Deathwatch (2002)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Michael J. Bassett

Writer:

Michael J. Bassett (writer)

Release Date:

7 November 2002 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | War | Thriller

Tagline:

Deliver them from evil

Plot:

In 1917, in the Western front, a group of survivors of the British Company Y reach the most forward German trench in a foggy night...

Plot Keywords:

German | Trench | German Soldier | British Soldier | WWI

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Jamie Bell	...	Pfc. Charlie Shakespeare
Rúaidhrí Conroy	...	Pvt. Colin Chevasse (as Ruaidhri Conroy)
Mike Downey	...	Martin Plummer
Laurence Fox	...	Capt. Bramwell Jennings
Roman Horak	...	German soldier
Dean Lennox Kelly	...	Pvt. Willie McNess
Torben Liebrecht	...	Friedrich
Kris Marshall	...	Pvt. Barry Starinski
Hans Matheson	...	Pvt. Jack Hawkstone
Hugh O'Conor	...	Anthony Bradford
Matthew Rhys	...	Cpl. Doc Fairweather
Andy Serkis	...	Pvt. Thomas Quinn
Hugo Speer	...	Sgt. David Tate
Pavel Tesar	...	Mudman

Also Known As:

No Man's Land (USA) (working title)
Untitled Great War Project (UK) (working title)
Untitled WWI Trench Horror (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK | Germany

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Malaysia:18SG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:16 | South Korea:15 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-18 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hong Kong:III | Japan:PG-12 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Benesov, Czech Republic

Company:

ApolloMedia

Trivia:

In the German dubbed version, the German soldiers speak French.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The pistol used by several of the men in the movie is in fact a Webley Mk.IV, not a Webley Mk.V or Mk.VI, which would have been correct. The Mk.IV (.38 calibre version) was not designed until the 1920s.

Quotes:

Cpl. Doc Fairweather: McNess, what are you doing?
Pvt. Willie McNess: Leaving!
Pvt. Thomas Quinn: Well that's the best idea I've heard all day.

A nasty, creepy little find

Hey now, I've looked at this before and passed it up, but finally took a chance and wow, I really liked this. This is not, however, the "feel good" movie of the year. A group of British soldiers lost somewhere in Europe stumble across a German entrenchment, kill all the remaining Germans there save one, and move in to take over. But what are they taking over? They can only communicate with the soldier by one of their own, in French, and the soldier tells them they will die there. Lots of mud, lots of rotting bodies, and....something else. What that something else is isn't ever clear though, but that was OK, left more to your imagination, and left the ending open to your own philosophical interpretation, I guess. One soldier has a severed spine and is paralyzed, watch for the scene where he's regaining movement in his legs. This is some nasty ugly stuff; barbed wire with a life of its own, the captain slowly losing his mind, one crazed soldier is out for brutal torture because he likes it, etc. This is all very well done and the feeling of being in trenches with lots of dead bodies and whatever else is there is pretty claustrophobic. I'm not one for straight war movies but with the horror and supernatural stuff going on here this one was a real winner with me. Recommended, but be prepared to squirm a bit.