I saw this film in 2003 on a DVD. Nice film. The movie could have been very good if some attention was paid towards editing n screenplay. Good direction by Michael J. Bassett. Decent acting by Andy Serkis n Jamie Bell. Nevertheless it has some of the most realistic screen recreations of trench life at its worst, rats, rains n ruins. The flick has an eerie atmosphere, wonderfully creepy, suspenseful n nicely enhanced by the mud of trenches. Set design is excellent, shot very well all the dirtiness and filthiness with the muddy trenches n continuous rains. There's enough gore n tension. Some good cinematography by Hubert Taczanowski. The atmosphere, and the design made you feel as if you actually were in a world war one trench. The rain and the place were characters themselves.

The trapped-soldiers-menaced-by-supernatural-evil sub genre briefly flourished around the turn of the millennium. Low budget ghost story productions like THE BUNKER and THE TRENCH proved their worth, so it was inevitable that a bigger-budget film would emerge, although DEATHWATCH is still low budget by many people's standards, with some dodgy CGI work here and there and early battle scenes which aren't too convincing. Having watched it, DEATHWATCH is my current favourite in this genre, and it's clear that the spooky Asian effort R-POINT owes more than a few nods to it. Unusually, the film wins out purely because of the excellent set design. The claustrophobic, muddy, water-logged trenches have never looked so realistic as they have here, and a liberal sprinkling of grime, barbed wire, bodies and rats only adds to the effect. Visually, DEATHWATCH is a treat and a horror film hard to beat for atmosphere.In regards to the characters, it's a familiar story: first they're isolated, then they start arguing and gradually they end up killing each other. The expletive-laden script is hardly anything new, instead harking back to '80s slasher lines like ("What the hell is going on here?"). But the film assembles a great cast of young British male actors who, incredibly, manage to carry it off. Jamie Bell is probably the most realistic of the soldiers, a 16-year-old conscript consumed by fear for much of the production, but because he's subdued throughout it's left to the older actors like Andy Serkis (a club-swinging Neanderthal) and Hugo Speer (the good-natured sergeant) to give truly solid performances.Director Michael J. Bassett returned to the isolated horror genre with WILDERNESS, an equally good movie. From what I've seen, he knows how to do his job and deliver what the audience wants. This wouldn't be a modern horror film without grue, and of course it's all here, but what really works are the inventive bits, like the sentient barbed wire scenes which are fantastic. There's also an obvious but memorable twist involving rats and a wounded man. The ending reaches metaphysical levels and was a little obvious for me, but it ties things up nicely. DEATHWATCH is a decent little British effort with plenty of chills and spills along the way, and I'd watch it for the excellent set design alone.

Man! I never really thought the old expression "War is hell" would come in handy for a movie review! Totally freaked me out and while not all killing is murder all murder is killing. Shakespeare killed the priest in a twisted kind of self-defense so this killing was not murder. I thought that was good enough for the sake of the kid's eternal soul. It did not occur to me that there was more and that the act that saved him had been done before the priest was bayoneted/shot! Brilliantly done. It would seem the Blue Eyed Pseduo-Frenchman was a metaphor of Judge and Jury! I concur this is a movie for thinkers who don't like to waste their time. This movie buff truly appreciates psychological thrillers way above slash-trash. This is my kind of movie experience. Bravo!

Horror movie? Not really, more of a "suspense drama" with a little horror thrown in for good measure. Deathwatch is worth watching (if you can pardon the pun), I grabbed it based on the cover and at such a low price it was easily disposable if it turned out to be rotten. But quite the contrary, what we have is an excellently filmed suspenseful drama that captures the horror of the First World War.Having trekked numerous WWI battlefields in Belgium and northern France, it captures what I could only imagine were the horrors (yes, I will overuse that word in this review) of that conflict. "Eerie" is an excellent description, not so much scary but definitely suspenseful. A superbly done film and one that is worth chasing down a copy. I am glad I grabbed it, as this is a movie worth owning (an accolade that isn't apply too often these days!)