Customer Reviews

Deathwatch

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A very good horror-suspense film from Great Britain starring Jamie Bell (from Billy Elliott) and Andy Serkis. Set during the height of the trench warfare in the Western Front during the First World War, the surviving remnants of a British Infantry company stumble upon a nearly deserted set of German trenches. Except for a couple of terrified German soldiers, the trench system is deserted with only dead German soldiers. As they spend their first night, it is more than German soldiers they have to worry about, somewhere within the trenches is something that is hunting them down one by one.

It sounds like your typical monster-horror film, but Deathwatch has more supernatural than slasher as its theme than anything else. The one film I can compare this to is Carpenter's The Thing. As more and more of the company dies, paranoia and suspicion grows amongst the rest as to who or what may be hunting them. A very good film that delivers on the suspense and horror. The twist in the end even has an anti-war message that ties in directly with the danger the company has to deal with.

I'm impressed. I watched the first half-hour of this movie and was kinda into it, but not as much as I would have liked to have been. Then I came back a day later and watched the last hour and was pretty much glued to the TV. See, what this movie does is what so many modern horror movies don't do, which is create a sustained creepy mood level throughout. It makes you feel like at any moment something could happen even when nothing much of note is. And THAT is what horror is all about.

Another thing that greatly adds to the mood is that background "void" music. It's like a creepy little brief wind/void sound that really adds to the environment perfectly. I think it's one of the main reasons I was so drawn into the movie. Excellent choice of background sound.

I cannot forget to praise the actual look and feel of the trenches as well. That was the other mood grabber. The trench is almost like its own character.

The special effects are what they are. They're not insulting but not the greatest. But they're used so little it doesn't matter. And since this whole thing isn't in real time anyway that can be used as a crutch reason why. They shouldn't ruin anything for anybody.

I liked the ending a lot and I love the psychology behind it. This is definitely one of the better horror flicks I've seen lately. Kudos to the director for sucking me in and not letting me go.

I liked this film. It was quirky, had a sting in the tale and had a cast of excellent characters, from a young and innocent Private who tries to understand the horrors of war, a man about to loose his faith in God, a solider who wants to survive the war with the minimum of guilt, a dying teenager who has been shot in the spine and unaware of the horrors to come and to a psychotic solider who will kill anyone, friend or foe.

Add to this a German soldier, played with sinister and frightening conviction by unknown actor, Roman Horak and you have a seat of your pants film that you shouldn't watch on your own!

However like many low budget movies, especially those that come of the UK criticism and panning is the name of the game.

Now this REALLY gets up my nose! Come on guys, this isn't America you know, we don't have the sort of greenbacks to pay for state of the art special effects in any movie that is British funded. We have to rely on spit, prayers, private investors and God's good will.

Deathwatch is damn good movie, scary, spooky, well acted and a cracking good horror film.

If you want something more in the line of special effects galore combined with `pants' acting then go out and buy or rent the mind numbingly stupid, `Freddy and Jason' but don't knock a movie because it doesn't have the budget to give it that glossy overstated Hollywood feel.

This is an intelligent film for intelligent people, if you don't fit into that category, watch something else instead.

Given that this is a virtually unknown film, I believe it was released in 2002, this is a good watch. Excellent sets and backdrops filmed on location in Prague really portrayed the misery of trench warfare during WWI. Add a creepy twist and the product is this very decent psychological thriller that delivers a wholloping, yet subtle at the same time, visual trip and ending. If you're looking for an easy to understand plot or lots of mindless action, look elsewhere. If you're in the mood for something that makes you think, just a little, and don't mind being spooked a bit, "Deathwatch" is for you. Hats off to the team that put this original ride together, well done and recommended.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad movie. It's actually fairly decent. Nothing to write home about, though. The directing, the editing, the acting, the script, all equally adequate. If any one of these individual pieces had shone a little brighter, it would have gained another star, but it just didn't really grab me.

My first inclination was to rate this as a two-star movie, then I said to myself it's more like 2.5 stars, so maybe I should give it three here on the site, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that _I_ was the problem with this movie, that the movie was really quite good despite my expectations of what it was going to be or that it should be.

Basically, a group of WWI British soldiers go "over the top" in trench warfare and find themselves mired in a night battle. CUT TO: The same soldiers walking across a quiet foggy battlefield. They soon happen on a forward German trench with three otherwise-preoccupied German soldiers in it. The Brits take the trench, ultimately leaving one of the Germans alive. (The common language between the Brits and the German is French.) Fine so far.

*** BEWARE POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***
Now, what ensues in the trench from this point on will not necessarily add up from a logical standpoint because this in not your standard horror fare, with explanations as to what's going on, what the deal is with the trench, etc. This is really a "thinking" horror film rather than a sit-back-and-be-entertained horror movie, the latter of which was my expectation. It's more about personal redemption than anything else. Thus, what you see happening in the trench may not "actually" be happening.

Also, pay particular attention to the part where one of the Brits steps into the rotting guts of a frozen soldier on the foggy battlefield. Then pay attention the next time you see it much later on.

All in all, well written, well acted and well done.

What a wonderfully produced film. I watched it only 'cause I was sick home for the day, and expected just another lousy slasher flick. That's not this film at all.
The music is wonderful, the set design establishes a dreary mood of war in the trenches, and the acting is really quite good.
What I liked best is that this movie can be viewed in so many different ways _ horror film, ghost story, political metaphor. I have no idea what the writer had in mind putting this screenplay together, but sometimes the most seemingly simple stories can be the most complex. This is a good film.

This is how horror films should be made. DEATHWATCH comes with a very smart
script, an excellent cast, beautiful cinematography, and a very spooky
atmosphere, dripping with dread. Horror films have a bad reputation because
most of them just ain't made this well.

In addition to the above positive points, this film knows when to be subtle
and when to shock... and the shocking moments do the job perfectly. Yes, it
is gory in parts, but the violence tells the story... it isn't there for
empty shock value.

The only trouble I have with this film is the CGI. I'm not a fan of CGI
in general... but when it is anything less than perfect, I am VERY annoyed
by it. The CGI in DEATHWATCH is above average. It is only in a few shots
of the film. But still, it is the only real "flaw" I can draw attention
to. And no, the CGI did not dilute the overall power of this very
impressive horror film.

Bottom line... If you like horror movies and/or if you are into war films,
DEATHWATCH is brilliantly executed and well worth your money.

It seems that some of the better, more inventive horror films of the past few years have been coming out of the U.K. Deathwatch sports a terrific cast who all give great performances. Andy Serkis is down-right frightening as Quinn. The atmosphere is chilling through-out the entire film. If you are into more subtle, intelligent horror then this is definitly worth checking out.

DEATHWATCH is one of the best of the military horror films. During World War 1, a band of British soldiers find themselves occupying a German trench behind enemy lines. Things quickly enter the realm of the paranormal, plunging the men into a hellish struggle for survival. I like the way the tension and terror mount slowly, almost imperceptibly. The characters experience growing danger, insanity, and grisly death. I especially enjoyed the psychotic character played by Andy Serkis (LOTR). He's menacing, brutal, and without ethical limitations! The ending sums things up in a bizarre, TWILIGHT ZONE sort of way. Highly recommended...