Question:
The final, fatal flaw of the new British horror film Deathwatch is that everything hinges on a twist ending which seasoned horror veterans will predict literally before the title has come up. Most cinemagoers will have guessed its painfully telegraphed secret long before it's revealed. This isn't the end of the world - I guessed The Sixth Sense's twist and enjoyed it just as much, maybe more as spotting the subtle clues was part of the fun. Unfortunately Deathwatch is no Sixth Sense. It's yet another horror flick about an evil presence haunting a group of trapped people, following The Haunting, The Shining, Event Horizon and countless others, including the recent The Bunker, another British film which used a wartime setting. On the way are Ghost Ship and Below. Invisible presences are popular with horror film makers, perhaps because they cut down on the special effects budget.
Deathwatch takes place during World War 1 in an abandoned German trench which is found by a bedraggled group of British soldiers cut off from their colleagues after a battle. Taking the one German survivor prisoner and ignoring his hysterical warnings, they dig in and wait for reinforcements. But something is in the trench with them, something that caused the German troops to kill each other and which has now set its sights on them. Cue a lot of mud, fog, barbed wire, blood, screaming and yelling as the soldiers are picked off one by one and the survivors start falling apart.
Which might have made for a good B-movie if only you could get involved with these people. The characters are not well developed and come across as either clicheed or silly. For instance, no one seems too concerned that one of the platoon is a raving psychopath who appears to be dressed as a Viking. Maybe this is a none-too-subtle comment on war but I think in real life the army are a little more careful about recruiting bug-eyed maniacs.
And setting a horror movie during a war is rarely a good idea as few supernatural monsters are as scary as actual combat. I'd sooner stay in the trench and take my chances with the presence than go up top and be gassed, mown down or cut to pieces by barbed wire. Realistically grisly war films like Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down make Deathwatch's recycled horrors seem even more redundant.
Then there's the ending, which is a variation on one we've seen sevaral times before. There's one sort of clever variation, involving the German prisoner, but it isn't enough. The ending also inspires a lot of questions which are left vague.
Like how can you be killed if you're dead? And if this is all some sort of test to sort out who's going to heaven or hell (my interpretation), what's the function of the evil presence which kills certain characters before they've had any opportunity to pass or fail? And, assuming we're basing this on Christian theology then isn't life itself the test so what's the point of the trench?
Deathwatch, like The Bunker, shows signs of real talent. Production values are remarkable for a film with a very low budget and star Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot) comes off quite well. In fact the whole cast do as much as they can with their limited characters. As is so often the case with commerical British film-making, the problems are all with the script.
Well I quite enjoyed it actually, and my review is up at DVD Times as we speak, click here (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?page=CinemaReview&id=159&story=3896) for it!
I was thinking of seeing this next weekend - may well still do :)
Originally posted by Ol' Blue Eyes
Like how can you be killed if you're dead? And if this is all some sort of test to sort out who's going to heaven or hell (my interpretation), what's the function of the evil presence which kills certain characters before they've had any opportunity to pass or fail? And, assuming we're basing this on Christian theology then isn't life itself the test so what's the point of the trench?
I thought it was some sort of purgatory so when you died you were sucked into hell? I'd agree if it was a test then I don't see why the doc should have died. Then again it could all have been to simply test charlie and noone else. I'm not even that sure that much thought went into it though
I thought the film was ok but I was expecting more. I hadn't bothered reading any reviews so didn't know it had got poor reviews (not that it would've stopped me). I will say do not fall back onto this if you can't get tickets for LOTR:TTT when it comes out. Go home and watch the fellowship again instead ;)
2/10 in my local paper, 4.7/10 so far on IMDB.
I have seen it and was not impressed, infact nearly fell asleep near the end. To conclude it's a stinker, don't bother. :oh-hum:
Watched this film this afternoon...
Was not good....not good at all :oh-hum:
Not the slightest bit scary.....saw the ending coming about 5 mins into film...:oh-hum: :oh-hum:
Deathwatch takes place during World War 1 in an abandoned German trench which is found by a bedraggled group of British soldiers cut off from their colleagues after a battle. Taking the one German survivor prisoner and ignoring his hysterical warnings, they dig in and wait for reinforcements. But something is in the trench with them, something that caused the German troops to kill each other and which has now set its sights on them. Cue a lot of mud, fog, barbed wire, blood, screaming and yelling as the soldiers are picked off one by one and the survivors start falling apart.
Which might have made for a good B-movie if only you could get involved with these people. The characters are not well developed and come across as either clicheed or silly. For instance, no one seems too concerned that one of the platoon is a raving psychopath who appears to be dressed as a Viking. Maybe this is a none-too-subtle comment on war but I think in real life the army are a little more careful about recruiting bug-eyed maniacs.
And setting a horror movie during a war is rarely a good idea as few supernatural monsters are as scary as actual combat. I'd sooner stay in the trench and take my chances with the presence than go up top and be gassed, mown down or cut to pieces by barbed wire. Realistically grisly war films like Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down make Deathwatch's recycled horrors seem even more redundant.
Then there's the ending, which is a variation on one we've seen sevaral times before. There's one sort of clever variation, involving the German prisoner, but it isn't enough. The ending also inspires a lot of questions which are left vague.
Like how can you be killed if you're dead? And if this is all some sort of test to sort out who's going to heaven or hell (my interpretation), what's the function of the evil presence which kills certain characters before they've had any opportunity to pass or fail? And, assuming we're basing this on Christian theology then isn't life itself the test so what's the point of the trench?
Deathwatch, like The Bunker, shows signs of real talent. Production values are remarkable for a film with a very low budget and star Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot) comes off quite well. In fact the whole cast do as much as they can with their limited characters. As is so often the case with commerical British film-making, the problems are all with the script.
Answers:
Well I quite enjoyed it actually, and my review is up at DVD Times as we speak, click here (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/index.cgi?page=CinemaReview&id=159&story=3896) for it!
Answers:
I was thinking of seeing this next weekend - may well still do :)
Answers:
Originally posted by Ol' Blue Eyes
Like how can you be killed if you're dead? And if this is all some sort of test to sort out who's going to heaven or hell (my interpretation), what's the function of the evil presence which kills certain characters before they've had any opportunity to pass or fail? And, assuming we're basing this on Christian theology then isn't life itself the test so what's the point of the trench?
I thought it was some sort of purgatory so when you died you were sucked into hell? I'd agree if it was a test then I don't see why the doc should have died. Then again it could all have been to simply test charlie and noone else. I'm not even that sure that much thought went into it though
I thought the film was ok but I was expecting more. I hadn't bothered reading any reviews so didn't know it had got poor reviews (not that it would've stopped me). I will say do not fall back onto this if you can't get tickets for LOTR:TTT when it comes out. Go home and watch the fellowship again instead ;)
Answers:
2/10 in my local paper, 4.7/10 so far on IMDB.
Answers:
I have seen it and was not impressed, infact nearly fell asleep near the end. To conclude it's a stinker, don't bother. :oh-hum:
Answers:
Watched this film this afternoon...
Was not good....not good at all :oh-hum:
Not the slightest bit scary.....saw the ending coming about 5 mins into film...:oh-hum: :oh-hum:
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