Night Watch

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Night Watch

R

2004

1h 55m

Horror

Fantasy

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

59%

Tomatometer

128 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Hundreds of years ago there was a battle between the Warriors of Light and the evil Warriors of Darkness. Realizing that they were evenly matched, the two sides agreed to a truce. The fragile peace between good and evil is kept in place by two groups: the Day Watch and the Night Watch, each monitoring the opposing side. Now Night Watch member Anton Gorodetsky finds himself at the center of a prophecy that may mark the end of the delicate balance between the two sides.

Critics Consensus

This Russian horror/fantasy film pits darkness and light against each other using snazzy CGI visuals to create an extraordinary atmosphere of a dank, gloomy city wrestling with dread.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

10/20/2009

The punchy, nonstop visual effects crowd out coherent storytelling.

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David Edelstein

New York Magazine/Vulture

07/07/2007

For a good hour and change, the film is a big toy box that teases you out of the Gloom.

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Matthew Leyland

BBC.com

04/04/2006

3/5

A highly promising curtain-raiser to an ambitious trilogy.

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Adele Hartley

The List

04/27/2019

3/5

There are plenty of stunning set pieces here... but in its repetition and thinness, this, the first of a trilogy, does not bode well.

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Nestor Hidalgo

Sensacine

10/17/2018

3/5

An energetic pyrotechnic show full of visual effects. [Full Review in Spanish]

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David Broc

Fotogramas

10/17/2018

3/5

The director knows how to give a certain self-parochial sense to the story that helps oxygenate the delirious, labyrinthine and insane script, capable of causing more confusion amongst viewers. [Full Review in Spanish]

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LUX!! T

@Lux333 May 6

Horror fantasy inspired by Russian folklore, its not straight horror if your looking for that but if you like supernatural/mystical folklore inspired horror you should love this. I think its an insanely underrated film personally and visually very cool.

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Madam D

@Madam1948 Feb 22

Watched as it's not easy finding Russian films. The special effects were more wierd than impressive. Acting was ok. Next plan to see the sequel, Day Watch.

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Chris G

@RT41742212 Jan 18

I watched this twice - once without reading the books and once after. It’s a totally different experience once you’ve read the first book. Unfortunately, you really need to read the book to understand the world being created here. The "rules" and other backstory elements are missing in the movie. My advice is read the book and then watch in Russian with the subtitles, as he actually put some artistry and effects on the subtitles…it’s very cool and I don’t know why directors don’t try this with other non-English movies…it makes the subtitles easier to read and it adds to the experience. Most of the books in this series are very good and my advice for Day Watch is again to read it first before watching the movie.

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steven d

@RT14695316 Aug 17

No idea why such average reviews for this excellent film. Its a story about a man drawn into a secret world of monsters and demons, good and evil. Well acted with beautiful special effects and a world that draws you in.

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Paul M

@RT85301401 05/12/2025

A fairly misunderstood film… It should have been marketed as an action fantasy and not a horror film. It’s got some of the trapping of a horror film but fits better outside of that framework. This is an extremely creative and singularly unique film but won’t be for everyone unfortunately. It’s quickly paced, clever and at times quite brutal.

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Larry H

@Larry907 05/29/2023

Excellent story of good vs evil. The dubbing was obvious, but the voice actors are good.

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Timur Bekmambetov

Director

Konstantin Khabenskiy

Anton Gorodetsky

Vladimir Menshov

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Viktor Verzhbitskiy

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Zhanna Friske

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Synopsis

Hundreds of years ago there was a battle between the Warriors of Light and the evil Warriors of Darkness. Realizing that they were evenly matched, the two sides agreed to a truce. The fragile peace between good and evil is kept in place by two groups: the Day Watch and the Night Watch, each monitoring the opposing side. Now Night Watch member Anton Gorodetsky finds himself at the center of a prophecy that may mark the end of the delicate balance between the two sides.

Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Producer: Konstantin Ernst, Anatoly Maximov
Screenwriter: Timur Bekmambetov, Sergei Lukyanenko, Sergei Lukyanenko
Distributor: Fox
Production Co: Bazelevs Production, TABBAK, Channel One Russia, The First Channel
Rating: R (Language|Disturbing Images|Strong Violence)
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Action
Original Language: Russian
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 27, 2004, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Feb 17, 2006
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.5M
Runtime: 1h 55m