Taking place in modern day Moscow, Night Watch is the story of the powers of light and darkness and the uneasy truce they have been holding for several millenia. The powers of Light (shapeshifters, psychics, what have you) rule the day and keep watch on the powers of Darkness (vampires, sorceresses, etc) who rule the night. The main storyline centers around Anton, who made a hasty decision 12 years earlier and employed a dark sorceress to bring back the wife who abandoned him. Before the curse can be completed, Anton realizes his mistake and the sorceress is stopped by a pair of shapeshifting Night Watchers. It is at this point that Anton realizes that he too is an Other, and he chooses the way of Light and becomes a Night Watcher himself.
Fast forward 12 years and Anton is a weirded out wreck of a man who, in trying to save a little boy from a couple of hungry vampires, begins an irreversible chain of events. The apocalyptic appearance of a Cursed Virgin raises the alarm among the Night Watch as they realize that the Final War is approaching and the uneasy truce will soon come to an end.
This Russian horror-thriller-fantasy, the first in a promised trilogy, is really trippy and very watchable. The first ten minutes of the film made me nauseous - beware the shaky camera work! But there are amazing things to be found in this movie, like a scene in which the camera tracks a falling screw, a nice scary peephole scene featuring a female vampire with a burned face and an owl which violently transforms into a woman named Olga, who becomes Anton's partner. Star Konstantin Khabensky, who starts out the film looking rather dorky, becomes more handsome as the film progresses - I certainly enjoyed watching him. This movie never would have been greenlit by Hollywood, which is what makes it so great. In Russian with beautiful, interactive English subtitles that flow across the screen and blend in with the action. It also boasts a great soundtrack. And yes, Pop Stars ARE evil and this movie has proof!
Fast forward 12 years and Anton is a weirded out wreck of a man who, in trying to save a little boy from a couple of hungry vampires, begins an irreversible chain of events. The apocalyptic appearance of a Cursed Virgin raises the alarm among the Night Watch as they realize that the Final War is approaching and the uneasy truce will soon come to an end.
This Russian horror-thriller-fantasy, the first in a promised trilogy, is really trippy and very watchable. The first ten minutes of the film made me nauseous - beware the shaky camera work! But there are amazing things to be found in this movie, like a scene in which the camera tracks a falling screw, a nice scary peephole scene featuring a female vampire with a burned face and an owl which violently transforms into a woman named Olga, who becomes Anton's partner. Star Konstantin Khabensky, who starts out the film looking rather dorky, becomes more handsome as the film progresses - I certainly enjoyed watching him. This movie never would have been greenlit by Hollywood, which is what makes it so great. In Russian with beautiful, interactive English subtitles that flow across the screen and blend in with the action. It also boasts a great soundtrack. And yes, Pop Stars ARE evil and this movie has proof!