Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009

'Night Watch' more than just another hot vampire flick

I'm still trying to pinpoint why vampires and their ilk are all the new hotness. My best theory so far is we all secretly yearn to get drained like a bottle of pop, but I'm working on that one.

I'm sure this is strictly coincidental to our national interest in them, but there's no such thing as an ugly vampire. Apparently they do all their recruiting in sororities and at underwear commercial casting calls. (In fairness, so do I.) It wasn't until viewing 2004's Night Watch that I witnessed a vampire who, when rated on the supernatural looks scale, came down more on the dwarf side than the elf.

Hundreds of years ago, the paranormal forces of light and dark battled to a standstill. Since then, an uneasy truce has held both sides in check. As a vampire in service of the light, Konstantin Khabenskiy is assigned to keep tabs on the ne'er-do-wells on the other side, but as he delves into his latest case, he discovers signs the world may be headed for the Final Battle between light and dark.

The Russian Night Watch, along with its companion piece Day Watch, are the movies that put director Timur Bekmambetov on the map. This might have been a mixed blessing, as his first American project was Wanted, the poignant story of a loom that orders a secret assassin society who to kill, but that movie had style, and screw anyone who says otherwise.

In Night Watch, even the subtitles have flash, rippling across and wiping from the screen in response to the action. It's a small touch, but a fun one, and better yet, it doesn't distract from the big picture.

Which is good, because its plot is a little trickier than, say, The Cat in the Hat. I don't have a problem with the vampires, shapeshifters, and witches--I have lots of inhuman friends, and I wish them good luck in Hell--and though the translation is strong, it takes a while to figure out what they're capable of and just what they're up to.

But its high concept and intricate story pays off. In the meantime, Bekmambetov entertains with lively violence and clever camera work, and while these days vampire stories are so common it's hard to find a book or movie that isn't jammed with sexy immortals sexily killing us lame humans, his grungy, low-class take on the paranormal feels revolutionary. Fresh and energetic, Night Watch is that rare movie that makes you happy we've got sequels.