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Nightwatch (1994)
(aka Nattevagten)

A review by Damian Cannon.
Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1997
A young law student, Martin (Nikolaj Waldau), takes a job as night-watchman at the local morgue. It seems a good idea as he needs the money, the quiet will be great for studying and the current watchman is retiring. Before he leaves the watchman shows Martin his duties, one of which is checking on the morgue itself. This seems pretty creepy, especially when the old man won't tell him why he is leaving, but Martin is young and eager. That evening, after leaving his girlfriend, he returns with his radio. As everyone leaves the building silence descends -- the slightest noise makes him jump, the rattle of moths stuck in the lamp seems almost welcoming. Walking the corridors we can feel his apprehension at entering the morgue, being among the eternally silent corpses. Everything is fine, of course, but it's a strange job.

Martin's friend Jens (Kim Bodina) doesn't seem to mind, but then he's a fairly unusual person. During a boring lecture they fall into a game of dare, where the stakes are that the loser marries his girlfriend. Later on, in a bar, their girlfriends are hassled by some fascist thugs, although they choose to look the other way and stay conscious. Martin then challenges Jens to argue with them, which he does -- deftly insulting them before running away. In return Martin is set up with a prostitute, Joyce (Rikke Loise Andersson), whom Jens knows. Before meeting her Martin works some more nights at the morgue, one of which is disrupted when the latest victim of the local serial killer is brought in. Through talking to the detective (Ulf Pilgaard) on the case of this psycho-killer Martin sees the victim, horribly mutilated through scalping.

The circle of characters is completed when Martin meets Joyce, who was a friend of the murdered prostitute. As time passes in the morgue strange things happen, pushing Martin into doubting his own sanity. It seems that evidence is mounting up which proves that Martin is the serial-killer when corpses are found disturbed (shades of necrophilia). The tension builds higher and higher, to an almost painful level, as Martin walks through darkened hallways with the killer seemingly only one step behind. Every body seems a possible suspect, both to Martin and to us. The final, extremely bloody, slaying only seems to seal his fate.

The grim and macabre feel of this story seeps through the screen with shots of dim rooms, lit by flickering fluorescent lights, and low-key acting. Although there are some holes in the plot, and it is probably possible to work out the ending early on (if you wish to), this doesn't detract from the incredible level of suspense. It feels as though your whole rib-cage will explode under the pressure as we see the serial-killer carry out his deadly plan, with a high level of intelligence and cunning. The supporting performances are quite reasonable and add substance to the film, as a welcome contrast to the psychological cat-and-mouse game being played out. Although some of the scenes are extremely disturbing, even after having seen Se7en, they do add to the total impact. Overall, this is a film worth seeing but be prepared to stop breathing for minutes at a time!

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