La sombra del mal

The year is 1917 and a small band of British troops happen upon a German trench. Very few people are alive in this trench and it looks as if something wicked has gone on there. Eventually, the British troops find out that there is an evil presence in the trench, but will they be able to escape it?

The set design and atmosphere in "Deathwatch" was primo. It was rainy, muddy, cold, and you can tell that the entire trench was a breeding ground for germs and bacteria. The actors put in strong performances which were on par with the set design. They exuded angst, desperation, confusion, and fear. The plot, however, wasn't as compelling as everything else. I almost feel like the set and the performances were wasted on this piece.

Set in the trenches of the First World War this is the first film I've seen set during that time that got the sense of place right. Its the got the entombed bodies in the ground, in the walls, and everywhere you look right. It is a bleak existence that the soldiers take almost matter of factly.

The plot has a group of British soldiers getting lost during an attack and finding a German trench. The Germans are more concerned with something in the trench to pay the Brits any mind and try to send them away. All but one of the Germans are shot, but because of a language problem he can't tell them whats is lurking close by.

Beautifully shot, excellently acted this is a very good little horror film. No, its not the be all and end all of horror films but its a damn good little thriller that rises about the typical thanks to its setting and the cast.

This is a film worth putting a bit of effort into finding. I doubt that you'll hate it if you find it, at the very least you'll come away liking it.

8 out of 10.

I cannot say I ever saw a horror movie set in a WWI trench and I am not sure one has existed until this one. Or is this actually a horror movie or something else? Anyway the movie is rather predictable and cliche ridden. All around competent acting and directing saves it from being a disaster.

During the horror of world war II, a few survivors of an English regiment, trapped behind enemy lines take refuge in a deserted German trench. When no help arrives, they begin to suffer mysterious and gruesome fates at the hands of something more terrifying than the war itself.

I found this film to be very enjoyable, it has a wonderfully creepy and suspenseful atmosphere, and the setting for the movie is perfectly dark and mysterious to heighten the plot.

Deathwatch is solidly directed and well cast and is a very different take on the horror genre as a whole that is refreshing to see.

7/10

"Welcome to hell," are the eerily prophetic words, complete with shells, atmospheric all-is-not-right music and the groans of dying men, a hint of what's to come. After the battle, out of the fog and into a German trench, the men of Y-company discover that's exactly where they've landed. First of all, the place is deserted. And strewn with (mutilated) corpses of German soldiers. All dead. Except one (Torben Liebrecht), who warns them desperately that there is "quelque chose de mal" in that place, and to get out as soon as they can. Naturally, they all ignore him, except for Shakespeare (Jamie Bell). Soon, it proves true when the men start turning against each other, or getting sucked into the earth with barbed wire, or tying each other up à-la-crucifixion.

Well. After two years of watching this in the making, it hasn't disappointed (thank you, Mr, Bassett). Great set-up, with the rain, the rats, trenches and mud to make Spielberg weep with envy. While the script could use some work ("what's the matter with this place? What's happening?" asks one -rhetorically?), the acting keeps the characters from becoming walking clichés, especially Jamie Bell as the unwelcome greenhorn, or Hugo Speer as the duty-bound Sgt. Tate, to name a few. The suspense was average and wasn't so scary that there'd be lost sleep over it, nor was it anything over-original. But it's a great piece of ensemble casting (i'd pay the admission again to see Hugh O'Conor say the f-word), cool FX and steady directing make it a good viewing.