‘Buffy’ meets ‘The Matrix’: The Russian movie adored by Quentin Tarantino and Danny Boyle
There’s no doubt that in 1999, The Matrix took the cultural zeitgeist in its grasp and transformed the very nature of cinema. The Wachowski’s brilliant science fiction action film was just about everywhere, from the school playgrounds to the office staffrooms, from fashion to conversation; quite simply, The Matrix became the artefact signifying the turn of the millennium.
With such iconic status, the now-legendary movie (and its sequel) brought about its fair share of imitators, and while naturally, most of those were low in quality, a few seemed to slip the net and actually deliver engaging narratives in unique ways that merely borrowed from The Matrix, rather than copy it directly.
One such movie looks to have been Night Watch, the 2004 Russian urban supernatural thriller directed by Timur Bekmambetov, loosely based on Sergei Lukyanenko’s 1998 novel of the same name. The theatrical release saw $1.5million pay off some of the budget, but it was in the home video and rental market that Night Watch profited, making over $20m.
Night Watch takes place in modern Moscow and focuses on the battle to balance the forces of light and darkness, a conflict that has raged since medieval times. During the night, the dark forces fight against the beyond-human “Others”, who protect and maintain the balance of order.
So far, so Buffy, but then comes a Matrix-esque twist. There is an ancient prophecy that states that a special Other will come to being and choose between either side of light and darkness and change the course of the battle, tipping it one way or the other, making the world descend into a new all-out war.
The film ended up drawing acclaim from two high-profile filmmakers. Danny Boyle thought Night Watch might be the “true successor” to The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix, while Tarantino also drew comparisons to Peter Jackson’s trilogy while praising it in the only way the cinephile director knows how.
“Just after we’ve lived through Lord of the Rings, and we can’t even imagine another movie spellbinding us,” Tarantino said. “Night Watch is an epic vision of extraordinary power.” Now, Boyle was not exactly correct in his assertion of Night Watch taking over from The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings, and Tarantino may have just been his typical hyperbolic self.
Still, their comments are worth noting and can’t be entirely wrong. A sequel, Day Watch, arrived in 2006, and a third movie, Twilight Watch, was also proposed, but Bekmambetov turned down the project to direct Wanted instead.
Check out the trailer for Night Watch below.
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