The Watcher in the Woods
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Movie Reviews of The Watcher in the Woods
Movie Review: A timeless classic!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have loved this movie since I was probably 12 years old, and it still gives me the willies every time I watch it! It's good clean scary fun.Movie Review: Something Is Watching. Something Unknown.
Summary: 4 Stars
Perhaps the watcher in the woods is a female? If so, am I'm not saying it is, I wonder if she's got Bette Davis eyes? Get it? Watcher? Eyes? The Kim Carnes song? A bad joke? Yes it was, but I was stumped for a way to start my review, and inspiration seems to have failed me yet again...The Watcher in the Woods (1981), released by Disney, directed by Englishman John Hough, who also did Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) Return from Witch Mountain (1978), and a couple of episodes for television program Hammer House of Mystery, stars Bette Davis, Lynn-Holly Johnson, who also appeared in films like Ice Castles (1978) and the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only (1981) (the early 80's were pretty good for Johnson, but her career has since taken a detour in the land of the B movies), and Kyle Richards, who started out on the television show Little House on the Prairie, but then moved to major horror features appearing in The Car aka Deathmobile, John Carpenter's Halloween, and its' sequel Halloween II. Also appearing are Carroll Baker (Baba Yaga) and David McCallum, probably most known as secret agent Illya Kuryakin from the popular 60's television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The film begins with an American family, recently re-located to England, looking for a home. McCallum plays the father, Baker the mother, and Johnson and Richards as the two daughters. They find a real deal in an old English manor, owned by a peculiar old woman named Mrs. Alywood (Davis), who happens to live in a smaller house on the property, and is very particular about who rents the larger house, but, on meeting Jan (Johnson), and her younger sister Ellie (Richards), she agrees to allow the family to rent the place. Even before the family moves in, Jan has uneasy feelings about the place, almost like she's being watched (hence the title), and soon afterwards, begins experiencing strange and odd visions, visions regarding Mrs. Alywood's long, lost daughter, missing now for some 30 years. As the visions progress to other, more intense supernatural phenomena, Jan feels compelled to learn the true nature of what's happening to her and her sister, and also to learn the truth about Mrs. Alywood's missing daughter. What terrible secrets does she uncover? Who is the watcher in the woods? Why's that Mrs. Alywood so very creepy? Answers to these questions and more are forthcoming, if you care to watch...(who watches the watcher? I did, and it was pretty good...)
When I purchased this film, I didn't know it was a Disney release. As another reviewer already stated, Disney had an odd period there for awhile, releasing films that didn't necessarily seem very Disney-like, like this film. I actually liked the movie a lot, as it was very suspenseful and I honestly could not figure out the ending until it was revealed. I will admit I found myself somewhat attracted to Johnson, and it felt odd as she seemed to be presented as someone in her teens, but in reality, she was in her early 20's at the time this was filmed, so I felt a lot less creepy. I did think she seemed a bit too old for her part, and after checking on her age, my feelings were confirmed. All the actors did very well, and given their collected past acting experiences, I wasn't surprised. Whoever casted this film did very well, choosing highly capable and experienced actors. Johnson's character did become a bit of a pest as the film worn on, especially as she tries to uncover the dark secrets that now seem to plague her and her sister in visions and the odd possession or two. Davis' character seemed a bit weak and two dimensional, but one is willing to cut the woman some slack, given her body of work, and those very creepy eyes. The sets and location shots all added a great deal to the story, providing a wonderful backdrop to the story. I did find it kind of annoying when Johnson's character kept looking out various windows, as if she could see whatever strange force keeps causing the wee hairs on the back of her neck to stand up...The script was very well done, and tended to focus on the important elements, keeping the viewer in the thick of things. The plot moved along very slowly, almost excruciatingly so, but it did allow for the viewer to ponder and develop their own theories, which will most likely be wrong, as I was...the ending in this film was so very oddly fantastic I doubt I would have ever figured it out on my own. Some may have already given it away in reviews here, which is too bad, as it's pretty mind-boggling. It really seemed to come from nowhere, but did provide a satisfactory, if highly unusual conclusion.
The wide screen print here is very clear and sharp, along with the audio, although the DTS track on the earlier Anchor Bay release (now out of print) is missing here. There are a few extras on this official Walt Disney Home Video release (although less than there were on the pervious Anchor Bay release), including two alternate endings well worth checking out, and two trailers. After watching the alternate endings, I would think they weren't used maybe because they would have been too frightening to younger viewers, or too goofy for older viewers. The ending used in the final product, compared to the alternates, seems the best route to have been taken. Overall, this is a very good thriller, one that forsakes visceral elements for story and genuine suspense. It moves a bit slow, but does reward at the end. It is a Disney film, but probably not one for very young viewers, as it could cause nightmares and the subsequent staining of the sheets.
Cookieman108
Movie Review: Spooky but only a little scary
Summary: 4 Stars
It seems unlikely that "Watcher in the Woods" would be made for theatrical release today. While the movie may be frightening for younger audiences, it is but spooky for older audiences and the ending has a little bit of weakness, even with the re-vamping indicated by the alternative endings provided on the DVD.
Lynn-Holly Johnson, whose most notable roles were in "Ice Castles" with Robbie Benson and the Bond film "For Your Eyes Only," little sister Kyle Richards and their family move to a beautiful English country home when their father, played by David McCallum of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "The Invisible Man" television series fame, is transferred to England. The family soon encounters ever-eerie Bette Davis as an appropriately scary old lady who does little speaking but looks at the new family intently (and an intent look from Bette Davis in her latter years was always scary). It takes a while for Lynn-Holly Johnson to learn why Davis, playing Mrs. Aylwood, looks at her so intently.
It takes very little time for strange things to start happening to little sister Kyle Richards, who was also on the television series "Little House on the Prairie." Kyle writes "Nerak" on a window and names her dog the same, not realizing that Nerak has a very special meaning to Mrs. Aylwood. Kyle writes on mirrors and says strange things. Lynn-Holly Johnson hears strange voices and has visual hallucinations, which are also eerie and just shy of being scary.
The suspense in this movie is increased slowly but steadily to the climax, when we learn the secret of three people who met in an abandoned church many years earlier, and even then we wonder at the plot twist Disney put into the end of the picture.
The pre-digital age special effects are seamless and effective. This movie maximized the use of minimal special effects to create a movie that is just shy of being scary for adult audiences, but is eerie and spooky to the end. There are a couple of moments when I was concerned that Lynn-Holly Johnson might be harmed when I was still unsure of whether the ghost or whatever it was evil. The "possessions" of younger sister Kyle Richards were even spookier, especially because she seemed to be unaware of each time she did something under the control of the other being. The most effective and perhaps one of the weirdest moments in the movie is when Kyle is speaking under the control of something when she enters the church near the end of the movie. The style of her speaking is effective and is probably one of the high points of the movie.
Included on this DVD are two alternate endings. One is a bit more than 13 minutes long and the other is just over 6 minutes long. Watch the long alternate ending, then the shorter one, and then that used in the movie, and you can see the logic the producer used in modifying the ending.
In the original ending the plot has an interesting creature that distracts rather than enhances the plot. There are more details added in regarding this being that change the tenor of the movie in a much less effective manner than the final version. The shorter version retained a portion of the much longer version, but again the ending distracts rather than enhances the movie. The final version where the unknown is used to the point where the nature of Kyle's possession is revealed is the most effective version. One other problem with both the alternate endings is Bette Davis's over-the-top acting, which caused a lot of laughs. The final version was more effective.
This movie pushes the envelope of what it means to be a Disney made movie, which are stereotypically family oriented. Later Disney created other studios to produce films that were unsuitable for all or most family members and resolved the problem of how to make more intense movies. However, this movie is suitable for most children above the age of 8 or 9 and for some more mature younger children. There are few moments of any real danger, but those few moments and the overall eerie feeling of the movie can cause nightmares for some children.
The DVD also includes trailers, and there appeared to me to be at least a portion of the movie that did not make the final version in at least one of the trailers.
While this movie has some weak points, the overall style is like that of the short-live television series "American Gothic," though much less violent and bloody, and fans of that style or those looking for a relatively family friendly ghost story will find this movie to be worth watching and owning.
Movie Review: Disney Tries to Go Edgy
Summary: 4 Stars
The Curtis family moves into a secluded English country house. Strange things happen right away. Daughter Jan (Lynn-Holly Johnson) sees things. When she touches glass it breaks into a triangle. When she looks into an old dresser mirror, she cannot see her reflection. When she touches it it cracks into a triangle. And in the triangle she can see the reflection of a blindfolded girl.
That night she is awoken by her sister Ellie's sleeptalking. But Ellie (Kyle Richards) tells Jan it was her that was talking.
The next day the girls are visiting a farm and Ellen in a trance writes NERAK on the barn window. From the other side it reads Karen and Mrs. Fleming becomes disturbed by this. Back at home, Ellie is drawn into the woods and Jan goes looking for her. She finds Ellie by the pond. The girls hear disembodied singing followed by a light flash and then a circle in the water.
Jan falls into the pond and gets trapped by a branch underwater. Mrs. Aylwood (Bette Davis) rescues her. Jan tells her of what is happening. Mrs. Aylwood tells Jan about her daughter that disappeared 30 years ago.
The following day, the family goes to a motorcross race. Ellie starts to scream for Jan to come to her. Moments later a motorycle goes off track and lands on the rock that Jan was standing on.
The girls go horseback riding neighbor Mike (his mother was present whan Karen disappeared.) Ellie's horse bolts and Mike goes after her. Jan's horse gets spooked takes her to the chapel where Karen disappeared. She sees a trianglular light on a coffin and then Karen's image in the coffin. While there a sudden gust blows out a window and two circular panes of glass fall at her feet, one with a sunburst being covered by a dark piece of glass.
Next Jan is in a house of mirrors and suddenly every reflection is of the blindfolded Karen. Jan decides to find out what happened the night that Karen Aylwood disappeared. John Keller tells her to leave it alone. But Tom Colley tells her want happened. That Karen during an initation the chapel was struck by lightning and caught on fire. The three ran leaving the blindfolded Karen alone. Tom turned around and saw the tower bell fall but Karen had already gone.
Mrs. Curtis (Carroll Baker) tries to take the girls away from the house but the woods stop them, setting up the rescue of Karen.
This was part of Disney studio trying to change its image from low budget family orient films to a more main stream films. This film was left on the shelf for over a year before they reshot the end and released it.
This film is very interesting and despite some minor story flaws and rather rudimentary special effects (even for those days), this film is enjoyable for the entire family.
By the way Kyle Richards looks incredibly like her more famous sister Kim Richards. And it is great seeing Carroll Baker working again.
DVD EXTRAS
Alternate Ending #1 (6:32) - this gives a form to the watcher - which looks like something from Alien. In this one the special effects are more elaborate but there is something missing.
Aleternate Ending #2 (13:38) - this is an extended version of alternate ending #1. The beginning is like the current ending but the last half is like ending two. But in each case extended. This takes Jan to the alternate universe to save Karen.
I think that these two ending were too overly sci-fi and the current ending is simpler yet edgier.
Movie Review: Beautiful & Spiritual 80s Dark Fantasy!
Summary: 4 Stars
As a major lover of all things eighties, I was shocked when I recently heard of this movie in comparison with "Escape To Witch Mountain," one movie which I'd seen as a child and was wanting to see again now, as an adult. But I'd never even HEARD of "The Watcher In The Woods," so after seeing the many glowing reviews, I was determined to download it and see it as soon as humanly possible.
I just finished watching this excellently crafted movie from 1980 and must say, it REALLY stands the test of time. Though it actually feels set in the mid-Seventies (probably was filmed around 1978, which fits), it really holds up incredibly well close to thirty years later. It started off feeling quite a bit like a horror film, then started moving into territory closer to that of the recent gem "Pan's Labyrinth," introducing a decidedly magical element that really got under my skin, and stayed there for the remainder of the movie.
I totally agree with another person's review stating that Disney really doesn't make films like this anymore. It's a shame, too, because they SHOULD. The way the world is these days, a little magic and spiritual feel injected into their movies could really help things and bring back some of the long-lost feeling of beauty and wonder in our lives. Though I never managed to see this film as a child, I can't help but imagine what a major influence this would've been on me if I HAD seen it back then. It's really a great movie, and it's only a shame that Disney has wandered so far away from their original path of actively and passionately exploring our imaginations.
Fortunately we still have plenty of creative geniuses out there like Guillermo del Toro, Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky and others who determinedly follow their hearts and continue to create stunningly passionate visions that simply and powerfully resonate within our souls. "The Watcher In The Woods" is one such vision, and although I wouldn't go so far as to call it a MASTERPIECE, it's definitely a great piece of movie-making history, and one which I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to any fans of dark fantasy or magical fiction. [ Peace - Love - Unity - Respect ]