40
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 63TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghDanish writer-director Ole Bornedal delivers up a stylish thriller whose murky, shot-through-pond-scum cinematography is its most distinctive feature.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovIt's gritty, nasty, predictably meat-and-potatoes suspense, but genuinely gonzo fun nonetheless.
- 50Chicago ReaderLisa AlspectorChicago ReaderLisa AlspectorThe filmmakers show habitual thriller viewers some respect by condensing the background story into iconic sound and image bites during the opening-credits sequence, suggesting they know we get the drill; this and the other stylish elements make it all the more disappointing that the movie's mediocre.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIt's a visually effective and often scary film to watch, but the story is so leaky that we finally just give up.
- 50Film ThreatRon WellsFilm ThreatRon WellsIt comes off as an amalgam of everything that was cool in 1996, when we first saw the trailer.
- 50ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliIf not for Bornedal's stylish approach to the material and a couple of effectively chilling sequences, Nightwatch would have been a complete waste of time and effort.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleIt's rough when it works and rough when it doesn't. Much of the first hour is made up of slow patches, while the last 20 minutes are ugly and terrifying.
- 33Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumNightwatch is a horror for reasons that have nothing to do with suspenseful moviemaking.
- 30The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenNightwatch spends so much time churning up eerie atmospheric effects that it doesn't have time to develop its preposterous story in which Martin finds himself accused of the murders.
- 30Los Angeles TimesJack MathewsLos Angeles TimesJack MathewsNightwatch is a seriously overcast B-movie with rote performances from everyone but Brolin, who gives James an edge of danger that says that if he isn't a killer, he will be.