Horror

I never saw Night Watch or read the Russian novels which on which the story is based.  If I had perhaps the plot line and the characters of the universe might have made more sense to me.  But then again, considering how little (not counting the early exposition narration) is explained in this film, maybe not.  As an action film with subtitles (that will be popular I know) it won’t blow you away, but it might be worth a couple hours of your time as a mild diversion from the hot summer sun.

Day Watch (Dnevnoy dozor)
3 Stars

Day Watch picks up a year after the events of Night Watch.  We are given a rushed narration to explain the events of the first film and the rather incomplete outline of this world.  There are two opposing forces, armies of Light and Dark, who are known as the Others.  Centuries ago they battled until an uneasy truce was made.  Now these psychics, shape-shifters, and vampires live in a world trying to keep the necessary balance intact, though one man has decided it is time for war.

Anton (Konstantin Khabensky) and his new trainee Svetlana (Mariya Poroshina) , who is destined to be the Great Other for the side of Light, encounter a Dark Other killing a human in public.
Tracking him down Anton discovers it is his son Yegor (Dima Martynov) and prevents Svetlana from killing him.  Anton then tries to hide the evidence of his son’s involvement which only puts himself in danger as the Dark Others accuse Anton of murder and the world tips on the edge of war.

The film contains large armies that don’t really do much.  The vampires don’t eat people, there are no werewolves, and the shape-shifting we see is mostly disappointing.  Also parts of the film aren’t well explained.  What is “the gloom” and how does one enter and exit from it?  Who are these judges to decide the fate of Anton?  The Light Others can prove Anton did not kill the girl, but they refuse, why?  And though the idea of the mysterious Chalk of Fate is intriguing, its existence is never properly dealt with.

In terms of an action film the movie has many stunts and special effects which come off quite well.  The fact that it shot in Russia also adds something to the Gothic feel of the film.  But the film is laughingly bad at trying to capture the seductive and erotic tones of vampire films.  The audience was rolling their eyes and guffawing during these “intimate” moments.

As a horror film or a suspense film Day Watch fails on many levels.  As an average summer popcorn action flick, with better than average acting, the film is a modest success.  I don’t think anyone will be wowed by the action scenes or the special effects, though they are professionally done, or come away blown away from the experience.  What Day Watch proves is that other countries can create convoluted big budget action films, that when you get right down to it don’t make a lot of sense, just as well as Hollywood can.

There’s a look and feel to the film which I enjoyed.  And except for the moments of unintentional laughter the tone holds up well.  If the world had been a little better fleshed-out and described to the audience it would have helped immensely.  Still, with the issues I have with the film I am recommending it, though I would suggest renting the first film before trying to figure this one out.  Although isn’t as good as I hoped, it does do a much better job with it’s material than similar recent American vampire films such as the forgettable Van Helsing and the supremely awful Underworld Evolution (read that review).

Wow, I didn’t know this was going to be a comedy.  John Moore’s remake of the 1976 horror flick The Omen is laughably, hilariously, uproariously bad.  It’s so impossible to take seriously you’ll find yourself (when you aren’t bored to tears) giggling and chuckling your way through this unmitigated disaster. 

The Omen
1 Star

I believe that any movie that kills off Julia Stiles can’t be all bad but this one certainly tries its darnedest to prove me wrong.

I must first start off with describing the opening scene of the film where the Pope (Bohumil Svarc) is shown omens coming to pass that lead the church to believe the Anti-Christ is about to be born.  The PowerPoint presentation (your groan here) involves images of comets and other signs including real images of the attack on the World Trade Center and the effects of Hurricane Katrina (your disgust here).  To call this bad taste doesn’t do the words justice.

The story, for those of you who don’t rember the orginal, involves a young couple Robert Thorn (Liev Schreiber) and his wife Katherine (Julia Styles).  The child Katherine gives birth to dies but Robert is approached by a priest who offers to substitute another child in his place.  And so young Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) comes home with the Thorns who begin to rise in the world of politics and power immeadiately.

 

Then on Damien’s fifth birthday things go crazy and the Thorns start to slowly come to terms with the fact that their son just might be the devil.  At first Robert can’t accept the fears of his wife but is convinced by a lunatic priest (Peter Postlewaite) and a tabloid photographer (David Thewlis) who insist he kill his son.

The movie is filled with the aburd including Mia Farrow who plays the nanny from hell Mrs. Blaylock.  I can only assume she’s meant to be tempting and menacing but like all the other characters in the film she is neither.  In fact no character in this flick is anything but unintentionally funny and impossible to take seriously.

I’ll give you an example of how the film comes up short.  At one point the characters come to a river covered in fog and make the way across on a small boat with a single robed figure which is obviously a homage to Caron but its done so cheaply and half-heartedly it sinks, like so much in the film, like a lead stone.  The scene isn’t necessary and in fact makes you think of much better films you would rather be watching like Clash of the Titans.  It’s rather sad.

The film’s premise is so off the wall that only in the hands of a very good director it still would have been a hard sell, and director John Moore just isn’t up to the task.  And so the plot of an evil child that must be killed (in sacrificial manner) before he destroys the world comes off lewd and silly rather than suspenseful or terrifying.

How bad is The Omen?  Well if it weren’t for the many unintentional jokes and the death scene of Julia Stiles (which itself is drawn out to such an extent to squeeze out all the joy) it would be unwatchable.  However despite its limitations it remains a pretty funny example of how far cinema can go off track and crash in spectacular fashion.