Hey folks, Harry here... I saw this movie at Sitges, sorry I haven't reviewed it yet, but things have been pretty busy here with BNAT coming Personally I'm on the otherside. I very much prefer DEATHWATCH to DOG SOLDIERS. Sure, it doesn't have the franchise-ability of DOG SOLDIERS with the whole military versus Werewolves thing, but... I love the whole parallel to Purgatory, St Michael and what not placed atop a story about horror in the trenches of WW1. This isn't a vampire or mummy or zombie or werewolf movie. This isn't a mad scientist tale or even a ghost story. This is about something else altogether and it is that very aspect that enthralls me. I love the ability to argue about what it was that was going on in those trenches... the ability to discuss higher powers and lower powers in the fog of war. I love living barb wire, I love muckity muck corpses gnawed on by rats... and most of all DOG SOLDIERS didn't have Andy Serkis kicking ass for you, me and every other living being on the planet earth. He's a god in this movie. Here's Darth Manchester with his take. I'm going to try to get to writing about this soon...
Darth Manchester here with rumblings Lets get to the good (ish) bit instead -
I've just got back from a preview screening of DEATHWATCH at my local cinema. Tickets were scarce, and the place was packed. The vibe going round: this spooky WW1 movie could be sleeper hit of the summer this side of the pond...and maybe there's a grain of truth in that...
Then again
Sadly, the first scene is weak. The big no-mans-land assault isn't truly terrible (visually, its capable) but it lacked a certain punch in the audio department. The ADR, sound FXs, and score are weak. And they are weak through out. The score in particular is a cheap synth-orchestra jobby, that doesn't have the fullness and impact it really should in this type of movie. But with a budget of $3.2 million (or £2 million-ish in real money) what do you expect?
After the first battle, and a brief introduction to our main characters, the band of brothers stumble across an enemy trench. They kill a few stragglers, and then take control of it. War is simple, it seems.
The soldiers then secure the trench rats fester on mangled corpses; soldiers lie dead, water and mud EVERYWHERE. It's grotesquely pleasant on the eye.
(I can't stop) On to Act 2 - Contained inside the trench, there aren't that many places we can go. We rely on shocks (more to come) and talky-talk with soldiers. The pal-speak is mostly good. Sergeant Tate (played sloppily by Hugo Spear) gets the lion's share of the humorous quips. Captain Jennings (Laurence Fox) also has some decent banter with his soldiers
I should mention Jamie Bell of BILLY ELLIOT fame. At 15 (when the film was shot) he delivers another commanding performance far beyond his younger years. As a young upstart, who believes in the honour of war, Bell is the main focus of the story. We follow him as his idyllic dream of defending his country falls apart as he discovers the horrors of war.
Oh, yes -- how can I forget GOLLUM.
Holly shit, Andy Serkis is a fuckin' monster. This guy chews up the scenery, sleeps on it for a week, then regurgitates his stomach-filth into the face of any unlucky motherfucker stood beside him. He is ham-tastic. His lines are delivered with all the subtle charm of a shower of Dubya's stinger missiles and he rocks in the cheesiest of ways. You really should go check out his madcap performance of a soldier dehumanized by war. Good stuff.
(I won't disclose what happens, as it will kill the movie and any fun you squeeze from the movie plus its late in Blighty and I'm up early -- my apologies readers)
You see, the most annoying thing is; we don't have fuckin' clue why "its" all happening. At one stage its, gas. The next, shellshock, then and its yadayadyadayada & some exposition would have been nice. Not in Donnie Darko proportions, but a personal insight from one of the soldiers would have been cool.
On the plus side, tension is good, FX (in all there gory detail) are nice, direction of both is adequate. Lets just say; some guy afterwards complained to the cinema's management regarding its 15 rating -- the killjoy wants it changed to 18. I say, "Fuck him in his stupid ass".
It's late so I'm wrapping up.
FINAL THOUGHT: It does exactly what it says on the tin - Shocks, decent-ish acting, weird/daft stuff in a trench, and a cozy wrap-up. It isn't as good as recent Brit/indie hit DOG SOLDIERS, but it tries hard. Worth catching at matinee prices.
Harry, get digging.
Laterz folks
