Day Watch (Dnevnoy dozor)

Starring: Konstantin Khabensky, Mariya Poroshina
Directed by: Timur Bekmambetov
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Horror
2007

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Anton (Konstantin Khabensky) is framed for the murder of Dark Others. He must now escape the vengeance of the Day Watch, and find the mysterious Chalk of Destiny.

Review:

Tim: Over time, I grew more and more fond of Night Watch. If I watched it again, I can't promise I would like it, but my fond memories of that movie have greatly increased over time. It is crazy, weird, and Russian, yet despite its obvious flaws, it stays with you. Perhaps, over time, this film will do the same.

The first film suffered from serious flaws- many of which were fixed here. Sadly, brand new flaws popped up, so this ends up being a wash. Mostly notably, I was very disappointed the subtitles no longer took on their living appearance, as in the first film. There, the subtitles often came up red and seemed to dissipate away, which added an interesting element. Here, they are boring usual ones. I also loved "The Gloom" in the first film, and it is barely mentioned here.

Even still, the film does enough right to at least stay close to the original. These films are certainly unlike anything you've ever seen, and that is at least refreshing. This sequel continues the interesting story from the first, although it feels like it gets too bogged down with the Chalk of Destiny. This, paired with the completely irrelevant subplot about Anton switching bodies with a female coworker (this whole thing was pointless), slows down the movie at times when you needed it to speed up.

Like Night Watch, there is a great deal I didn't comprehend or culturally understand, but there is certainly something about these movies that fascinates. It is hard to get them out of your brain after you've watched it. In the end, Day Watch is a decent film that manages to not loose too much from its original, and at the very least, continues the interesting story of Russian vampires, giving us the next chapter in this odd horror trilogy.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Night Watch