The Night Watchmen (2016)

Directed by: Mitchell Altieri | 76 minutes | comedy, horror | Actors: Ken Arnold, Dan DeLuca, Kevin Jiggetts, Kara Luiz, Max Gray Wilbur, James Remar, Matt Servitto, Diona Reasonover, Rain Pryor, Tiffany Shepis, Dan Franko, Matthew Bowerman, Gary Peebles, Travis Hudson, Donald Imm, Sarah French

Few film genres are more mind-blowing than bad horror comedies: you either love them or loathe them. ‘The Night Watchmen’ is such a genre exponent of the purest kind. That only becomes clear when you take a closer look at the rather absurdist-looking plot. The source of all the misery is the apparently dead clown Blimpo. On closer inspection, however, in Romania (Count Dracula’s country of origin) the painted lolbroek is infected with a virus that has turned him into a bloodthirsty vampire with zombie traits. Before long, the killer clown also affects hordes of people with the condition. What should become a quiet night in a drowsy office building for the rather lazy night watchmen Ken, Jiggets, Luca and newcomer Rajeeve, quickly turns into an infernal battle against a steadily expanding horde of bloodthirsty zombie vampires…

If you’re looking for high-quality, intellectually sound film art, ‘The Night Watchmen’ is without a doubt in the wrong place. What can you expect if you decide to take a look at this pulp work? Liters of fake blood, the necessary bland humor, brilliant acting and bloodthirsty man-eaters, creatures whose behavior and appearance are somewhat somewhere between the classic horror archetypes vampire and zombie.

Thanks to the relatively short running time (80 minutes) and the fast-paced action scenes fired at the viewer, ‘The Night Watchmen’ is a film with a lot of momentum. Initially overwhelmed by the wave of destruction coming at them, the indolent and clumsy night watchmen quickly develop into accomplished monster slayers who use a diverse array of office and warehouse items to crush the zompires attacking their workplaces. . The jokes are of varying quality; sometimes fun and successful, but at times also provided with the necessary faintness or a high poo and pee content. The DVD cover is also a bit misleading. The monster clown Blimpo occupies a very prominent place on that cover, while the make-up creep in the film only appears sporadically.

‘The Night Watchmen’ is a movie that is especially fun for a select audience. A large part of the film viewers will not be able to do much with it, but the fans who can appreciate a pleasantly wrong horror comedy, can withstand some blood and a lot of mutilated bodies and do not attach great value to high-quality acting or eye-pleasing special effects, will appreciate it. enjoy this entertaining yet unpretentious movie by Mitchell Altieri.