Nightwatch (1997)

Director:

Ole Bornedal

Writers (WGA):

Ole Bornedal (film Nattevagten)
Ole Bornedal (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 April 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

He's the prime suspect in a terrifying mystery. The police are after him and so is the murderer.

Plot:

Ewan McGregor plays a law student who takes a job as a night watchman at a morgue. He begins to discover...

Plot Keywords:

Morgue | Student | Suspect | Murder | Paranoia

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Ewan McGregor	...	Martin Bells
Patricia Arquette	...	Katherine
Josh Brolin	...	James Gallman
Lauren Graham	...	Marie
Nick Nolte	...	Inspector Thomas Cray
Brad Dourif	...	Duty Doctor
Alix Koromzay	...	Joyce
Lonny Chapman	...	Johnson, Old Watchman
Erich Anderson	...	Newscaster
Scott Burkholder	...	College Professor
Michael Matthys	...	Guy in Pub
Alison Gale	...	Girlfriend of Guy in Pub
Robert LaSardo	...	Pub Thug
Mongo	...	Pub Thug
Candy Ann Brown	...	Female Paramedic

MPAA:

Rated R for strong, morbid violence, language, sexuality, and some drug content.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:18 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Japan:R | Netherlands:16 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

The photograph on the bulletin board at the guard desk that Martin notices when he shows up for his first shift and asks the old watchman about, is a famous photo of Lewis Thornton Powell (also known as Lewis Paine or Lewis Payne), a conspirator with John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln.

Quotes:

Inspector Thomas Cray: Have you ever been killed before? I'll be back in a minute.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Zulu Late Night, Live!: (#1.1)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

This Old Man

Flawed but entertaining suspense thriller.

College student Martin Bells (Ewan McGregor) is hopefully to make some money for himself by taking a job at the old city morgue. Which Martin thinks it's easy money until his graveyard shift turned into something else. A mysterious serial killer is been murdering unsuspected prostitutes but before he murders them... he makes them play dead. Now this murderer is been stalking Martin on his night shifts by playing sick mind games with the dead corpses.

Directed by Ole Bornedal made an predictable but fairly intriguing suspense-thriller. Which Bornedal remade his own film "Nattevagten" for Dimension Films. McGregor's American accent comes and goes but he is surrounded by a sharp supporting cast like Patricia Arquette as his worried girlfriend, Josh Brolin as Martin's daredevil buddy, Brad Dourif as a doctor and Nick Notle as a police detective. "Nightwatch" was set to release in the fall of 1996 but released instead limited in the spring of 1998. Which the film critics were not kind to it, since the identity of the villain was too easy to guess but the movie is oddly irresistible thanks to some suspense, Bornedal's stylish creepy mood and some light touches of humour. The look on McGregor's face, when his buddy scares him nearly to death in the morgue is priceless. Despite all it's flaws, this is worth a look. Written by the director and Oscar-Winner Steven Soderbergh (The Ocean Trilogy, Erin Brockovich, Solaris "2002"). John C. Reilly appears uncredited. Super 35. (*** 1/2 out of *****).