I for one jumped right on the internet to see when “Day Watch” will be released here in the U.S.A. However I’ll have to wait until next year for that. I believe I forgot to mention that “Night Watch” is part of a trilogy based on a great Russian Novel written by Sergei Lukyanenko. However in my book I loved the screenplay regardless of the language it was written in and how it was dubbed in English. The story works for me and the great character development was nothing but top notch.
Acting in the film was kind of a hard thing for me to determine, mainly because of the English dubbing, however the mannerisms and movement as well as the straight-forward acting in this film, made me realize that each character was cast with the perfect actor to play the role. The director; Timur Bekmambetov, does one hell of a job taking the reigns in making this film what it is, along with the great story and script, without his direction and such great cooperation of the cast, I don’t think this film could have been any better. Great decision making on the parts of the producers to have hired such a great director.
In terms of effect, we don’t get a lot of balls to the walls gore in this film, in fact it’s pretty basic. Mainly we get a lot of blood and stabling’s and a few things here and there, but nothing that we’re not all used to already. The Visual effects in this film however are out of this word, Some of the greatest CGI stuff I’ve ever seen. Now don’t get me wrong some of the flying ravens look a bit fake in the film, but it’s all overshadowed by the greatness of the effects.
Overall, I loved this film plan and simple. I can go on and on forever writing a review on how much I loved this film, so I’ll stop now and on a good note let you all know that yes, this is by far one of the best horror films I’ve ever had the joy of watching. So far this is my favorite horror/fantasy film of 2006.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
