Strange New World
Night Watch Destined to be Cult Classic

It is rare when a foreign film gets buzz among the geek community. When the film Nochnoi Dozor premiered in Russia two years ago, it became a blockbuster. Word of this film spread through various Internet sites devoted to the fantasy/horror genres, but it wasn't until preview trailers started popping up that people became rabid about seeing it. (I was one of the infected.) The release of Night Watch in America (courtesy of Fox Searchlight) is one of the most anticipated events in geekdom to come from outside Hollywood.

Night Watch
A truck approaching Zavulon (Viktor Verzhbitsky), a Dark Other, is flipped aside in the Russian fantasy horror film Night Watch. (Fox Searchlight, 2006)
Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov
Written by: Timur Bekmambetov and Laeta Kalogridis, based on the novel by Sergei Lukyanenko
Starring: Konstantin Khabensky, Galina Tyunina, Vladimir Menshov, Viktor Verzhbitsky, and Dmitry Martynov

Rated R (for strong violence, disturbing images and language)
Running time: 116 min.

FilmGuru's Rating : 9 out of 10.

Night Watch is a fantasy horror film set in modern day Moscow. It begins a thousand years in the past, with a tale of the forces of Light and Dark clashing and nearly destroying the world. The two sides reached an accord and made a pact of non-intervention. From this truce, two groups were born: the Night Watch (to keep tabs on the Dark) and the Day Watch (to keep tabs on the Light).

These "Others" are immortals with special powers. They have free will to decide if they will be Light or Dark. A prophecy tells of a Great One whose arrival will herald the final battle and this Other's decision to become Light or Dark will tip the balance of the scales.

The story centers on Anton (Konstantin Khabensky), an Other with the ability is to see glimpses of the future. In service of the Night Watch, Anton is trying to save a young boy from being a victim of vampires. While following the boy on a subway, Anton discovers a woman who is a vortex of bad luck. Her existence has been foretold as a sign of the final battle, and stopping the curse on her becomes the top priority of the Night Watch.

The world of Night Watch is a rich one, filled with characters with amazing abilities who fight an eternal struggle to balance Light and Dark. The interesting thing is how the two sides must work together. Anton lives across the hall from Kostya (Aleksei Chadov), a young vampire who must be "licensed" to kill a victim. As Kostya notes, however, no one licenses the Light Others who often kill Dark Others in the course of saving mortals.

The special effects are noteworthy, if only for the fact that they were achieved on a budget of $4 million (laughable by Hollywood standards). Still, the film manages some incredible moments, such as when a bus flips over the leader of the Dark Others. Some of the best scenes come not from great special effects but from what the audience doesn't see. When Olga (Galina Tyunina) transforms from an owl into human, it is a trick of shadow and misdirection. The audience sees almost nothing, but we assume we have seen everything.

I am pleased that the film was not dubbed into English (with the exception of the opening narration). Subtitles may put off some people, but most fans will gladly struggle with them in order to see this film. The Russian language is an important aspect of the film's setting.

Night Watch is based on the first novel in a trilogy by Russian writer Sergei Lukyanenko. The second novel, Day Watch, is already in production as a sequel and will be released in Russia later this year. The third part of the trilogy, Dusk Watch, will be filmed in English and will be produced by Fox and the Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia, which produced the first two films.