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Deathwatch

Deathwatch (2002)

October. 06,2002
|
5.9
| Drama Horror Thriller War

In the brutal trench fighting of the First World War, a British Infantry Company is separated from their regiment after a fierce battle. Attempting to return to their lines, the British soldiers discover what appears to be a bombed out German trench, abandoned except for a few dazed German soldiers. After killing most of the Germans, and taking one prisoner, the British company fortifies to hold the trench until reinforcements can arrive. Soon, however, strange things being to happen as a sense of evil descends on the trench and the British begin turn on each other.

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Reviews

Karry
2002/10/06

Best movie of this year hands down!

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ThedevilChoose
2002/10/07

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

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TrueHello
2002/10/08

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

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Voxitype
2002/10/09

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

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Leofwine_draca
2002/10/10

The trapped-soldiers-menaced-by-supernatural-evil sub genre briefly flourished around the turn of the millennium. Low budget ghost story productions like THE BUNKER and THE TRENCH proved their worth, so it was inevitable that a bigger-budget film would emerge, although DEATHWATCH is still low budget by many people's standards, with some dodgy CGI work here and there and early battle scenes which aren't too convincing. Having watched it, DEATHWATCH is my current favourite in this genre, and it's clear that the spooky Asian effort R-POINT owes more than a few nods to it. Unusually, the film wins out purely because of the excellent set design. The claustrophobic, muddy, water-logged trenches have never looked so realistic as they have here, and a liberal sprinkling of grime, barbed wire, bodies and rats only adds to the effect. Visually, DEATHWATCH is a treat and a horror film hard to beat for atmosphere.In regards to the characters, it's a familiar story: first they're isolated, then they start arguing and gradually they end up killing each other. The expletive-laden script is hardly anything new, instead harking back to '80s slasher lines like ("What the hell is going on here?"). But the film assembles a great cast of young British male actors who, incredibly, manage to carry it off. Jamie Bell is probably the most realistic of the soldiers, a 16-year-old conscript consumed by fear for much of the production, but because he's subdued throughout it's left to the older actors like Andy Serkis (a club-swinging Neanderthal) and Hugo Speer (the good-natured sergeant) to give truly solid performances.Director Michael J. Bassett returned to the isolated horror genre with WILDERNESS, an equally good movie. From what I've seen, he knows how to do his job and deliver what the audience wants. This wouldn't be a modern horror film without grue, and of course it's all here, but what really works are the inventive bits, like the sentient barbed wire scenes which are fantastic. There's also an obvious but memorable twist involving rats and a wounded man. The ending reaches metaphysical levels and was a little obvious for me, but it ties things up nicely. DEATHWATCH is a decent little British effort with plenty of chills and spills along the way, and I'd watch it for the excellent set design alone.

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Lee Eisenberg
2002/10/11

World War II is the 20th-century event that has gotten probably more attention than any other, but World War I was also really important, especially since it created the conditions that led to WWII. Michael J. Bassett's "Deathwatch" uses WWI as the setting for the story of a British platoon that seizes a German trench, only to find that it is inhabited by a mysterious, sinister force.The movie is not about gore and special effects -- though there is some of each -- but more about the effect that the horrific experience has on the soldiers. It's almost a metaphor for the insane impact that war will have on any person. Much like how the soldiers are almost like different people by the end, a person who lives through war will almost certainly not be the same person as before.Anyway, the movie is worth seeing. Just be careful the next time that you find a trench. Starring Jamie Bell (the title character in "Billy Elliott", and soon to appear as Tintin), Andy Serkis (Gollum in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and soon to appear as Capt. Haddock) and Hugo Speer (Guy in "The Full Monty").

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majormadmax
2002/10/12

Horror movie? Not really, more of a "suspense drama" with a little horror thrown in for good measure. Deathwatch is worth watching (if you can pardon the pun), I grabbed it based on the cover and at such a low price it was easily disposable if it turned out to be rotten. But quite the contrary, what we have is an excellently filmed suspenseful drama that captures the horror of the First World War.Having trekked numerous WWI battlefields in Belgium and northern France, it captures what I could only imagine were the horrors (yes, I will overuse that word in this review) of that conflict. "Eerie" is an excellent description, not so much scary but definitely suspenseful. A superbly done film and one that is worth chasing down a copy. I am glad I grabbed it, as this is a movie worth owning (an accolade that isn't apply too often these days!)

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p-stepien
2002/10/13

During the I World War a group of English soldiers capture an enemy German dugout, while taking one of the opposing forces hostage. Surprisingly however the German wasn't even protecting the trench from outside forces with his focus set on something much closer. The soldiers (comprising amongst other of Jamie "Billy Elliott" Bell and Andy "Gollum" Serkis) quickly come to realise that evil has permeated the trench with barb-wired death around every corner. Madness and suspicion is released amongst the unit leaving in doubt anyone's survival...Masterfully acted from start to finish with some tremendous rain-drenched photography "Deathwatch" is a very promising experience showing the potential of the debutee director Michael J. Bassett. With a shoestring budget he manages to invoke realistic trenches and positionary warfare with the unseen enemy hiding amongst the mud, water and fog. Additionally we are serviced some quite brutal heart-stopping gore, which makes you double-check areas of your body to make sure you remain intact.Despite consistently conveying the dreary atmosphere the script however is unable to fulfil expectations, even though the open-ended unresolved-on-a-plate ending is a small triumph for the director. Nonetheless the whole movie is predictable and does not offer any freshness. Additionally the plot is severely underdeveloped and some key scenes seem missing or are just tremendously underplayed. Some of the direction tends to be a bit confusing - before the bodycount cuts down the number of soldiers it is hard to actually follow who is doing what or who is who for that matter. In the end it feels more like a well-done test-run created to prove a simple point: I know how to make movies. Essentially perfectly ordinary, but nonetheless sure to creep you out and hauntingly involve during the viewing pleasure.

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