As I’ve come to understand, Nightwatch (1994) was a bit of a Cult film sensation upon its release in its native country (Denmark) back in its day.
IMDB.com indicates that the flick scored an impressive ten wins across film festivals and the Danish Film Awards, making it just the kind of experience that audiences of Horror-laced Thrillers might want to visit again and again. Well, its original creator – director and screenwriter Ole Bornedal – decided to do something better: thirty years later, he crafted a big screen theatrical follow-up – Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever (2023) – for those who might still be interested. And he even managed to convince a few familiar faces to return to such storied heights.
Now, in fairness to me and my reading audience, I’ll confess that I’ve not seen the original Nightwatch, nor had I even heard of it. (Mind you: my experience with this sequel was solid enough that I might have to seek it out for a viewing if for no other reason that it might be kinda/sorta fun to see how it all truly began.) But if it resembles even partially the tight narrative and solid pacing of the follow-up, then I’m guessing it’s probably earned its reputation properly. While it certainly appears to be a somewhat kinder and simpler yarn than this one is, knowing that it all springs from the same intellectual loins definitely bodes well.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Martin’s daughter, Emma, takes up a night watch job to find out what happened to her parents almost thirty years ago. A meeting with Wörmer in his cell pulls the serial killer out of his coma and sets in motion a chain of fateful events.”
One fundamental truth that I think a great number of critics and film scholars struggle with – as opposed to, say, the general viewing population – is that we don’t always see the need for a sequel.
I know, I know: but if a property is a proven commodity, then why shouldn’t it have a follow-up?
Well, the answer is a bit complicated. Generally, I try to caution my readership that sequels more often than not are inferior properties. While they might circumstantially tap into what made a first picture uniquely special, they often fail to justify the need for their own existence within the wider fictional universe. The worst of them, in fact, feel a bit bloated or like they were thrown together as an outright cash grab by producers and a motion picture studio hungry for increased profits. If a picture truly leaves room for continuation, then I’m willing to give all involved a bit more legroom to run about; I just think that I’ve been disappointed more often than I’ve been overwhelmed.
So the beauty for me in evaluating Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever (2023) is that I’m only superficially aware of the fact of it being a sequel. This sets me up to examine it entirely as an original vehicle – unlike a few others who’ve penned reviews online – and maybe it even positions me to be a bit fairer. After all: it’s my first brush with this world and its players, so I’m bringing absolutely no baggage to any of the affair.
IMDB.com indicates that the flick scored an impressive ten wins across film festivals and the Danish Film Awards, making it just the kind of experience that audiences of Horror-laced Thrillers might want to visit again and again. Well, its original creator – director and screenwriter Ole Bornedal – decided to do something better: thirty years later, he crafted a big screen theatrical follow-up – Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever (2023) – for those who might still be interested. And he even managed to convince a few familiar faces to return to such storied heights.
Now, in fairness to me and my reading audience, I’ll confess that I’ve not seen the original Nightwatch, nor had I even heard of it. (Mind you: my experience with this sequel was solid enough that I might have to seek it out for a viewing if for no other reason that it might be kinda/sorta fun to see how it all truly began.) But if it resembles even partially the tight narrative and solid pacing of the follow-up, then I’m guessing it’s probably earned its reputation properly. While it certainly appears to be a somewhat kinder and simpler yarn than this one is, knowing that it all springs from the same intellectual loins definitely bodes well.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Martin’s daughter, Emma, takes up a night watch job to find out what happened to her parents almost thirty years ago. A meeting with Wörmer in his cell pulls the serial killer out of his coma and sets in motion a chain of fateful events.”
One fundamental truth that I think a great number of critics and film scholars struggle with – as opposed to, say, the general viewing population – is that we don’t always see the need for a sequel.
I know, I know: but if a property is a proven commodity, then why shouldn’t it have a follow-up?
Well, the answer is a bit complicated. Generally, I try to caution my readership that sequels more often than not are inferior properties. While they might circumstantially tap into what made a first picture uniquely special, they often fail to justify the need for their own existence within the wider fictional universe. The worst of them, in fact, feel a bit bloated or like they were thrown together as an outright cash grab by producers and a motion picture studio hungry for increased profits. If a picture truly leaves room for continuation, then I’m willing to give all involved a bit more legroom to run about; I just think that I’ve been disappointed more often than I’ve been overwhelmed.
So the beauty for me in evaluating Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever (2023) is that I’m only superficially aware of the fact of it being a sequel. This sets me up to examine it entirely as an original vehicle – unlike a few others who’ve penned reviews online – and maybe it even positions me to be a bit fairer. After all: it’s my first brush with this world and its players, so I’m bringing absolutely no baggage to any of the affair.
Thirty years after he survived a serial killer’s campaign of Horror, Martin (played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) continues to struggle with the deep emotional scars of what he witnessed. Unable to fully shake the memory of what he saw and experienced, he remains a somewhat broken man. His wife – unable to endure the pain any longer – ultimately committed suicide, leaving her lifeless body to be found by their daughter Emma (Fanny Leander Bornedal); and now the young woman believes she, too, might have inherited the gene that makes her susceptible to taking her own life should she endure similar hardships.
In a bid to understand what her parents went through, Emma takes the same job that her father did decades ago. Hoping that she might instill in her dad a new desire to go on living, she decides to sneak into the psychiatric facility housing the famed killer – Peter Wörmer (Ulf Pilgaard) – and denounce him directly to his face, robbing the villain of any emotional weight he still might hold over Martin. But – in the process – the young woman inadvertently unearths an all-new impetus for the murderer to strike yet again … and this time not everyone involved will get out alive.
Though I did find some of the film’s relationships a bit undercooked, Nightwatch hooked me early on, and it never quite let up. Yes, I could find a few scenes here and there that were a bit longer than necessary – along with a secondary player that didn’t quite serve enough of a purpose to truly be in there – but those quibbles are minor when measured against the ideas and execution. Director Bornedal makes the most of some reasonably bare bones settings – i.e. a grim morgue interior, a fairly non-descript psychiatric ward, etc. – and he goes to great lengths to show how such ordinary locales might be the last place any of us would want to be alone. He paces out the quieter moments – i.e. Emma’s search for answers, Martin’s self-imposed exile in a darkened apartment, etc. – allowing viewers to come along peacefully until the action starts. Those sequences are, inevitably, what we’re all waiting for; but he bides his time, only releasing them upon us when he’s good and ready.
Yes, I think a few snippets could’ve been excised here and there, and yet that doesn’t mean that Nightwatch would’ve necessarily been any better or any worse. Discoveries take time – there are a good handful, and revealing who’s who is always a delicate balance – and I think he made more good choices than he did bad. While a few developments might seem a bit too theatrical for my tastes, the director pushed through those artificial moments and made the more authentic ones feel like they were worth the wait.
Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever (2023) was produced by Nordisk Film. According to a quick Google.com search, the film is presently available for viewing on a variety of subscription streaming platforms. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I found the sights-and-sounds to the full presentation to be pretty spectacular. As for the special features? Given that I viewed this one via a streaming link, there were no special features to consider.
Highly recommended.
As I said above, I was completely unaware of Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever (2023) being a sequel … but the dirty little secret is that might’ve actually improved my enjoyment considerably. I have explored a bit of criticism online from folks familiar with both, and the consensus seems to be that Nightwatch (1994) scores a bit higher than its follow-up. The performances are quite good – along with some deliberate direction and pacing – and there was just enough lingering darkness to keep me focused on events transpiring in film time. Grim … but all of it ends with a sense of redemption, proving that maybe demons need not be forever after all.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Shudder provided me with complimentary streaming access to Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever (2023) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
In a bid to understand what her parents went through, Emma takes the same job that her father did decades ago. Hoping that she might instill in her dad a new desire to go on living, she decides to sneak into the psychiatric facility housing the famed killer – Peter Wörmer (Ulf Pilgaard) – and denounce him directly to his face, robbing the villain of any emotional weight he still might hold over Martin. But – in the process – the young woman inadvertently unearths an all-new impetus for the murderer to strike yet again … and this time not everyone involved will get out alive.
Though I did find some of the film’s relationships a bit undercooked, Nightwatch hooked me early on, and it never quite let up. Yes, I could find a few scenes here and there that were a bit longer than necessary – along with a secondary player that didn’t quite serve enough of a purpose to truly be in there – but those quibbles are minor when measured against the ideas and execution. Director Bornedal makes the most of some reasonably bare bones settings – i.e. a grim morgue interior, a fairly non-descript psychiatric ward, etc. – and he goes to great lengths to show how such ordinary locales might be the last place any of us would want to be alone. He paces out the quieter moments – i.e. Emma’s search for answers, Martin’s self-imposed exile in a darkened apartment, etc. – allowing viewers to come along peacefully until the action starts. Those sequences are, inevitably, what we’re all waiting for; but he bides his time, only releasing them upon us when he’s good and ready.
Yes, I think a few snippets could’ve been excised here and there, and yet that doesn’t mean that Nightwatch would’ve necessarily been any better or any worse. Discoveries take time – there are a good handful, and revealing who’s who is always a delicate balance – and I think he made more good choices than he did bad. While a few developments might seem a bit too theatrical for my tastes, the director pushed through those artificial moments and made the more authentic ones feel like they were worth the wait.
Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever (2023) was produced by Nordisk Film. According to a quick Google.com search, the film is presently available for viewing on a variety of subscription streaming platforms. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I found the sights-and-sounds to the full presentation to be pretty spectacular. As for the special features? Given that I viewed this one via a streaming link, there were no special features to consider.
Highly recommended.
As I said above, I was completely unaware of Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever (2023) being a sequel … but the dirty little secret is that might’ve actually improved my enjoyment considerably. I have explored a bit of criticism online from folks familiar with both, and the consensus seems to be that Nightwatch (1994) scores a bit higher than its follow-up. The performances are quite good – along with some deliberate direction and pacing – and there was just enough lingering darkness to keep me focused on events transpiring in film time. Grim … but all of it ends with a sense of redemption, proving that maybe demons need not be forever after all.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Shudder provided me with complimentary streaming access to Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever (2023) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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