You'll know right away whether you're the target audience for "Night Watch," [1] a Russian horror/fantasy movie playing at the Neptune [1] and at the Uptown [1]. Here's the scenario: an ages-old conflict between the forces of Good and the forces of Evil is resolved by a truce that establishes "cops" who patrol each side for violations of the truce. Eons later in modern day Moscow, the Night Watch and the Day Watch come into conflict once more when an out-of-control curse creates a vortex of doom over the city. Meanwhile, vampires pursue a small boy who may be the key to victory in this ages-old conflict; the boy's protectors include several shapeshifters, capable of taking on animal form (like Manimal, only cooler), and a conflicted man who can see the future, but only in short, cryptic bursts.
If it all sounds crazy and convoluted, don't fret; in director Timur Bekmambetov's hands, this story is delivered with an elegantly creepy style that is more fantasy than horror, but definitely freaky enough to make you truly doubt the outcome. On the surface, it might sound reminiscent of Joss Whedon's "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," but in fact, it's much more similar to the "Buffy" spin-off "Angel." As in "Angel," the characters in "Night Watch" understand that in the eternal fight between Good and Evil, massive compromises of morality must be accepted; and unlike "Buffy," in which the Big Bad is soundly beaten back at the end of every episode, the lonely antiheroes of the Night Watch have no such assurance at the end of this adventure.
"Night Watch" is the first of a trilogy of films to come in this series, based on a best-selling trilogy of novels. The movie apparently grossed more than "Spider-Man 2" and "Lord of the Rings" in its home country, and it's not hard to see why: The effects are convincing and outright scary, the story is well-plotted and unpredictable, and of course, did I mention the vampires?
"Night Watch" probably won't get broad distribution in the states, but fortunately for us it's playing at the Neptune and Bellevue's Lincoln Square Cinemas [1] for at least another week. See it before it leaves Seattle and vanishes into the night.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
