the audience applauded

hyped garbage

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

This was, wasn't it? For like a twelve years straight we were glued to our television sets watching the court case play out like it was the OJ Trial...only a little more twisted and...Oh, wait, no, it wasn't.It was just an Ewan McGregor and, let's face it, after Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, A Life Less Ordinary, Velvet Goldmine...well, for a while there in the 90s her ruled didn't he? You had to watch him.I kind of gave it a 10 out of 10, not because it was the epitome of cinematic glory, but because it was just twisted fun...I sort of do that with movies that are entertaining. That's the point of buying the ticket, right? To be entertained, to lose yourself for a little while? Nightwatch did that. But it's also one of those movies where, yeah, you can sort of see it happening in real life and if it did you would be glued to the court case. The best reality show ever.The cast is good, there are a few twists and turns, but honestly it's a thriller that's just an Ewan McGregor machine when he was at his best. It's cheesy pop corn fun with a very 90s atmosphere.The cast is great, the music fits, it's never over-done, at times it's clever, at times it's funny, and at the end, like all popcorn fun, you leave entertained without the burdensome feeling that you had been taught anything or expanded your mind at all.

Sorry, but this film just doesn't make any sense. There's a serial killer on the loose, killing women and cutting their eyes out. The bodies are taken to the morgue where there's a new night watchman, a man scared of his own shadow. Over the course of the film, the night watchmen is framed to be the serial killer, and then we get the happy ending.So where does it all go wrong? The protagonist, Martin, the night watchman is supposed to be studying law, which presupposes and above-average intelligence and yet Martin acts like a complete moron throughout the film. When he realises he's being framed, he's totally unable to work out who the only possibility is to be the real killer. Sadly, Martin isn't the only idiot in the film. His girlfriend is also a moron, as is the deputy chief detective. Really, where were they all when the brains were being handed out.Then there's the problem that the lead detective IS the serial killer, so he's investigating his own crimes. So why hasn't he been taken off the case for being so incompetent? And, if he's so good at hiding his crimes, why does he suddenly make mistake after mistake.And then there's the incredible coincidences. Martin's friend, an obvious red herring, just happens to sleep with a prostitute who just happens to sleep with the killer, allowing the killer to set up Martin, who just happens to work in the morgue, giving him access to the victims. And the prostitute just happens to be a friend of the last victim, and she just happens to tell Martin and his friend that she has a client who likes her to pretend she's dead and in the morgue. It's just far too contrived.And then there's the miscasting. Patricia Arquette just isn't suitable as Martin's girlfriend, or anybody's girlfriend really; there's nothing attractive about her, her looks, her acting, her intelligence. But that could be the mistake of the writers and costume design. Ewan McGregor is OK as Martin, although his accent drifts around the world. Josh Brolin as Martin's friend is just too weird, and looks too old compared to McGregor. And Nick Nolte, as good as he is, is just too obviously the killer from the first moment he appears on screen. Sure, Nolte is very believable as the killer, but that's the problem, he's too believable.Considering that this is a remake of a film the director made several years before, I can only believe that the studio and/or producers intervened to make a complete dog's breakfast of this film.A missed opportunity.

Somewhat messy thriller with regard to plot but what it suffers from logic is buttressed well with suspense and atmosphere and acting. The story concerns two friends who come to a crossroads in life and what life has to offer and what defines living. This part of the story is subtly woven into another story of Martin taking a job at a school morgue that is one creepy place. Add to this mix a series of serial killing going on investigated by Inspector Nick Nolte and you have an intriguing blend that does basically captivate and satisfy. Ewan McGregor plays Martin and is more than adequate as he learns what life is like in this atmospherically eerie morgue is like. The scene where he picks up tips from the night watchman who he is replacing is one of the best in the film as the director pulls no stops in creating mood and character actor Lonny Chapman does a phenomenal job in his small but significant role. Well, the story quickly moves to tying all the film's plot threads together in a less than believable fashion. But director Ole Bornedal has skills making plot take a backseat to suspense. Helping along the way are good, solid performances from the likes of Josh Brolin as his reckless friend James, beautiful if less than wonderful Patricia Arquette as his girlfriend, Brad Dourif playing a snooty doctor(doesn't he thrive in films like these?), and Nick Nolte as Inspector Cray - a more than solid effort from Nolte in a very strong performance. Thomas C Reilly also has a small role as another inspector. All these actors take a backseat though to the creepy settings of this morgue with its empty corridors, red-tinted embalming room, and large body room - not to mention the 1950's look for the filer room and office. The setting pieces are really eye-catching - just like the serial killer himself. I had never heard of the film before as it seems to have flown under the radar. Shame as it is pretty good.

this is a fine piece of suspense-horror movie making. nick nolte was superb as the deranged necrophiliac killer.Ewan McGregor was good but his accent was terrible, as the law student. josh brolin turning in a good performance as his wise-cracking friend. as always Patricia arquette mesmerising us on screen with her good-looks and soft-tinged voice. maybe these aren't all Oscar-winning performances. but this movie is one of the few able to pull of a momentum that speeds up all the way through right to the end when it gives us the feeling of stopping still and confronting the evil after one hell of a thrill ride. let your hair down, grab a cushion or a cup of tea, & settle into one and a half hours of nail-biting(sometimes funny) suspense-filled horror. also brad dourif and john.c.Reilly turn in sum good acting to. as they always do of course.