Nightwatch

1997 Directed by Ole Bornedal

A law student, who takes a job as a night watchman at a morgue, begins to discover clues that implicate him as the suspect of a series of murders.

Ewan McGregor Patricia Arquette Nick Nolte Josh Brolin Lauren Graham Brad Dourif Alix Koromzay Lonny Chapman Robert LaSardo John C. Reilly

Alternative Title

O Principal Suspeito

drama action mystery thriller horror

102 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by GarbageReelKids 🗑️ 🎥 🧒 ★★½

September 2018 Daily Horror Scavenger Hunt
Original post by Rich Strahs boxd.it/1Yc5M

12. Today we will watch a movie from Ian West’s Overlooked and Undervalued ‘97 list.
letterboxd.com/nevermore1985/list/overlooked-undervalued-horror-97/

I remember seeing a trailer for this in theaters and then it was almost unheard from after that.
The sub-plot with Josh Brolin's need for kicks is needlessly long and feels like padding (and maybe something inspired by the same year's In the Company of Men?).
This had the potential to be better but it just falls flat. There's so few characters that you already know the killer is one of three people less than halfway in.
I really wanted John C. Reilly to make some Dr. Steve Brule references, but it…
Review by Roche ★★★

I've seen Nightwatch many times (and owned it on VHS and DVD), and always appreciate it for its B-minus Se7en aesthetics - what you'd watch if you felt like a David Fincher movie but were also feeling trashy.
Revisiting Nightwatch last night, I was overwhelmed instead by the Dimension Films of it all. Their look from the late '90s hasn't aged well. (Not that this should be a deal breaker, but in this crummy DVD transfer, Nick Nolte's hair dye and make-up are too obvious, working overtime and failing to take 15 years off him).
I was also distracted at the sight of so many current stars looking practically like children. Josh Brolin wears one of those wide-lapel leather coats everyone…
Review by fulci420

"Nightwatch" must have looked real good on paper. All star cast. A remake of an acclaimed foreign thriller. Directed by the original director. Script work by Steven Sodergergh. Too bad the movie is a mess.
I haven't seen the original so I cant comment on those comparisons but my takeaway was that it was a tonal mess. Is it a "Se7en" style dark serial killer saga? A stylish indie with Ewan McGregor gallivanting to rock music at his overnight security job? When the movie finally decides it's going to be a slasher for the finale I was completely checked out.
Worst of all is everything and anything involving Josh Brolin. He has become one of the most solid actors going…
Review by knjr ★★

Horror x52
Made in Europe
This most definitely wasn't made in Europe, I made a mistake and watched the US remake. Apparently the original is from the same director/writer though Mr. Ole Bornedal so this makes it a case like Haneke's Funny Games one could say. If that's the case, then the original must be a pretty shit film, because the film that I watched last night was a total snoozefest.
Nightwatch is a whodunnit mystery starring a young Ewan McGregor, Josh Brolin and it even has Patricia Arquette and Nick Nolte in supporting roles. So this cast is pretty heavy and actually the acting job is pretty good from every cast member. So performance wise the film is more…
Review by Jordan Beaumont Anderson ★½

Dull.
Small talk in an elevator dull. Formica and fluorescent lights dull. White dresses with blue satin sashes dull. Semi-Annual Sale at The Mattress Showroom dull. Therapeutic ointment dull. Raw, unseasoned portabello mushroom dull.
Late-90s Gen-X disaffected fuckface dull.
Review by Tessa ★★★ 3

Probably added a star for the cast to be honest.
Review by Cptn_Sumi 🚀 ★★½ 2

I only watched this because Ewan McGregor is in it. I would watch everything with him in it. I would even watch a movie in which he dives headfirst into a dirty toilet full of shit... Oh wait, I did!
Review by No-Personality ★★½

Part of me wishes I'd have kept an actual log of all my film viewings before the fall of 2005 (when I joined a certain website that shall remain nameless, where I actually did keep a loose record for about 6 years of a couple hundred watches as well as some painfully bad reviews). Part of me does not. The part that does not is trying to protect my diary of revealing my old viewing habits. But, I used to watch the same movies over and over again. Like: sometimes 3 times a day. Which is why, at one point, I knew every word of the entirety of Sorority House Massacre II by-heart.
Last night was the very first night…
Review by Carl Munden ★★½ 2

Loads of great actors, one pretty average film.
Review by Todd Malkin ★½ 3

It embodies the bad kind of neo-noir film-making from the 90s. Despite some (usually) interesting actors, I couldn't even finish it. If they were trying to capture how thrilling it is to be a real nightwatchman, they succeeded.
Review by Luca Lagerstrom ★★½

'Have you ever been killed before?'
Review by Jakub Flasz ★★★½

OK, let me clue you in as to what my thoughts were when I randomly popped in "Nightwatch" on Netflix.
(Dimension films logo appears)
My mind immediately connects the dots. Released in 1997 - check. It's probably going to be a 90's slasher revival, which is always entertaining. Well, not always, but often enough.
(A woman appears. She's talking to it as if it was a person.)
Oh, I get it. It's a POV shot.
(The camera follows the woman. She undresses. She implies the man she's talking to is into some real kinky shit).
Hmm... "Scream" meets "Halloween". Interesting.
(The woman is butchered.)
Nice.
(Opening credits roll)
Ewan McGregor? Josh Brolin? Patricia Arquette? Nick Nolte? I need to strap…

Recent reviews

Review by dxflatline ★★

The original seems to be the 1994 nightwatch.
I watched the wrong title.
Review by Matt ★★½

Strong, tense sequences, but it feels like the film was going in another direction before it became a crime thriller.
Review by Goombill ★★★

This is really close to a great thriller, but it falls short and ends up just being good. The beginning is the weakest part, with an over reliance on creepy music and jerky editing, it just makes it feel silly instead of the off-putting it's aiming for. Around the midpoint though, it hits a more solid groove, leading up to an impressive ending and a unique twist, even though I saw it coming.
Review by Marc Uesbeck ★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

While not having seen the danish original, this very americanized take on psych horror from an unconventional angle could have many things going for it - good pacing, a stellar performance by a young Ewan McGregor, a lot of audiovisual flair and enough twists to keep you entertained.
Yet, I wound up mostly scratching my head because of its confusing character constellation and a final act that just didn't know where to stop fucking around...
Review by Bil Antoniou ★★½

Find the full review here: wp.me/p3waMl-Vx
Review by Jake Finer ★★

It could have been better, I was expecting a lot more
Review by DER Schmidt ★★★

"Freeze - Alptraum Nachtwache" - nervig!
Review by juliarytter ★★★★

ewan mcgregor is *chefs kiss*
Review by Carlos Lee ★★

Bland murder mystery.
Review by Becky ★★★

It held my attention. I was interested in seeing how everything played out. I didn't know it was a remake of a foreign film. I need to see it.
Review by alex ★★½

"have you ever been killed before?" yeah. this movie kinda sucks. im pissed that the absolute asshole is the one that got to save the day. and the credits are so ugly

but hey! brad dourif! the second half is kinda fun!
ewan mcgregor is a baby here.
Review by volt1up ★★★

Like, just shy of greatness. Still good. The cast is fun to watch.