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Night Watch | 2004 | R | - 6.9.6
Fantasy film set in contemporary Moscow that mixes horror and supernatural elements and revolves around a truce that has been maintained since medieval times between the forces of light and darkness. An ancient prophecy is about to come true, and both forces are anxious to acquire the allegiance of a boy who's destined to be super powerful. With Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Menshov, Maria Poroshina, Galina Tyunina and Mariya Poroshina. Directed by Timour Bekmambetov. In Russian, with English subtitles. [1:55]
SEX/NUDITY 6 - A nude woman soaks in a tub (her bare breasts are visible). We see a woman's bare back, and feathers lightly cover her bare buttocks after she changes from an owl to a human. A woman wears a full slip, and a boy wears a Speedo swimsuit while swimming laps.
► A man and a woman kiss passionately. A man in a car propositions a woman as she walks along a street (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details).
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VIOLENCE/GORE 9 - Two large opposing armies of medieval warriors face off on a bridge: many are slain, two run into each other's spears (we hear a crunch), heads are lopped off, blood sprays and pours, others are run through with swords, spiders crawl out from under the armor of one (he thrashes), and blood sprays on the face and helmet of another man watching the battle. We see a woman in chains being taken by a large army of armored warriors.
► We see another scene of large armies of warriors battling and spilling blood (blood sprays, spurts, body parts are lopped off, and men are run through).
► A wounded man is placed on a table, pulled along the table leaving a smear of blood, and a man begins removing bits of metal from his abdomen; he then opens a hole in his chest (using his fingers) and reaches inside (we hear crunching and squishing and there is a lot of blood).
► A man stabs another man in the stomach with a pair of scissors, then through the hand (we see the points pushing against the skin before they break through) and there is blood on both wounds.
► Two men fight: one is struck by the ray of a light, he begins to smolder and he explodes (we see the top of his head blow off, with no blood).
► A man kicks another man's teeth out (we see his very bloody mouth and he screams). A woman hits a man in the head with a ceramic pot, then she and another man kick and punch him and the man holds a pair of scissors over his face.
► A woman tells a man that she knows his wife has left him, that she is pregnant by another man, and that she can use magic to get the woman to return to him and destroy the baby.
► A woman is thrashing on the floor, two men appear on either side of her and hold her hands, a dismembered doll head sprouts spider legs and tries to attack the men, and another woman enters the room, changes into a large feline, leaps toward the woman on the floor, and then places a hot pan between her hands -- the woman is burned when she brings her hands together.
► The back of a man's neck opens up, the man pulls out a sword that looks like his spine. A man is stopped by police and held, he leans over a wall and vomits blood (we see a trail of blood down the wall). A boy swims and his nose begins to bleed (we see blood in the water).
► A man's arm begins to turn grey, and he slashes at the arm with a knife and blood pours from the open wounds. A woman pokes a man's finger (we see a drop of blood form) she sucks some of the blood into a straw and places it in a glass, mixes it with vodka and tells the man to drink it.
► A woman walks through a busy tunnel and is hit a couple of times by cars that speed by (she continues walking). We see a pregnant woman feeling pain, she falls to the ground writhing and holding her stomach (she is miscarrying). A man thrashes and twitches uncontrollably when "showing" another man something he saw. A boy wanders through busy streets following a voice that he hears calling him.
► A boy follows a voice into an abandoned building, a man holds his hand over the boy's mouth, and tells a woman, who's a vampire, that she should "drink from him"; she then approaches his neck with her mouth open (she is interrupted). A woman holds a boy and threatens to bite him on the neck. "Gloom" (a dark cloud) begins to consume a boy (he turns grey and falls to the floor). A man shines a flashlight at a woman and her face sizzles and becomes badly blistered. A man in a car propositions a woman walking along the side of a road until she slams her hands against the window and he sees her badly scarred face.
► A man is knocked to the ground, another man holds a sword over him, and the man on the ground pulls a knife. A man walks through a train, he becomes agitated, and he shines a light on another passenger and yells.
► A man says to another man "I feel like chewing your ear off." A truck drives recklessly through a busy street nearly hitting cars, it nearly hits a man, the driver tries to stop the truck, and it flips over and continues on. A man shoves a man, and a man slaps another man in the face repeatedly.
► An owl begins to make strange noises, we hear squishing and crunching, we see feathers fly around, and we see a human hand wipe away slime from an arm and scars off a woman's back. A man pours a thick red liquid and another man drinks it. A young man eats a piece of raw meat. A man drinks a drop of red liquid then some clear liquid. A butcher cuts raw meat with an ax and a dog eats a piece of it. We see carcasses hanging in a meat locker.
► A man rides in an elevator car, which speeds up and crashes into the roof of the building pushing through the top. A boy follows a voice, he climbs along fire escapes, a woman follows him, and winds blow hard and swirl around them. A man throws a chain that wraps around another man's throat (it looks like a dog's choke collar), and the man grabs it and seems to be gasping for air. Dogs snarl and bark at a man. A man slashes a knife around in the direction of a noise and it turns out to be an owl -- it is not injured.
► We occasionally see the points of vampires' teeth poke out from their lips. A video game shows a person stabbing another person, one ends up with a knife in his head and another holds up a blood soaked sword that looks like a spine. A vampire is stabbed through the chest on a TV show. A man's eyes turn red when he becomes angry. Many dark birds squawk and circle over a building in many scenes. A huge vortex (funnel cloud) swirls above a building.
► A bird flies into the engine of a plane (we see sparks and flames), the engine begins to break up, a bolt falls out and toward the ground below and it appears as if the plane might crash. A boy is frightened when the doorbell rings and he has been left alone. A man throws a stuffed owl at a man who throws it back at him. Many bugs skitter through drains and vent shafts in a building.
► Valves in a power plant begin to break up and spray steam, there are explosions and the power goes out all around a city.
► We hear a legend about a woman who was cursed and everything she touched or looked at would die. We hear that a woman has died. A man says that he stepped on a land mine. A boy asks a man to change into a bear.
LANGUAGE 6 - 9 F-words (mostly in Russian, and a couple in English), 4 scatological terms, 1 anatomical term, name-calling (stupid), 15 mild obscenities.
SUBSTANCE USE - A man drinks a drink that includes vodka, a man drinks from a flask, a man drinks a clear liquid that could be alcohol, and a man drinks a beer. A man smokes in several scenes.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - The eternal war between dark and light, witches, vampires, seers, extraordinary abilities, shape shifters, truce, free will, divorce, infidelity, love, revenge, Damnation, Apocalypse, the Final Battle, virgins, curses, legends, dark magic, murder, torture, punishment, enemies, eye for an eye, hope, love, guilt, terminal illness, dying parent.
MESSAGE - Children never listen. Lying can bring about the most excruciating outcome. Good is no better than evil.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.
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Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.