" I know a guy married the same dame 3 times then turned around and married her aunt "
— William Demarest, The Lady Eve

MRQE Top Critic

Betty Blue

There can be beauty in tragedy, particularly when the key ingredient is the same in both —Marty Mapes (review...)

Betty arrives like a bolt from the Blue

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Night Watch begins with a battle between the ancient armies of light and dark. After a truce, the Day Watch and Night Watch were created to police the two sleeping giants. The Watches have been living among the rest of civilization for thousands of years. The dark side, known as the Day Watch, are made up of vampires, while the light side, the Night Watch, are made up of shape-shifting sorcerers.

Why were vampires chosen to be the Day Watch?
Why were vampires chosen to be the Day Watch?

In this film there is another battle raging: that between the special effects, which are profoundly stunning, and the story, which is a bumbling mess that turns this could-be masterpiece into a disappointment. Is it just me, or are apocalyptic trilogies between good and evil starting to get a bit outdated? (Back in it’s home country of Russia, Night Watch grossed higher than Return of the King.)

Outside of the premise, there isn’t much more you will — or will want to — understand. If you’re wondering why vampires were chosen to be the Day Watch, then you are already asking too many questions. The story is only skin deep, so one might be tempted to search for a greater meaning behind the surface simplicity. Don’t; this will result only in greater confusion.

Instead, focus your attention on the visuals, which are wonderfully impressive from start to finish, and are a good value for eight bucks. Hopefully Day Watch, the next in this promised horror trilogy, will grace us with more beautiful eye-candy. And who knows, maybe they’ll even put some effort into the writing.