Mutant Reviewers from Hell do

2002 R / War Horror Directed by: Michael J. Bassett Starring: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Matthew Rhys

Tagline

Deliver them from evil

Summary Capsule

WWI trenches in the middle of nowhere become the latest in the haunted house trends

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Amazon.com: DVD

Justin's Rating: This film needs a heavy dose of bleach, Fantastik and Brawny paper towels. Clean up that filth!
Justin's Review: I'll give this much for the premise of Deathwatch: it's definitely off the beaten path for horror movie settings.

"WWI movies are in scarce supply; it was a confusing war and we remember little if anything from our high school history textbooks. We remember trenches and a German guy with a pointy hat. That's about it."

It's actually why I picked this DVD up in the first place — the cover, featuring a World War I battlescape and a not-scary-but-trying skull face in the background nabbed my interest. Unlike WWII, WWI movies are in scarce supply; it was a confusing war and we remember little if anything from our high school history textbooks. We remember trenches and a German guy with a pointy hat. That's about it. And a horror flick on the battlefield… redundant, yes, but intriguing.

It turns out that Deathwatch's unique setting bears the full burden for getting us through the movie. The rest is codswallop, a mushy mix of two of horror's most tried-and-true conflicts: a haunted house, and a group of people who end up turning on each other. Plus, a lot of mud. A lot. Of mud. And (muddy) rats.

After an attack on an enemy line, a group of nine British soldiers are overcome by fog and find themselves at the precipice of an unknown massive German trench system. Well, we take their word for it that it's massive — it all looks the same, and for all I know, the director could've ordered only one passageway and one corner to be built, and shot the movie around that. In any case, the soldiers kill or take capture the few terrified Germans there, never questioning why the Germans are barricaded inside of their trenches and rather unconcerned about a British incursion. Can you say "Supernatural Threat" with me, boys and girls?

Instead of leaving, the Brits occupy the trenches and kiss little lockets of their loved ones all sentimental-like. Thus begins a rather long drudge through a movie that at times smells reminiscent of Event Horizon, except everyone's very muddy and the director seems unconcerned with tightening his scenes and giving us a clear idea of what's going on. After a while I sort of lost interest, because the movie wasn't showing any in keeping mine, and I snapped back when the final ten minutes arrived.

I honestly can't recall much of the main plot, for it's mostly soldiers hearing weird noises and getting upset with each other for no reason. There are some nifty barbed wire zombies, and Andy Serkis (Gollum) is there to keep us entertained with a patented psycho act.

In short: good premise, squandered on badness. Toodles.

"Oh... to be a hobbit again... merry and free!" Don't let this happen to you. Don't fart near an open flame. "Mountain of corpses, check! Right where I left them!"

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• There is not (and never has been) such a rank as Private First Class in the British Army, although it is possible to reach Class Three, Two and One within your trade
• A radio is being used in the German trench, but field telephones were used, as radio was relatively new.

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

No.

Ending Theories [some sources: Wikipedia]

Confused by the ending? So were we! Here are some of the theories to try to explain it [Spoilers, highlight to read]:

(1) The soldiers died in the raid against the Germans on the Western Front when the enemy gunned them down and the gas was dropped on them. The trench that they come across is a form of purgatory for their sins in their previous lives. The men that escape or are murdered by their own comrades are free to start a new life and the men either killed or attacked by the trench have to repeat the whole process all over again under the eye of Friedrich (Torben Liebrecht), who resembles a type of judge.

(2) The whole film is an allegory of the Bible. Such events suggest this as a scene where one the men is crucified, a biblical tagline, quotes from the Bible itself, a DVD case with the picture of a man wearing a crown of barbed wire, blood on a bible and the cross.

(3) The soldiers are going crazy like the Boche soldiers before them under the influence of the gas the night before. In their insanity they kill each other, hear things that aren't real, see strange things like barbed wire growing out of the ground and see dug-outs that they recently exploded come back to their original formation.

(4) Friedrich is an evil entity. While the soldiers were wandering through the fog, Friedrich leads them to the trench. Here he tests them; those who fail are killed, and those who pass survive and are free to leave the trench. The ending scene in the movie could represent either the original soldiers coming to the trench, or a new group. The new perspective, from which we can see Friedrich's face, is meant to show a sense of knowing, suggesting that he planned for the soldiers to arrive so that he could kill the unworthy.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

In the German dubbed version, the German soldiers speak French. Fascinating, no?

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Dog Soldiers
• All Quiet On The Western Front
• Gallipoli