Beyond the Slimy Wall: Nightwatch
By Stephanie Star Smith
December 21, 2006
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Nightwatch
If there's one sub-genre that is a difficult-to-navigate minefield for spook movie fans, it's the art-house horror film. All too often, art-house filmmakers concentrate too much on the artsy-fartsy elements that are de rigueur in the field and give short shrift to the essential components of the horror genre. That is, when they're not ignoring them completely, of course. So it is always with a great deal of trepidation that I undertake to view any art-house horror flicks recommended to me by the cineastes of my acquaintance. Such was my frame of mind upon settling down to view Nightwatch, the latest fave of those members of the art-house crowd who proclaim a (perhaps too refined) taste for horror films.
I am happy to report that I needn't have had such misgivings, because Nightwatch is good. It's very good; so good, in fact, that one forgets its highbrow credentials very quickly and instead enjoys the very scary, E-ticket ride.
Now this is not to say that Nightwatch isn't a bit of an odd duck, and it seems to relish its somewhat labyrinthine script. But that very circuitousness also lies at the heart of what makes Nightwatch such an enjoyable and entertaining horror film; and the filmmakers seek to disquiet and discombobulate the audience as much as they work at keeping their artsy-fartsy elements on display. And fortunately for the audience, Ole Bornedal - who was responsible for the Danish version of this film - seems to care more for the scare than the highbrow, and the film benefits greatly from this.
Nightwatch centers around two couples: Martin (Ewan McGregor) and Katherine (Patricia Arquette), and James (Josh Brolin) and Marie (Lauren Graham). The men have been friends for some time; and their friendship is an odd one, to say the least. James loves to live life on the edge, and he seems to delight in tormenting Martin, embarrassing him as much as possible at every opportunity. James also doesn't treat Marie very well, ignoring her opinions and concerns in favor of his male-bonding and strange mind games. The opening credits roll over the pair of couples celebrating Martin's birthday at their local watering hole, whilst an apparent press conference with Detective Cray (Nick Nolte), the lead investigator on a local serial murder case plays on an unseen TV in the background. It's during the party that we learn Martin has just landed a job at the local morgue as the night attendant - which would give us the title, were it not for the aforementioned Danish film, the title of which translates to English as same - and he starts the next night.
After a suitably creepy orientation tour by the outgoing night watchman, Martin is left to his studies in the grim surroundings, which play enough tricks on his mind that when things actually do begin to go wrong, the viewer isn't quite sure if perhaps Martin isn't having some job-related delusions. For it's not long until both James and Detective Cray enter into Martin's nighttime world, and the film hits its full stride shortly after. To say much more would not only spoil the plot, but would also take away from some of the more unsettling stylistic elements of the film, which would be doubly unfair to those who have not yet caught this unusual horror film.
The cast is uniformly excellent, with Ewan McGregor and, surprisingly, Patricia Arquette particular standouts. Nick Nolte also does an excellent turn as the detective who seems nearly as bizarre as the serial killer he's chasing. But the real star of the film is the atmosphere conjured by Bornedal and cinematographer Dan Laustsen, who create a netherworld of discomfiting sounds and disturbing shadows within the confines of the dilapidated morgue. Even the scenes that happen in other venues have some of the same slightly distorted, not-quite-real quality to them, and even mundane settings such as a laundromat suddenly seem to be filled with menace. All combine to make the film a lot better than your average art-house horror flick, and as that may seem like damning with faint praise, I'll go one better and say that Nightwatch can hold its own amongst the upper echelon of current horror film goodies. It's certainly worth your while to pick it up from your local video emporium, or catch it next time it plays on premium cable. And you'll have the added bonus of being able to impress your more artsy-fartsy film-fan friends with your choice of a flick with bona fide art-house credentials.
Can't be bad.
I see by the shadows falling from my bust of Pallas that our time is up. Until next time, then, when we will once again venture Beyond the Slimy Wall.