“All I have to do is sit on my ass all night.” So says Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's Martin Bork before starting his new position as the night watchman at Copenhagen's Forensic Medicine Institute. It's the perfect job for a law student who wants a quiet place to study overnight. He just needs to keep his mind off the morgue alarm, the scandal involving a night watchman covered up decades before, and the photo of a death row inmate on the wall.
As a spate of horrific murders grips Copenhagen, Martin's job draws him close to the investigation. But things get a lot dicier when a mischievous game of challenge between him and his erratic friend Jens moves them into the killer's orbit.
Released in 1994, Ole Bornedal's Nightwatch stands as a foundation stone in what we would soon call Nordic Noir. The presence of Sofie Gråbøl (later a household name from Forbrydelsen) opposite Coster-Waldau doesn't hurt those credentials. It carries the crime genre's key trait of a bleak storyline with a heavy atmosphere. But judiciously taking inspiration from contemporary thrillers, particularly Thomas Harris adaptations, it carves a distinctive space of its own.
Nightwatch doesn't shy away from darkness, with necrophilia, misogyny and a brutal serial killer all on the menu. Add in chaotic Jens (a scene-stealing turn from Kim Bodnia – another star of TV Nordic Noir), and there's a rich canvas for this suspenseful, twisty thriller. At the centre, Coster-Waldau and Gråbøl's likeable performances carry the many misdirections well: there's an unmistakable sense of giallo in Martin's story – a man unwittingly drawn into a web of staged, blood-soaked murders where a meticulous killer collects scalps. As the plot thickens, Martin seems incapable of not implicating himself, and Coster-Waldau has a charismatic eye-roll of resignation ready at every turn.
There's no doubting the eyes behind the camera. Cinematographer Dan Laustsen crafts a sinisterly beautiful film, where halogen lights fizz with halos and ominous medical rooms are soaked in a deep, rich black. The picture and its fine grain look fantastic on this HD release.
Atmosphere aside, so much of Nightwatch hinges on its pace. Bornedal and editor Camilla Skousen keep the suspense building, without having to rely on the claustrophobia of one creepy location. The result is a hugely effective twisty, dreamy ride, so it's no wonder Bornedal was whisked off to Hollywood for the Dimension Films remake a few years later. Although that didn't stop the director from returning to his original universe.
Nightwatch: Demons Never Die, also included in this set, is the belated sequel that picks up the story 30 years later. Released in 2023, it features several returning characters and locations. But this time, the central pair is Coster-Waldau, now a grieving husband and his daughter Emma, a medical student who takes the same nightwatch job as her father before her. The result is more of a study in trauma. One pivotal scene, which sees Emma confronting her parents' past, notes the danger of the “sad remains” that have more life in the mind.
While Bornedal isn't content to repeat his original film, Demons Never Die's later twists hit similar beats. That means it sometimes feels like an experimental homage, preventing it from reaching the original's heights. The biggest miss is not allowing Martin a rematch with Emma's tutor (Niels Anders Thorn), the sarcastic duty doctor he shared memorable scenes with in the original.
Overall, Nightwatch and its legacy sequel make an enjoyably tense viewing experience and mark a fascinating cultural milestone: two dark bookends on either side of the Nordic Noir boom.
The Nighwatch Collection Limited Edition Blu-ray Special Features
- Nightwatch Audio commentary by writer-director Ole Bornedal
- Not Afraid of the Darkness, a newly filmed interview with director of photography Dan Laustsen
- Death in Denmark, an appreciation of Nightwatch and Nightwatch: Demons are Forever by film critic and Nordic Noir specialist Barry Forshaw
- Nightwatch making-of documentary
- How the Nightwatch Films Explore the Horrors of Adulthood, a brand-new video essay by film critic Heather Wixson
- Life (and Death) on Mars: Public and Private Life in the Nightwatch Universe, a brand-new video essay by film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
- Trailer
The Nightwatch Collection is available on Blu-ray from Arrow Video now.
