Night Watch (2004)

For anyone who doubts the diversity of today's horror scene, Night Watch should be an eye-opening experience... literally. Reportedly made for only $4 million, this Russian vampire extravaganza has the kind of unending barrage of special effects and hyperkinetic filmmaking that we normally associate with $50-100 million Hollywood blockbusters by filmmakers like Tony Scott (the obnoxious, over-the-top subtitle trickery makes similar indulgences in Scott's most recent films, Man on Fire and Domino, look restrained by comparison).

Adapted from a novel by famed Russian author Sergei Lukyanenko, this is the first in an epic trilogy -- the second entry, Day Watch, has already broken box office records in Russia -- that has some (ie. Quentin Tarantino) making comparison to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The comparison is apt, as this elaborate, mythical film relies heavily on fantasy film conceits. In fact, Night Watch has more in common with Highlander than any horror film I can think of. On first viewing, it's not necessarily an entirely coherent experience, but it's certainly a memorable one.

Fox must be slightly dumbfounded by their inability to draw American viewers to this aggressively commercial, visually astonishing film, but director Timur Bekmambetov has an explanation. He claims that the movie was designed with Russian audiences in mind and says he never really imagined the film reaching a broader audience. He says this in an engaging English-language commentary track that isn't even listed on the DVD case.

The case does list a director commentary over the extended ending, but not over the entire film. We also get a subtitled commentary by writer Sergei Lukyanenko, an extended ending, an "Inside Look" featurette, and a brief preview of the sequels. If these films are half as ambitious as the original, you owe it to yourself to check out Night Watch and get the ball rolling on this series right away. -- Jonathan Doyle