As with all of my reviews of films for The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciated for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....
I love when you find a trailer that you'd forgotten about and didn't even remember, that suddenly strikes a chord with you and happens to be streaming on Amazon Prime. It's like the perfect storm for any film lover. While I've found Amazon Prime to be a dumping ground for any low budget horror that's ever been made, they sometimes pull a rabbit out of a hat or accidentally find something worthwhile. That's exactly what happened with 'The Night Watchmen' and I'm so thankful it did. Sometimes it's a crap shoot when you watch something blind. You may get gold or you may get a rotten egg. What I wasn't expecting with this one, was finding another potential entry into my 'Best Horror of 2018' list. Yes, you heard me right, this one was that good. (in my opinion). This film presents itself like a zombie movie, but then you quickly learn it's something else. What it turned out to be, was not at all what I was expecting or planning on, it was a new take on an old theme, but turned on its head. Plenty of jokes that cover a wide spectrum of humor and lots of icky stuff going on to make the horror hounds happy. It's a tricky formula to pull off, but director Mitchell Altieri and his crew of writers Ken Arnold, Dan DeLuca and Jamie Nash did just that. That made a mountain out of a potential mole hill. This is a horror comedy done right. Think 'Stakeland' meets 'Shaun of the Dead' meets 'Half-Baked' and you've got a pretty good idea what you're in for. While I would never call this a perfect film, by any stretch, it's a whole lot of damn fun and I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion. That's a rarity for this old, grizzled, scary movie man.
The movie takes place hot on the heels of a world famous clown and his circus compadres fall ill to a strange disease and all die. As they are out of the country, they are shipped back to the states for a proper memorial and service. What the rest of world doesn't realize is that they've been infected with something that will raise them back from the dead to feast upon the living. Meanwhile, in an office building, a new security officer is starting his new job. The three old school vets of the field are enjoying hazing the new guy as the coffin of Blimpo the Clown is delivered to their complex by mistake. In a deal where the guards take weed in trade for looking the other way over night, the casket is left in their care. Before long, Blimpo comes back and begins infecting the rest of the office building and turning them into the same evil as him. The only thing standing in the way of mass clown carnage is the hapless security guards and a few of the other staff that are still in one piece. Who will make it through the night, as all bets are off.
One of the biggest reasons I think that this film is so successful is the main cast of characters played by Ken Arnold, Dan DeLuca, Kevin Jiggetts, Kara Luiz and Max Gray Wilbur. They're likable, you care about them, they are all very charismatic and they commit to the project with complete sincerity. A film like this wouldn't work if everyone was just half assing it. They also have great chemistry and comedic timing, which drama is easy, making a joke land about dead monsters farting.... that's hard. Speaking of which, that's a real thing. Every time one of the undead finally bites the dust, they let a big one rip. I don't know who's idea that was originally, but it gets funnier as the film progresses. I should also mention that James Remar makes an appearance in this film as an incredibly greasy and unlikable guy. It's kind of an odd turn for an actor of his caliber but it works. He's brilliant. There's also a lot going on here in the way of callbacks to other classic films and tropes. Such as the outline of a crowbar, when the crowbar is missing. ('Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn) or the wonderful 80's montage that they have. Think 'The A-Team' meets a horror film. There's more beyond that, but I don't want to spoil all the fun. Now, there is one thing that bugged me about this movie and I didn't really appreciate what the film makers were going for, until the very end. The music. The music in 'The Night Watchmen' doesn't work for me. I don't know what it is about the music, but it feels almost out of place with the rest of the film. It's not until the very end that I really appreciated it. However, by that point, it had kind of switched over to a more 80's rock anthem kind of thing, which incidentally.... this film seems to have ended on a possible sequel kind of a note. I sincerely hope that they come back for another round. I also hope that everyone involved with the original agrees to return as well. I don't smell a long running franchise, but one more time around the block wouldn't hurt.
If you're looking for something that's off the beaten path and not something you've maybe ever even heard of, then 'The Night Watchmen' is for you. It's irreverent, funny, frightening at times and all around a good time. There's very little not to like about this film. It hits all the right chords on queue and the pacing is spot on. I never felt like it rushed or was trying to be anything more than it was. One of the biggest problems with movies in general, is that they have a great 1st and 2nd act, but then peter out in the 3rd. With this one, they kept the pace up right until the last 3 minutes of the film, when they slowed down to end it on a high note. I would easily give this 4 out of 5 stars and am looking forward to watching it again in the near future. I have a personal affinity for horror comedy, as it blends two genres I love into one delicious stew and this one was very tasty indeed. If you have a spare bit of time and want to just enjoy the simpler side of life, then this is one that I can't recommend enough. While it may not be everyone's cup of tea, for those of you who get the joke, you'll thank me for it later.
If you like this, check out: 'Burying the Ex', 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'What We Do In the Shadows'
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