Available July 22nd, 2025 from Arrow Video
Set of both Nightwatch from 1994 and its sequel from 2023 with a slew of extras.
Nightwatch (1994)
The film that introduced international audiences to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, a film about a student in need of money who signs up to be the nightwatchman for the Department of Forensic Medicine where corpses and creepy dark hallways abound. Soon, he finds himself scared at work and acting recklessly outside of work. The film here stars Coster-Waldau in the lead, giving a good performance of a man making questionable choices under stress. His character, as well as the others, is decently written and his performance is fitting of what the film needs. He’s joined by Sofie Gråbøl as Kalinka, his girlfriend, and Kim Bodnia as Jens, his questionable best friend. The film here is written and directed by Ole Bornedal who does well establishing the characters, setting up the creepy location with odd situations, and cranking up the tension as the film advances in its runtime. The writing and direction work well here and make for a good base for the cast to do what they do. The cinematography and the practical effects look decent, but there is an element of these being a bit aged as this film is 31 years old (at press time).
The extras on the first film in this “franchise” and in this set are numerous, so let’s start with the look of the film. The high definition looks fairly good on this 1994 film with decent sound, and the English subtitles are clear and easy to follow. The disc for this one also contains a bunch of extras, with the top of the pack being the audio comment with Ole Bornedal, the new interview with Dan Laustsen (cinematographer), and the making-of documentary.
Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever (2023)
Do not let the almost-silly, anime-like title fool you, this is sequel to the 1994 film, one that takes new themes and goes a bit deeper into death, grief, and mental health. The sequel here is a bit less spooky, spending plenty of time in the same building when Martin’s (Coster-Waldau) daughter Emma (played very well by Fanny Leander Bornedal) takes a job in the same building he had worked in while in university. She soons discovers that her father’s past, and her mother’s, who has since passed, have a much darker segment than she could ever have guessed. Soon, she finds herself investigating the killer from the first film and making a few questionable decisions of her own. Also written and directed by Ole Bornedal, this sequel takes the “many years later” route, throws a wrench in the original lead’s life, kills one lead, and gives the viewer a new dynamic between the characters. The writing here works and so does the direction, and the cinematography makes spooky use of both the original location and a mental hospital. Some of the new elements brought in work quite well while others feel unnecessary and push the limits in terms of suspension of disbelief. The film is, however, well-made and quite entertaining.
The look of the sequel in this new release is great and definitely shows that it was filmed more recently with a quality transfer that showcases the darkness as well as the light and gives the film its dues. The extras on this disc are not as numerous, but they are of high quality with two new videos essays. In terms of preference, the one by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas calls Life (and Death) on Mars: Public and Private Life in the Nightwatch Universe.