Le veilleur de nuit

I follow Nordic Movies ever since I lived and studied in Sweden. I do follow Nordiskfilm releases and I saw that there is a movie called Nattevagten then I discovered that it is a sequal and there was in fact a movie which was very popular in Scandinavian countries back in 1994. I have found the movie and this movie ended up a great one. The movie is eerie and the atmosphere is horrifiyng. The most important thing about this movie is that it is almost like The Youth Setup in Football of the Danish Movie Industry. We have Sofia Grabol a Danish legend actress who became worldwide famous with The Killing and we have Kim Bodnia a Danish legend actor who became worldwide famous with The Bridge. In addition to them, we have another Danish legend actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau who is worldwide famous with Game of Thrones. And finally we have Ulrich Thomsen another Danish legend actor who is worldwide famous with James Bond The World is not Enough, Forhøret, Trom and Department Q Franchise. On the other hand, a Danish veteran legend actor Gyrd Løfquist is also in this movie (He passed away back in 2012, RIP). Great movie and I give 8 over 10 to this Danish classic ! I watched it after 30 years but it is an absolute thriller !

NIGHTWATCH (Ole Bornedal - Denmark 1994).

Danish writer-director Bornedal made an extremely suspenseful film about young law student Martin (Nikolaj Coaster Waldau) in Copenhagen who takes a job as the nightwatchman at a mortuary. A serial killer is lose on the streets, leaving behind a string of scalped female victims. Soon after Martin started his new job, one of the victims is brought in. That's when Martin meets homicide detective Peter Wörmer (Ulf Pilgaard). When one night one of the victims in the morgue is molested, Martin being the nightwatchman is suspected and soon finds himself trapped in a carefully planned frame-up.

Suspenseful, black humour, some necrophilia, this is superior genre movie-making. Bornedal goes for an ultra-realistic style and certainly employs some very skillfull set-ups that will have you on the edge of your seat. The performances are all-round perfect. In fact, I cannot recall a genre film of this kind with so many impressive performances. Superior scripting and character development by Bornedal helps this, but exceptional nevertheless. Kim Bodnia's role as Martin best friend Jens Arkiel got him noticed and he would later star in an equally impressive role in PUSHER (1996). Bornedal also directed an inferior American remake in 1997 starring Ewan McGregor.

Camera Obscura --- 9/10

I saw this today n was pulled in cos of the 2024 sequel.

Had seen the Hollywood remake starring Josh Brolin n McGregor in the early 2k.

Honestly I enjoyed both the versions but writing a review of this original version.

The movie looks a bit outdated (30 years) considering the pacing but it has solid character development.

The best part is the ominous setting, oodles of atmosphere n a decent twist.

Kim Bodnia as Jens Arnkiel gave a very memorable performance.

We have Martin (a very young Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) who gets a student job as night watchman at the Forensic Medicine Institute. At the same time women are murdered brutally by a serial killer.

Martin has to make his rounds in the morgue where the latest victim's body is brought in.

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

Nattevagten (1994) (aka Nightwatch) is a stylish thriller/horror from Denmark. I just finished watching it and I was blown away. It's the most edge-of-your-seat thriller I've seen since A Tale of Two Sisters. This guy, Ole Bornedal, plots like a devil! The way he sets everything up is masterful. The script is so tight, practically every element that's established is later on used. Reminded me of early Coen brothers scripts. It also provides the viewer with sufficient food for thought, what with its underlying themes about the connection between sex and death, man's self-destructive tendencies versus his instincts for survival and self-preservation, and more.

There are a lot of creepy sequences, and one or two boo moments. The soundtrack is excellent. There's one unforgettable scene where something hideous happens to the sounds of this cheery, boppin' Danish song that seems to repeat the same verse over and over again. The result is very disturbing.

The style contains a lot of Hitchcockian characteristics, and the movie is done so well that it would have made Hitchcock proud. Everything is pulled off perfectly, and not once do we hear the gears of the plot grinding.

Considering how little known this movie is, I was very pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend it.

P.S. The main actor has a striking resemblance to Ewan McGregor, who reprised the role in the American remake three years later.