Genres

Visitors Review

Carl Turland 2012-05-20 20:52:59

DeathWatch - Too right.

This is not a film review - this is a major warning.This is the worst film I have ever seen at the cinema. It is absolutelyterrible - bad acting, awful effects and incredibly boring. I have neverbeen so close to walking out half way through a film before.It's about a group of soldiers in WW1 who come across a German front linetrench. They try and hold it, but it turns out that the Germans are theleast of their worries. It stars the guy out of Billy Elliot and 'Nick'outof My Family.Trust me on this one. Do NOT go and see this film. Not only for the factthat you will be wasting £6, but also because it deserves not to receiveanybox office sales.The only thing I will say - it does live up to its name. I nearly died ofboredom while watching it.0/5

Scarecrow-88 2012-05-20 14:04:50

Deathwatch

There is a German trench occupied by soldiers of the Royal army whohave recently "escaped" a brutal battle. Inside the trench, dead Germanbodies are everywhere caked in mud with knives among other thingsstabbed in them. It appears that they killed each other. They oftenhear distant gunfire and explosions yet see no one. A certain Germansoldier, who can speak French, tells the British accompaniment thatthey will kill each other like the others. What's even worse than themental disintegration of nearly each British soldier is that ghoulishentities(and this barbwire which seems to have a life it's own)arekilling the soldiers. Also, certain soldiers' personalities andbehavior seem to be oddly shifting into madness as they begin to attackeach other and grow more and more insane. Will any of these soldiers beable to survive? And, better still, where are they really? Jamie Bell,an underage soldier(..and rather cowardly)seems to mature while hewatches the others around him fall apart at the seams. It's an unlikelyscenario that he'd be the one to try and control what's happening, butthat's one of the many good things this eerie little horror item has tooffer.The film is startlingly really good as the foreboding within thismassive trench seems to last throughout. It has an unpredictabilityabout it(..to a point, but I believe we get a general idea of who mightsurvive the trials facing them as a whole). There's this ominous gripwhich never released me and the way the film is photographed inside themuddy trenches with all the corpses, barbwire, and constantly flowingrain..there's atmosphere aplenty. Even the cast bring a lot. Thesituation they face brings a claustrophobia and watching these men comeapart brings a lot of tension. Then there's the spooky supernaturalaspects which work exceedingly well during the nighttime. I will saythat many might roll their eyes at the denouement, but overall this wasan enjoyable little flick. Time well spent.

Dean Lidster 2012-05-18 02:29:14

Root canal surgery, anyone?

I wasn't at all sure what to expect when I sat down to watchDeathwatch. In the back of my mind, there was the fact that there was asound storyline with a solid cast - should prove more than a littleentertaining and I was so dearly hoping to be scared out of my wits andbe able to walk out of the cinema raving about it. However, this wasnot to be the case.Whilst I understand this is Michael Bassett's first foray into themotion picture world and, from other interviews I've read, this storyhas been a passion of his for a long time, I can't help feeling he bitoff a lot more than he could chew.For starters, the dialogue inflicted upon the cast was clunky at bestand simply unbelievable at worst, not being helped by the fact thateach of the characters were quite neat cliche'd stereotypes dispite thetruely courageous efforts of the cast.Match this to a very unremarkable score (I can't recall a single themefrom the movie), no discernable direction, a director of photographythat was quite obviously blind and a focus puller that either hadarthritis or mistook feet for inches (the opening scenes as theyapproach the trench are testament to this) and you're left trying toquantify quite what it is that makes this movie so unbearable.The entire movie seemed woefully underexposed bringing levels of graindistractingly high. The computer graphics of the barbed wire, whilstcutting edge ten years ago, look laughable (especially thebodies-descending-into-ground sequence near the end) and even theomnipresent rats end up looking as if they've just been plonked intothe frame seconds before the camera rolls.If Mr. Bassett had a couple more films under his belt and a decent crewto work with, I'm sure I'd have no problems recommending this film. Asis, it should've been half the length.All in all, save yourself the pain and get yourself booked in for someroot canal work - it's quicker and far less painful...

Leonhart-PL 2012-05-17 10:43:09

Complete waste of time

Don't be fooled by the synopsis -it's very promising but happens to beverydissappointing. Through all the movie I got the feeling it's an episode ofaTwilight Zone-like series, streched to 94mins to fit a regular movie time.First half is interesting, the atmosphere is great and even bad acting(theone brilliant exception is Andy Serkis playing a psycho killer who went towar just for killing people) can't spoil the mystery. But when it comes tothe other half the movie starts to repeat similiar scenes, annoys withoutstandin stupid characters (the main hero acts in a most annoying way,allhe does is so damn impossible stupid), you start thinking 'man, it's waytoolong' and than it finishes with the ending most predicted and dumb.Nothingcan make me recommend this movie to anyone except worst enemies - it'stotalcrap, special f/x suck like hell. Avoid it at all cost!!!

2012-05-17 01:28:08

Dug In...

DEATHWATCH is one of the best of the military horror films. During World War 1, a band of British soldiers find themselves occupying a German trench behind enemy lines. Things quickly enter the realm of the paranormal, plunging the men into a hellish struggle for survival. I like the way the tension and terror mount slowly, almost imperceptibly. The characters experience growing danger, insanity, and grisly death. I especially enjoyed the psychotic character played by Andy Serkis (LOTR). He's menacing, brutal, and without ethical limitations! The ending sums things up in a bizarre, TWILIGHT ZONE sort of way. Highly recommended...

Ken Spiker 2012-05-16 14:04:05

What's the point?

This film is very well done from the point of view of setting thescene. This squad of English soldiers are engaged in the awful trenchwarfare of WW1. They go over the top and are apparently mowed down bymachine gun fire and exploding shells. Next we see them trudging overNo Man's Land in the fog. At this point it's pretty certain thatthey're dead and in some kind of hell, or purgatory. Though masterfulin setting the scene, the mythic underpinnings of the story areconfused or non-existent. They come to a German trench which is full of corpses and a few liveGermans. They kill the survivors except one, whom they imprison in anammunition locker. But the trench itself seems to be attacking them.One by one they are being killed in horrible ways. Some by theirbuddies and some strangled by barbed wire that emerges from the mud.War is hell, but this is hell upon hell. The horror is unrelenting.Now war in the trenches is about as horrible as it gets. You reallydon't need supernatural effects to make it more horrible. Here themovie falls apart. It raises questions it can't answer. Why are thesedeceased soldiers being put through this additional hell after the hellof trench warfare? They behave as you might suppose any normal youngmen might under the circumstances, which is to become beasts. They'reparanoid, they make bad decisions and they fight with each other. Butwhat do you expect? In the end there is one English 'survivor' of the horror in the Germantrench. He's the only one who helped the surviving German and protestedthe madness of his fellows. In the end he's allowed to 'go free' forhis humanity. Whatever that means. I suppose that means he can now goto Heaven while the others are condemned to repeat the hellishexperience in the German trench for all Eternity. But since these youngmen have become beasts only because they've been subjected to theextreme dehumanizing experience of war, we can't feel they are reallybad guys, they don't deserve this gruesome punishment. Well, maybe oneof the guys is a real psychopath, but the others are victims of thehorror of war.Ultimately this movie is a depressing downer. There is no payoff.Neither is it an anti-war movie because none of the issues surroundingWWI and brought up. If the movie makers just wanted to make us feelhorrified and disgusted they could just have just shown war as itreally is, there was no need for the supernatural bit. Horror moviesshould have some element of fun, or at least a sense of justice. Herethere is neither fun nor justice. There is enough horror in the realworld, a horror movie should have a point and this has none.

2012-05-11 01:40:55

better than 3 stars, but not 5

I think this movie was very good, I didn't give it 5 stars because I would have liked to seen a tad bit more of the barbed wire zombies (action sequences) but it did have some bloodshed....the movie plays out like an episode of the twilight zone, very good! Oh and to the other dorks, whats your deffinition of horror? War is the most Horrifying thing in the world, then to add ghost into it?

2012-05-10 12:19:38

Long watch.

The stars I've given this moody English film are mostly for atmosphere. This story about a company of British footsoldiers in WW1 who stumble upon a haunted German trench could've been a lot better given the great production design and eerie setting. What is lacking here is a script with some meat on it's bones. A lot of time is killed watching the soldiers walk slowly around the trench calling each others names. It just dosen't MOVE. The acting is good from a young cast that includes ANDY SERKIS from LORD OF THE RINGS fame as the standout character, a psycho named QUINN who scalps Germans for kicks. The trenches used are superbly spooky, and with a constant rainy grey look the film definitely sets the mood. Alas, once mood is set nothing is done with it. The pace is sluggish and the story never explaines any of the goings-on. This flick takes you to a place you should be frightened of but never shows you (or tells you) what of or why you should be frightened. The end result is something that drags to the climax which turns out to be anti-climactic to say the least. A somewhat enjoyable effort that could've benefitted form snappier direction and a solid story.

budmustang 2012-05-06 03:43:56

A decent idea, poorly executed.

I sat through this wondering when the chills were going to be turnedon. I'm no hardened horror fan but still this film failed to evokeanything other than "mild interest". Okay, so I think I can confirmwithout spoiling anything for anyone that there are a few bloodymoments. But hey, this is a war film is it not? There's more graphicdepiction of horrific maiming in the opening scene of Saving PrivateRyan than there is in the whole of this film. Seeing mangled bodiesmight be disturbing in say an urban environment but in a WWI trench?I'm afraid we are conditioned and distanced from it. So this not a gorefest. What then? It is dark. In fact it is very dark; at times Icouldn't make out what was happening due to ambient light in my livingroom! Maybe, you might think, you'd get to see glimpses of anunspeakable presence as it closes in on them, watching, waiting,creeping... Nope. Nothing but a few sound effects and the soldiers' ownmadness. Maybe CGI monsters are your thing? None here of course. CheapHollywood "loud bang" moments? There aren't even any of these. I'mtrying desperately to thing of other components of a typical horrorfilm because this flick didn't exhibit any of them.Don't get me wrong. This film isn't altogether terrible. I thought theacting was good enough. And as someone mentioned in the forums, thisfilm would work as a straight war film. It does deliver thepsychological drama you'd expect of the ilk. I notice a reviewmentioned the director avoiding "a Twilight Zone ending". For me, theTwilight Zone comparison is apt. This film was exactly like an extendedepisode, especially the ending!

tyler-and-jack 2012-05-05 16:05:54

Soldiers who have a lot more than just trench foot to worry about.

War is hell, even more so when you find yourself safe from the militaryactions around you but guarding an enemy trench that seems to be hometo some evil presence that turns men against each other. Which is justwhat happens to the soldiers in Deathwatch.Written and directed by Michael J. Bassett, Deathwatch is far fromoriginal and suffers from it's obvious, at times, budgetary limitationsbut it does contain a few impressive moments of spookiness and alsofeatures some standout turns amongst it's uneven cast. Jaime Bell'srelative inexperience and youthfulness comes in quite handy as he playsthe relatively inexperienced and far-too-youthful Shakespeare but thebest performance here comes from the fantastic Andy Serkis. Hischaracter, all anger and violence, may be an easy one to play but hedoes it so well and makes it so entertaining that his performance willstay in your mind long after the rest of the movie has faded.We also get the likes of Kris Marshall, Hugo Speer, Dean Lennox Kellyand others familiar to UK viewers and, to be fair, all of them manageto stand out just enough to make us notice if/when they're removed fromthe group.It's a quietly impressive movie that's not going to change the face ofthe genre but that will entertain while it's on and provide somememorable imagery en route. A respectable British horror.See this if you like: The Bunker, The Keep, Outpost.

jobyspragg 2012-05-04 01:38:01

Pile of trash...

This film should have been left in the trenches where they filmed it. Itcould have been a good film had it not been total rubbish. I've never beenas bored in the cinema in my life and wish I had have walked out half waythrough, instead of watching the whole film whilst stuffing my face withpopcorn...I don't think that the DVD will make the top 10 charts - doyou?

2012-05-03 15:10:08

FAKE POSITIVE REVIEWS!

Check it out, out of all of the positive reviewers, this is their first and only review! I turned the movie off about 15 minutes into it..

BA_Harrison 2012-04-29 01:06:46

Tedious WW1 supernatural horror.

If you can't guess the ending of Deathwatch way before it happens, thenyou need to watch more movies (or give up watching them altogether).With its terrific creepy setting, and good production values,Deathwatch had plenty of potential, which writer/director Michael J.Bassett flushes down the toilet with an uneventful first hour, acop-out seen-it-all-before finale, and plot-holes aplenty.A band of British WW1 soldiers, who become separated from their companyduring a battle, stumble upon and capture a network of enemy trenchesoccupied by a few war weary German soldiers. They kill all but one ofthe Germans, keeping the sole survivor hostage. The commanding officerin the group orders them to hold the trench until reinforcementsarrive, but the men run into trouble when a strange malevolent forcecauses them to turn on and kill each other.The story unfolds extremely slowly and very little of interest happensuntil towards the end. Andy Serkis puts in an awful performance as aviolent bastard who enjoys the war as it gives him a chance to killwithout consequences (or so he thinks) and squeaky voiced Jamie Bell isequally bad as irritating teenager Charlie Shakespeare.Towards the end things liven up a tad with a little bit of gore (somesplattery shots to the head, a man has his legs chewed off by rats) andsome reasonable CGI special effects (in a death scene involving'living' barbed wire).Deathwatch is an extremely mediocre offering at best and this kind ofmovie does nothing to help the cause of British horror—I only hope thatBasset's next movie, Wilderness, helps to make up for this predictableand lacklustre effort.

2012-04-28 20:17:27

Those Wacky Germans

With all the crapola trying to pass itself off as horror these days, Deathwatch was an attempt to make an honest to God horror film. Unfortunately, this is one of those films where you admire the effort more than the film itself. I do love the effort here. The film looks great, it obviously had a budget behind it, and I'm sure it had a theatrical run in England. The acting was good all around as well. The story has a bunch of soldiers during WWI taking over a German trench in some unknown territory, and eventually finding out that it's basically haunted. Great concept-haunted trench in WWI. The down side of this is that the film just isn't scary, nor does it really pull you in. There's a cool scene straight out of Children Of The Corn with "something" tunnelling under the ground(looks like Bugs Bunny when he tunnels around), some barbed wire with a mind of it's own, and some rats eating a guy's legs off. These are the only "horror" parts that really stand out, and that's not much out of a 96 minute film. Still, I'd suggest checking it out, coz if this film is any indication of things to come from this director, we may be in luck

Stu 2012-04-28 06:11:46

Did I miss the plot?

I was looking forward to this movie because we have not seen one aboutWorldWar 1 for quite some time and the trailers looked promising. Okay, I knewsomething odd was going to be happening but I never expected mishmash.The battle was short and brief, with the rapid cutting I didn't quitecatchwhat was going on, but it looked reasonable enough. Then the film startedtolose perspective. We suddenly appear at a trench and what follows may aswell be a collection of scenes and deaths all spliced together. There isnoplot, no story, no justification. When things start happening that areunexplainable, films today will normally give us an explanation, or a clueat least. Deathwatch gives us nothing. Hence the flow of the film sufferswith little story linking it all together. This also destroys any tensionorinvolvement we may have the characters. What was the purpose of thisfilm?This is quite a shame, because the actors tried to put a good spin onaffairs, and nobody showed themselves up despite the lack of flow. On thegood side, the set, props, uniforms, weapons are all sound.It certainly had potential, but the story was seriously lacking whichresulted in a less than satisfactory film. Better luck next timefellas.

2012-04-27 18:55:19

Awesome film

Deathwatch was a brilliant film, with a message that really made you ponder....I really enjoyed watching it, and will hopefully get the DVD, so that I will have access to the bonus features. Great job Mr. Bassett!!! :-D

2012-04-24 12:57:17

Excellent Thriller

This review is from: Deathwatch (DVD) This movie will not leave you disappointed if you want to see a great horror-psych thriller, the acting, directing, and the atmosphere of the movie are intertwined to create a supernatural and intense feeling of suspense and intrigue that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The movie setting is even unique as it is placed in trench warfare of WWI and from the first moment of action, you will be hooked. Pay attention in the beginning because the plot can be difficult to understand but the finaly of the movie will bring it all together. You wont see demons or much in the ways of spooks, but you will feel the depair and anguish of the actors as they exprience the horror. There is considerable violence, so I do not recommend this movie for children, but for a horror movie, it does depict the true actions and the violence of war. This one is worth owning!!

miss_deth_addict 2012-04-24 00:22:30

One of the worst movies I've ever watched...

I've seen many bad movies but that one was way worst than getting atooth plucked out... It was poorly made in so many ways in despise ofthe trenches being realistic and really well done the realization wasbleh and the directing was inexistent I hope. The movie was slow paced,seemed to last for 10 hours and overall uninteresting, most of the''horror'' scenes seemed like cheap rip offs from some other big horrormovies (the barb wire scene (did someone see Silent hill once too manytime?))... I had such high expectations for that one and I was deceivedon all of them... bad bad bad movie. Please don't tell me I didn't getit I understood the movie and what it was about, the idea was greathence I wanted to see it so bad but the movie wasn't good it could havebeen a great movie but it is not!

kahlil 2012-04-23 02:34:13

Death to watch

Sadly this film is the worst film of 2002. The film is a mixed mess, with cliched characters over played by uninteresting actors. The film seems to be confused as to what type of horror it wantsto be, starts off trying to be psychological but returns into CGIaction. Totally ruining any attempt to set up suspense.The film has a few quite nasty effects, which are unpleasant towatch and is not balanced with a good plot to make it seem worthwhile.Terrible.

Godzilla444 2012-04-22 05:20:35

Could have been much better.

This movie I am afraid missed most of the points. The first world warwas scary enough, Ghostly goings on are scary, but this one fails tocapture either which is a terrible shame as the concepts are lovely.The characters lack depth and therefore empathy which means you sitwaiting for nasty things to happen to them and when they do happen youwish the budget would have stretched to decent SPFX, instead we aretreated to Ground Maroons and unfinished CGI. Not the most rewarding offilms when compaired to The Keep or other war or horror movies.Although I was not overly impressed I would like to see some more ofthe directors movies as it seems as though budget was the overridingfactor in this movies problems.