Night Watch



Ellen Wheeler is suffering from a bit of insomnia one night due to bad dreams and a particularly nasty thunderstorm. While staring out the window at the derelict house across the way she suddenly sees a man sitting in a chair by the opened window with his throat slit. Naturally she freaks out and her husband calls the police. But when the officers go to investigate they find no man, nor any signs of blood or violence. The detective in charge is willing to chalk it up to an honest mistake brought on by the storm and sleeplessness, but Ellen is positive of what she saw, and the freshly dug, suspiciously sized plot in the neighbors garden the next morning just makes her more so. But digging up the plot does nothing other than to cause the police to become increasingly irritated by Ellen’s continuing phone calls. Ellen’s husband John and even her friend Sarah try to convince her it was all in her head and to see a doctor about her increased anxiety, but Ellen is convinced she saw what she saw. And her insistence only grows greater during yet another storm when she spies yet another body through the window of the old house, this time that of a young woman. But by now the police don’t believe her, and John and Sara are trying to convince her she’s having some sort of nervous breakdown and needs to be sent away to a special hospital before she snaps completely…


Eh, I’m sure she’s fine.

It’s finally October (throws confetti), my favorite month of the year (sorry, December), and I’ve spent the last couple weeks wracking my brain to try to come up with some sort of theme for the month, but… Alas. Unlike years past, I was unable to come up with something that really inspired me this year. So this month is just going to be more of a free-for-all of anything that happens to tickle my fancy. Though I do happen to have a bit of a mini-theme in store for this first week or so, and that theme is: Horror Movies Starring Celebrities You Weren’t Expecting. First up, Night Watch, a British mystery horror thriller based on a relatively well-received stage play of the same name by Lucille Fletcher, starring Laurence Harvey, Billie Whitelaw, and…wait for it…. Elizabeth Taylor. Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to see her name linked to any horror film either, so color me surprised. This film happened to be made about the time her film career was on a downward swing though, which is about the time celebrities tend to go for films like this. But unlike some of the other films she made during that same period this one actually ends up being pretty good. Good, but not great. Though it probably helps that the film ends up being more of a mystery thriller, rather than a straight-up horror film.



Right off the bat, the movie feels very familiar. Mostly because the story is very reminiscent of two other well-known properties: Gaslight and Rear Window. Because you’ve got a person who looks out the window, sees something suspicious, and suspects her neighbor might be up to no good, coupled with that person’s spouse claiming they’re unwell and they might need to be sent away. The difference is that neither scenario feels quite as intense as the films that inspired it. Partially because they’re grouped together and making them even more melodramatic than they already are would have been REALLY unnecessary, and partially because Ellen herself has a lot more autonomy than the main characters in those films. Yes, she’s a woman and the blatant sexism on display is unsettling and purposefully worked into the story, but she’s not physically confined to a chair and immobile like Jeff was in Rear Window, and since this is from the 70s she has a lot more freedom than Bella or Paula from Gaslight, and is thus not as helpless to combat her husband’s potentially nefarious whims. So despite the similar scenarios it never really feels like Ellen is in quite as much danger as those other characters were. The house and money are hers after all. She could just leave. The gal’s got options.



Instead, the tension comes from the “not knowing”. Everything happens so fast that even the viewer isn’t quite sure what Ellen saw or didn’t see through that window, and that, coupled with the lack of evidence found by the police, the suspicious neighbor, her tragic past, her friend acting weird and her husband’s dubious motivations, all lead to legitimate questions about what is actually going on. Is she just having a nervous breakdown as everyone around her seems to suspect, or is something more sinister really going on? As you can probably guess, the answer is the latter, but with a twist ending that a lot of viewers with preconceived expectations may not suspect.



So the movie really ends up being more of a mystery/thriller than anything else. But I’m keeping it up for Horror Month for a couple of reasons: 1) the atmosphere in the film is so dark and eerie most of the time that it’s reminiscent of a gothic period piece, 2) the twist ending really tips it over into “horror” territory, even if only a little and, perhaps most importantly, 3) the police are so incredibly bloody useless in this movie that  the only explanation for their incompetence is that they must be in a horror film. Argue with me all you want, but that’s just the way it is. I don’t make the horror movie rules. Though honestly, the greatest horror of the film is that the filmmakers had freaking Elisabeth Taylor as their lead and they had the gall to put her in one of the most hideous looking mustard yellow nightdresses I think I’ve ever seen in my life. I mean, for god’s sake, it’s Elisabeth Flippin’ Taylor. Even I know all you have to do is put her in purple and you’re golden. It’s not that hard. Thankfully they dressed her appropriately for the rest of the film. But goodness, that one outfit? Woof.


Seriously guys? I don’t even care about fashion, and I get that you probably just wanted her to stand out in the dark, but even I wondered WTF you were thinking here. Any other color would have been better!

Honestly though, the film’s biggest downside is that it actually doesn’t feel like it has enough tension. The movie does well showcasing the various possibilities and motivations on display, but it ends up feeling a bit sparse, like it could have used a couple more suspects. Which is unfortunate, because apparently the original stage play it’s based on (which I have not seen) DID have a couple more characters, and thus suspects, to choose from and I’m sure that probably helped add to the story’s mystery. But they were unfortunately cut from the film version, likely to help trim down on the runtime. So the viewer is left with fewer “what if” options. Ultimately though, I do think it does well with what it presents, and the film’s twist, which purposefully plays on your expectations, does help make up for it. But I do think that if they’d added a bit more it would have made the film better.



Other than that though, I have no complaints. The film looks lovely, with a very distinctive 70’s Mystery aesthetic which was very popular in that era. Think gaudy curtains, sprawling bookcases, lots of wood paneling, and the occasional large potted plant sitting on a table. It’s a look that might be overdone, but it’s still nice. And the lighting often complements and accentuates the people and the decor in appropriately moody fashion without plunging the viewer into murky “I can’t see a bloody fucking thing!” darkness, so I don’t have any complaints there either. Nor do I have any with the acting. I was admittedly a bit concerned when I read the film description and it mentioned the main character possibly having a nervous breakdown. Because I’ve seen that very scenario end in an overacted freakout one too many times. But Taylor reigns it in and keeps the film from feeling too melodramatic. She may have skirted the line a couple of times, but she never went over, and for that I am grateful.


They also lit her well too, so that was nice.

So while I have some issues with it, I’m pleased to report that I ended up liking Night Watch. It’s not what I’d necessarily call a great mystery horror thriller, but I do think it’s a good one. It’s technically solid, the acting is good, and it looks lovely. I do think it could have gone a little bit further with the plot than it did, and I’m sure the more sedate pacing may not appeal to everyone, but I enjoyed it, even if I kinda guessed where it was going before it got there. Still, I found the story engaging and easy to follow along with. And I also liked the twist ending, which I’m kinda even more impressed by after going back to get screenshots, because I realized it was subtly hinted at in the dialogue throughout the movie. But then, I tend to enjoy the slower, stylish mystery horrors, so take that as you will. If you like the stylish, slower mysteries with a creepy edge (or just want to watch Elisabeth Taylor scream a lot), then give it a try. But if you’re looking for something a bit more intense, then this might not be for you.

Night Watch is available on a variety of streaming services.

Night Watch is also available on DVD.

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