A student takes a job as a night watchman in a morgue. Very quickly he becomes the chief suspect in a series of grisly murders that are happening around the city
There aren't too many Danish thrillers out there. Nightwatch along with Pusher proves that back in the 90's the Danes were certainly capable of making very good ones. This film is another in the serial killer cycle of movies that was especially popular back in those days. It doesn't especially break the mould to be perfectly honest but its pretty effective never-the-less. The morgue setting is good and does lend a certain morbid atmosphere to proceedings. Where the film falls a bit short in my opinion is in the domestic scenes. The watchman and his buddy set themselves a series of challenges throughout the picture. I found these to be mostly annoying distractions that, with the exception of the introduction of the young prostitute, don't really add anything to the overall whole. I guess they are mainly there for character development purposes and I concede that on that score I suppose they do actually flesh out the principal leads but only to make them seem like a couple of unsympathetic bozos. The film works best when it concentrates on its thriller principles. There is one very creepy scene in the film where we experience the killer at work, and the aforementioned parts in the morgue are very worthwhile too.
Ultimately, Nightwatch is something of a mixed bag. But the most important thing is that it does work well as a creepy thriller. If you like serial killer movies then I certainly think this one will be right up your street.
There aren't too many Danish thrillers out there. Nightwatch along with Pusher proves that back in the 90's the Danes were certainly capable of making very good ones. This film is another in the serial killer cycle of movies that was especially popular back in those days. It doesn't especially break the mould to be perfectly honest but its pretty effective never-the-less. The morgue setting is good and does lend a certain morbid atmosphere to proceedings. Where the film falls a bit short in my opinion is in the domestic scenes. The watchman and his buddy set themselves a series of challenges throughout the picture. I found these to be mostly annoying distractions that, with the exception of the introduction of the young prostitute, don't really add anything to the overall whole. I guess they are mainly there for character development purposes and I concede that on that score I suppose they do actually flesh out the principal leads but only to make them seem like a couple of unsympathetic bozos. The film works best when it concentrates on its thriller principles. There is one very creepy scene in the film where we experience the killer at work, and the aforementioned parts in the morgue are very worthwhile too.
Ultimately, Nightwatch is something of a mixed bag. But the most important thing is that it does work well as a creepy thriller. If you like serial killer movies then I certainly think this one will be right up your street.