Nightwatch (1994)

You know how you often get extremely disappointed when you re-watch movies that petrified you as a kid and almost single-handedly were responsible for the development of your future phobias? Well, the Danish horror/suspense masterpiece "Nattevagten" is the symbolic exception that confirms the rule. More than a decade after its initially shocking & nightmarish impact, the film still is as unsettling as when it first came out. I saw this film shortly after its release in 1994, but most of the time my eyes & ears were covered by the sheets of my bed. In my defense, I was only 12 years old and the film is truly creepy! Although I now admit that the basic story and screenplay aren't entirely flawless, the atmosphere of "Nattevagten" is still indescribably tense and haunting. In order to make some extra money to finance his studies, 24-year-old Martin takes on a new job as the night watchman in the hospital's morgue. At the same time, however, the city is plagued by a maniacal serial killer who scalps his prostitute victims and drives the local police inspector Wörmer insane. Pretty soon the gruesomely deformed corpses end up in Martin's mortuary and he makes himself a suspect because of a series of strange betting games with his best friend Jens. Ole Bornedal's script isn't always 100% plausible and convincing, but at least it dares to feature some hugely controversial undertones (like necrophilia, religious blasphemy and under-aged prostitutes) and it patiently takes enough time to properly introduce the main characters and make them amiable. Some sequences are truly portentous and genuinely make the hairs on your arms & neck stand up straight, like when Martin hesitantly has to check out who set off the morgue's emergency alarm. There are several highlights of brilliant suspense in "Nattevagten", as well as prime examples of brilliant acting, beautiful art-direction and a truly peculiar sense of (pitch black) humor. There isn't that much gore or bloodshed in the film, but the few visceral moments are quite disturbing and in-your-face confronting. Great film, highly recommended to fans of superior horror cinema as well as the more established art-house fanatics. Also, Danish seems like a fascinating language to learn!

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.........

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.

'Nightwatch' is genuinely creepy Danish thriller full of suspense and interesting uncliched characters. Writer/director Ole Bornedal really knows how to hook a viewer by creating a likeable hero, then throwing him in the deep end. We really feel for Martin (Nikolaj Coster-Wadeu) and want to somehow see him get out of the dangerous mess he unexpectedly finds himself in! This movie has plenty of twists without getting gimmicky, and is helped enormously by the first rate cast of unknown (to an English language audience) actors, all of whom are well cast and convincing. One of the oddest things about this movie is that the American remake was not only inferior, but actually directed by Bornedal himself. American remakes of European movies are almost always poor, but this is one of the few examples of the same director being responsible for both. (One other springs to mind - George Sluizer's brilliant 'Spoorloos', remade by himself as the hugely disappointing 'The Vanishing'). Maybe this says a lot about Hollywood and the behind the scenes compromises movie audiences are rarely privy to. Anyway, steer clear of the crappy remake, and try to see this the superb original. Along with Amenabar's similarly taut and claustrophobic 'Tesis' it is one of the most effective and entertaining thrillers of the last decade.