Day Watch

The stylish Russian vampire movie Night Watch -- released anywhere from 2004 to 2006, depending on your geography -- sent the blood rushing back in to the vampire genre in a sudden surge. It can't help but be a disappointment, then, that not a single pair of pointy incisors makes an appearance in its sequel. This isn't because vampires walk at night, and Day Watch is day oriented -- in fact, the premise is that good and evil forces sleep on opposite schedules, monitoring each other to maintain the peace. Nor is it fair to expect exclusively vampire activity, since witches, shapeshifters, and other fantastical creatures also play their role in the epic struggle. But there's something bloodless about Day Watch nonetheless -- an inability to recreate the urgency of the original, despite all the character development and story advancements you'd expect from a sequel. Day Watch makes a good case that the thrill of discovery was key to the original's pleasures, and not just in terms of the world it presented; Night Watch also boasted an inspired concept for its subtitles, making them living pictorial elements that became an essential part of the viewing experience for English audiences. That gimmick returns, but without the same sense of surprise freshness, it feels perfunctory. Director Timur Bekmambetov still has a full bag of camera tricks and F/X at his disposal -- a sequence in which a car drives along the side of a skyscraper is particularly memorable. However, since Day Watch suffers from the "middle movie syndrome" that afflicts certain trilogies, these visuals tend to serve the purpose of a lot of narrative dilly-dallying. It was also unwise for Bekmambetov to try his hand at humor, as several scenes of silliness compromise what should be the series' prize weapon: its mood. Maybe the third movie -- either Twilight Watch or Dusk Watch, check your local listings -- will bring that mood back. ~ All Movie Guide

The making of Day Watch featurette

The apocalyptic sci-fi thriller Day Watch (aka Dvevnoy Dozor, 2006) constitutes the second installment in a planned supernatural trilogy by Russian director Timur Bekmambetov. As preceded by 2004's blockbuster Night Watch and followed by Twilight Watch, this sophomore film picks up on the byzantine tale of a world where, centuries ago, the powers of light (representing goodness) and the powers of darkness (representing evil) called a truce. Each side set up a law-enforcement team to guard and monitor the other's activities -- the powers of darkness established and controlled the Day Watch, while the powers of light established and controlled the Night Watch. Day Watch opens in the 14th century, when Tamerlane, a Mongol warrior, acquires an implement called "The Chalk of Destiny," that can be used to guide the course of history. Eons later (in the present day), the Day Watch and the Night Watch are ongoing. Two Warriors of Light, Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky) and his protg/partner-in-training, Svetlana (Maria Poroshina), quietly develop feelings for one another as they patrol the Night Watch together. As the story progresses, the pair must respond to a distress call from an octogenarian victim of a vampiric attack -- an attack committed (as it turns out) by Anton's 12-year-old son, Yegor (Dima Martynov) -- now a Warrior of Darkness. Anton must suddenly wrestle with two conflicting desires -- the need to protect his offspring by destroying incriminating evidence, and his own desire to remain loyal to the Night Watch. Several additional subplots then unfold concurrently, including that of Yegor learning to practice evil from his mentor, Zavulon (Viktor Verzhbitsky), that of Anton "body swapping" with associate Olga (Galina Tyunina), and that of the relationship between a vampiric child, Kostya (Aleksei Chadov), and his dad (Valery Zolotukhin), who works as a butcher. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

• Disc #1 -- Day Watch
  • Play
  • Scene Selection
  • Language Selection
    • Languages
      • English 5.1 Dolby Surround
      • Russian 5.1 Dolby Surround
      • Spanish Dolby Surround
      • Commentary by Timur Bekmambetov
    • Subtitles
      • English for the Hearing Impaired
      • English
      • French
      • Spanish
      • None
  • Special Features
    • Commentary by Timur Bekmambetov: On
    • Commentary by Timur Bekmambetov: Off
    • The Making of Day Watch
    • Theatrical Trailer
    • Russian Trailers
      • Trailer A
      • Trailer B
      • Trailer C
      • Trailer D
      • Trailer E
      • Trailer F
      • Play All
    • Russian TV Spots
      • TV Spot A
      • TV Spot B
      • TV Spot C
      • TV Spot D
      • TV Spot E
      • TV Spot F
      • TV Spot G
      • TV Spot H
      • TV Spot I
      • TV Spot J
      • TV Spot K
      • TV Spot L
      • TV Spot M
      • TV Spot N
      • TV Spot O
      • TV Spot P
      • Play All
    • Trailers
      • Hills Have Eyes 2
      • Lake Placid 2
      • Mr. Brooks
      • Perfect Creature
      • The Trippers
      • Wrong Turn 2
      • Play All

Disc #1 -- Day Watch
1. The Chalk of Fate
2. Day Watch (Main Titles)
3. The Dark One
4. Yegor's Mistake
5. No Room
6. A Birthday Present
7. Forbidden Evidence
8. Judgment
9. Dangerous No More
10. Dead and Gone
11. The Butcher's Son
12. A New Woman
13. Svetlana's New Friend
14. I'm Not Olga
15. The Man Inside
16. Dinner Date
17. Set Up
18. The Power
19. Accused
20. Let the Parrot Fly
21. Unfriendly Skies
22. A Sad Story
23. Fathers and Sons
24. Broken Destiny
25. Hunted
26. Unimaginable Power
27. A Call to Kostya
28. The Uninvited Guest
29. Birthday Wishes
30. Interception
31. The Butcher Did It
32. Dance of Death
33. The Guest List Is Full
34. Death Race
35. Dark vs. Light
36. Apocalypse
37. Whose Fault?
38. Short Exposure
39. "No"
40. End Titles