Nightwatch

Nightwatch is a 1997 American horror thriller film directed by Ole Bornedal and starring Ewan McGregor as law student Martin Bells, hired as a night watchman at a hospital morgue. Patricia Arquette, Josh Brolin and Nick Nolte also star. It was written by Bornedal and Steven Soderbergh. It is a remake of the Danish film Nattevagten (1994), which was also directed by Bornedal.

Nightwatch is an atmospheric little psycho-thriller from Denmark, although ultimately its far-fetched and the ending is unsatisfying. The director makes excellent use of cinematography and some disturbing sound effects (such as the amplified flapping of moths' wings) to show how our hero is overwhelmed by his cold, spacious workplace. Saddled with a nominally respectable cast, the film is labored in exposition, painting a luridly disturbing portrait of male aggression. And the dialogue contains odd shafts of insight. It's a visually effective and often scary film to watch, but the story is rather leaky so it begins to grow tiresome towards the end and the mystery elements of the film are rather predictable.

If you've seen Nightwatch & you liked it then you should go see the original version called Nattevagten - you'll be nothing less than thrilled! If Nightwatch is a 6 then Nattevagten is 9+!

For those of you who haven't seen either one of them go see Nattevagten first!

• MooseT, 27/06 - '99 (ddmmyy)

Ewan McGregor plays a law student who takes a job as a night watchman at a morgue. He begins to discover clues that implicate him as the suspect of a serial of murders.

The setting in this movie was really perfect, i really liked it , it had great atmosphere from start to end and worked really well with the the creepy scenes, they also added some humour into this movie, which i really liked.

The deaths were not gory or bloody as this is more of a drama then your normal slasher movies, (it nothing like Scream or Friday 13th movies at all).

The acting from the whole cast was outstanding, A really good movie

8 out of 10

As Michael Haneke did with his FUNNY GAMES, Ole Bornedal directed his own remake, and as Haneke, in the US. There is of course a bit of Hollywood trademark - music, filming, actors -, to attract audiences, the bulk of them, but the DNA remains the same. It could have been better from the original, but also far far worse. Also some lines here, graphic lines, may let you think about the Italian giallos from the sixties and seventies. But that's my own opinion.

Student Ewan McGregor gets himself a part time job in a morgue, he presumes this will give him some quiet time as he studies for his degree. However, in this morgue the dead don't rest easy- it would appear that a serial killer who also indulges in necrophilia is making occasional visits. Could this just be paranoia on McGregor's part? It would appear not as he soon becomes chief suspect...

This promising premise is let down, in part, through the unsure direction of Ole Bornedal. The film begins in a vein not dissimilar to that of Se7en and seems to be setting up for a serial killer/thriller style. This soon changes to an approach more suited to teen slashers and then switches to a horror style before seeming to flick between them at will. This mix doesn't gel well at all and leaves the film feeling a little lost at times.

Josh Brolin who plays Ewan McGregor's friend in the film plays a character you feel like you have seen a hundred times before in teen slashers: plays by his own rules, pretty unlikeable but has his good side and you have your suspicions about him by the first scene. Ewan McGregor gets the paranoia spot on but is by and large quite forgettable, the same could be aimed at Patricia Arquette.

For its faults, there is still enough on offer to merit a watch. The scenes which take a more horror style approach work very well in the morgue and do give quite a tense atmosphere at times. Also, Nick Nolte turns in an eye-catching and enjoyable performance despite playing a role which you feel he could do in his sleep (he's playing a gruff detective). And Brad Dourif is perfectly cast as the creepy duty doctor, his knowing performance raises a smile.

The film has enough to keep you watching to its conclusion but will leave you disappointed at not being able to fully deliver on what could've been a very affecting thriller.