Nochnye Strazhi delves into mainstream Russian vampirism
I saw this in Russian. Something may have been lost in translation.
Nochnye Strazhi (Night Guards) is a Russian film about vampire hunters. It starts off as a comedy with Ivan Yankovskiy playing Pasha, a courier who lives at home with his mom, involved in a couple of pratfalls. He is obsessed with a woman he has seen in his dreams. Dana is a popular singer whose popular video shows her only from the back, and this happens to be the woman he has dreamt about. He bribes a hotel lobby man and takes his shot.
They meet. Clearly she is way out of his league, but that happens in Russia. She brushes him off, but as he is leaving, the vampires hunting her show up and the destruction starts. He does his best to protect her, and then the real vampire hunters show up. Pasha and Dana head up to the roof and Pasha accidentally kills a huge vampire. Dana recognizes Pasha as her warrior. Pasha objects, the movie continues from there as Pasha joins the vampire hunters.
The story builds an interesting world of giant boars, vampires and magical snake women. Pasha grows as a warrior, seemingly through magical means, and there are lots of good special effects and nice fight scenes with gadgets. There are some interesting plot holes, and for those familiar with vampire movies, there are very few surprises. However, it is a pleasant way to spend a movie that keeps its first act in comedy and the next 2 acts in action.
Nochnye Strazhi (Night Guards) is a Russian film about vampire hunters. It starts off as a comedy with Ivan Yankovskiy playing Pasha, a courier who lives at home with his mom, involved in a couple of pratfalls. He is obsessed with a woman he has seen in his dreams. Dana is a popular singer whose popular video shows her only from the back, and this happens to be the woman he has dreamt about. He bribes a hotel lobby man and takes his shot.
They meet. Clearly she is way out of his league, but that happens in Russia. She brushes him off, but as he is leaving, the vampires hunting her show up and the destruction starts. He does his best to protect her, and then the real vampire hunters show up. Pasha and Dana head up to the roof and Pasha accidentally kills a huge vampire. Dana recognizes Pasha as her warrior. Pasha objects, the movie continues from there as Pasha joins the vampire hunters.
The story builds an interesting world of giant boars, vampires and magical snake women. Pasha grows as a warrior, seemingly through magical means, and there are lots of good special effects and nice fight scenes with gadgets. There are some interesting plot holes, and for those familiar with vampire movies, there are very few surprises. However, it is a pleasant way to spend a movie that keeps its first act in comedy and the next 2 acts in action.