Nightwatch

Synopsis: A law student takes a job as the night-watchman in a morgue, thinking that he will have much time to study, with his biggest problem being his paranoia in this scary setting. Meanwhile, a serial killer is on the loose and the student ends up getting mixed up with one of the murders, becoming a suspect.
Director(s): Ole Bornedal
Production: Miramax
  2 wins.
 
IMDB:
6.2
Metacritic:
40
Rotten Tomatoes:
22%
R
Year:
1997
101 min
523 Views


Hi. How you doing, sweetie?

Come on in.

I already prepared

everything for you...

just the way you like it.

Jeez, it's so hot tonight.

Are you ready?

You want me to play dead?

Do you want me to die, honey?

Please. Please, let me die for you.

Why did you close the windows?

You know I don't scream.

What are you doing, honey?

Is there something wrong?

What's that?

You're hurting me!

Get off! Oh, God!

Please, help me!

What do you know about the killer?

We know he's a male, probably aged...

Is there a possibility

there's more than one killer?

No comment.

- You sound confident.

- I am.

- Do we know the killer's race?

- Not definitive.

We are analysing skin samples

taken from underneath

the fingernails of the victims.

Results will help to determine

the killer's race.

Is it true the police aren't

interested in finding the killers

because the victims

were prostitutes?

The suggestion that we're not

treating this case diligently

is not only false but offensive.

We've already spent

What do you know about the killer?

I can't tell you

all that we know, but he's male...

- You got the job. That job?

- Yeah.

Jesus.

That sounds disgusting.

Don't you think? Don't you think

it's just disgusting?

All I gotta do is sit on my ass

all night and read a book.

- You're drinking too much.

- He's already very drunk.

I think one person

is responsible for these crimes.

- Why do you say that?

- That's my business.

That's all I got to do.

I just got to sit on my ass.

Sit on my ass!

Inspector.

Is it true the police aren't

interested in finding the killers

because the victims

were prostitutes?

The suggestion that we're

not treating this case diligently

is not only false but offensive.

- Is there more than one killer?

- My feeling is one killer.

- Do you know the killer's race?

- Not definitive.

We are analysing skin samples

taken from underneath

the fingernails of the victims.

Results of those tests...

- Is there more than one killer?

- No comment.

Staying over tonight?

- Do you want me to?

- Do you want to?

If you want me to.

Marie, if I've ever done anything

to make you happy, I truly apologise.

These markings could have occurred

after death while the body was...

Sources have confirmed

that the victims were sexually

assaulted after their deaths.

Is there more than one killer?

It's gotten so hard

to talk her into things.

She's become less and less...

receptive.

- When will the results come in?

- Soon. Maybe tomorrow.

That guy's supposed to be amazing.

- We can't tell the public every...

- Receptive to what?

Were the victims

sexually assaulted?

What do you think of the killer?

I think his time is running out.

Katherine!

Katherine?

I'm in the bathroom!

What?

Nothing.

You had strange dreams last night.

I did?

You were breathing really heavy.

You kept kicking your legs

and moaning.

- You sure we weren't having sex?

- Pretty sure, yeah.

- Call me and tell me how it went.

- Yeah.

- Good night.

- Night.

Mr Johnson?

Mr Johnson.

- How did you get in?

- The front door was open.

Damn door never closes.

So, this is you?

- Oh, yeah, this is me.

- Welcome to Mars.

- Sorry?

- They weren't kidding you.

About what?

I'll leave you the coffee machine.

The radio is mine.

- You got a radio?

- No.

Get yourself a radio.

What did they tell you exactly?

Not a lot.

Now there's very few people around,

but at night,

this place is like Mars.

- So, what have you heard?

- Pardon?

What exactly

did they tell you about me?

- Nothing. They told me nothing.

- Come on. They told you why I quit.

No, honestly, not at all.

May we come in?

Turn the key till you hear the click.

It registers on a piece of punch tape

verifying you were here every hour.

- I see.

- Do you?

Thank God we don't need to check

this room. The key's outside.

Come, have a look.

It's all right. Come on.

- You know what's in those tubs?

- No. What?

Smell the formaldehyde.

You can smell it, can't you?

You should never go in there. Never.

I never have.

Disgusting.

- So, I'll be alone here at night.

- Didn't they tell you?

Sometimes, an ambulance or police

comes in, but apart from that,

it's just you...

and them.

The morgue.

I don't know why

they put a key in there.

The hell with it.

Let's get on with it.

Just keep your eyes on the key.

Just keep looking at it.

Don't look at them.

Damned idiots. Why in the hell

did they put a key in here?

What are the cords for?

Just a precaution,

in case one of them wakes up.

- If you pull it, the alarm goes off.

- Wakes up?

Then you call the duty doctor

from the guard's station.

He'll be here in five minutes.

Don't worry. It'll never happen.

It's cold in here, but you can

still smell 'em, can't you?

Yeah.

Make sure the door doesn't close.

No handle on the inside.

- Why would it close?

- And turn out the lights.

This is where it happened,

supposedly.

What?

Some years ago, scandal,

terrible scandal.

Night watchman.

Many years ago...

he did it.

- He did it?

- Did it with them.

- You mean...

- The guy had his very own harem.

Well, I never knew anything about it

firsthand, but the rumour was,

they caught him doing it.

They hushed the whole thing up.

Who knows? Lots of weirdos out here.

God.

I'm not a weirdo.

After you've worked here a while,

your breath'll begin to stink.

You can test it by holding your

hand up to your mouth and breathe.

Am I right?

Oh, Jesus! You're right.

Goes with the territory.

Nothing you can do about it.

These are the staff files.

We're all in here somewhere.

Dead ones, over there.

Staff, over here.

Meaningless.

Here's your duty roster.

You'll come on at eight,

be relieved at four.

- Is that the alarm from...?

- It'll never happen.

Have you got a radio?

- Actually, I'm gonna study.

- Get a radio.

- Like I said, I'll get a radio.

- Good.

Who is that picture of?

I don't know. It's always been there.

Oh, one more thing.

There's nothing

to be afraid of, but...

I think it'd be

a good thing to have.

And then the radio...

It'd be a good idea

to buy yourself a radio.

OK.

You have a choice

of seeing two movies.

One, 90 action-packed minutes

of two heroes spending time together

having these incredible adventures.

The other movie has 45 minutes of

one hero having incredible adventures

and the other 45 minutes

is a guy sitting at a desk,

reading a book, OK?

Which one do you go see?

Who's playing the guy

reading the book?

There is definitely

loss of consortium,

but how about mental anguish?

- What happened to us?

- What?

I can't breathe in here.

Why the f*** are we here?

- Getting older.

- We're dying.

- Same thing.

- No, no, no.

You know this movie

I was talking about?

The two heroes start

challenging each other.

- Really?

- Yes. The one who backs down loses.

Why would they want to do that?

Because they're dying

and they wanna play

before they end up in bed

with the establishment.

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Ole Bornedal

Ole Bornedal (born 26 May 1959) is a Danish film director, actor and producer.Bornedal was born in Nørresundby, Denmark. He wrote and directed Nattevagten (Nightwatch, 1994), a thriller about a law student who works in a morgue as a night-watchman, and becomes implicated in a series of murders of prostitutes. He also directed an English language remake (Nightwatch) in 1997, starring Ewan McGregor, Nick Nolte and Patricia Arquette. In 2002, he directed I Am Dina. Other Danish films include The Substitute (2007), Just Another Love Story (2007), and Deliver Us from Evil. In 2012, he directed the English-language film The Possession. He was one of the producers of Mimic. In 2014 he wrote and directed the epic historical drama 1864, the most expensive Danish TV series in history, chronicling the Second Schleswig War through the story of two brothers.He is married to the Danish actress, Helle Fagralid, and has three children. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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