Timur Bekmambetov’s Night Watch is a conglomeration of the philosophy of George Lucas’s Star Wars, the effects of the Wachowski Brothers’ The Matrix, vampire lore, and Christian mythology with George Romero’s The Dark Half or Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds thrown in as the ADD essence of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill supercedes the proceedings.
Centuries ago, individuals with supernatural powers, referred to as “Others,” comprise the forces of Darkness and Light as they began an epic battle. Their leaders, Gesser, Lord of the Light, and Zavulon, General of Darkness (Vladimir Menshov and Viktor Verzhbitsky respectively), seeing that both sides where equally matched, sign a truce. Since said time, the opposing armies have created a system of checks and balances: The Darkness monitors during the day (“Day Watch”) and the Light supervises the night (“Night Watch”) in order to maintain a state of equilibrium. However, when a person is awakened to his or her “Otherness,” the individual is allowed free will in that he or she is permitted to choose which power the person will side. As prophecy states, a child, Yegor (Dmitry Martynov), will be born that will disrupt the balance, dependant upon which side the Great One chooses. The Dark and the Light attempt to influence Yegor’s decision.
As with all great epics, a mythology must be created as Bekmambetov, working off of Sergei Lukyanenko’s novels, creates a Lucasian plot laced with vampire lore disguised as Christian mythos moving toward the apocalypse. What results is a jargon-heavy tract utilizing such terms as “The Gloom” and “Others” as witches, vampires, and shape shifters all scamper around amid curses and clairvoyal happenings.
However, what is fascinating is that Night Watch retains its gritty nationality as cinematographer Sergei Trofimov persistently issues close-ups, thus placing us in an uncomfortable, claustrophobic proximity to the danger and grime in much the same manner that our throats begin to feel scratchy due to all the dust in Razhumikin’s apartment in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. Our Razhumikin in this regard is Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky), who looks and dresses much like the character of Bulcsú played by Sándor Csányi in Nimród Antal’s Kontroll. What results is that American audiences may feel a bit restricted in their visibility during battle scenes yet, ironically, the Russian critics complained on the grounds that the work was too imitative of Hollywood which, all things considered, can be understood considering this is the country which produced Sergei Eisenstein and Andrei Tarkovsky.
Bekmambetov places himself at even in my eyes in that he is in control of his narrative but, at times, not as assuredly as he should considering the weight of what he is attempting to present, which, in this regard, is nothing less than what Peter Jackson did with Lord of the Rings. The resolution is a bit forced as the episodic scenarios are brought to a hilt at the last anti-climatic minute as a dose of déjà vu thrust me directly back to Star Wars legend. (Yes, I’m aware that this is the first third of the story yet, as with any collection of films, a production needs to be able to stand on its own two feet regardless.) Yet, as with all epics, it isn’t so much the destination as it is the voyage itself (at least so I’m told).
Timur Bekmambetov’s Night Watch is an entertaining film which, once it outlines its plot, unrelentingly pushes forward. What I appreciated most about the film is its implied humor, which is rarely seen in horror, much less in epics which, in most cases, are too busy taking themselves seriously to round out the work, thus making it feel naturalistic in its telling. As such, the task forces during the Darkness and Light’s various shifts, though comprised of supernatural beings, are nonetheless bound to filing case paperwork with each mystical violation they encounter. That said, though directorially shaky at times, Night Watch pulsates with a life which, unlike most films, are naively dependent upon their skeletal frames as they forget about the other fleshy parts available to them for support.
– Egregious Gurnow
- 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
