The Watcher in the Woods (1980)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

John Hough

Writers:

Brian Clemens (screenplay)
Florence Engel Randall (novel)

Release Date:

7 April 1982 (France)

Genre:

Family | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Scared of going into the woods? You should be ...

Plot:

When a family moves to a country home, the young girls experience strange happenings that have a link to an occult event years past.

Plot Keywords:

Eclipse | Haunted House | Country Home | Occult | Past

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Mrs. Aylwood
Lynn-Holly Johnson	...	Jan Curtis
Kyle Richards	...	Ellie Curtis
Carroll Baker	...	Helen Curtis
David McCallum	...	Paul Curtis
Benedict Taylor	...	Mike Fleming
Frances Cuka	...	Mary Fleming
Richard Pasco	...	Tom Colley
Ian Bannen	...	John Keller
Katharine Levy	...	Karen Aylwood (uncredited in the shortened 1981 release)
Eleanor Summerfield	...	Mrs. Thayer
Georgina Hale	...	Young Mrs. Aylwood

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | Australia:G | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Also in the DVD commentary, John Hough states that Brian Clemens wrote the version of the screenplay he was most interested in directing, but Disney decided that this version was much too dark, and hired Rosemary Anne Sisson to lighten it up.

Goofs:

Continuity: When seen in the mirror maze Karen is wearing white tights. When she returns to the chapel they are gone.

Quotes:

Jan Curtis: Mom said she'd only be a minute.
Paul Curtis: Yeah, well that means "ten"!

Movie Connections:

References The Legend of Hell House (1973)

Disney, really?

The Curtis family move into a splendid looking old English house on the edge of the woods. Shortly after their arrival, the two daughters, Jan & Ellie start to see and hear unworldly things, could it have something to do with the disappearance of a young girl many years ago?.

Forget that this is a Disney production from the very off. That the film fails to capitalise on some effective moments, and an intriguing story, has nothing to do with any sort of Disney soft soap wedging. The Watcher In The Woods, beset by re-shoots and a director change post production, works very well as a mystery chiller until its ending baffles and infuriates in equal measure. The set up is your usual standard fare, spooky house, batty old lady {Bette Davis in one of her last mainstream roles}, homely sisters ripe for some eerie pestering and of course some dirty mackintosh wearing simpleton out in the woods, and by Jove it really works well as a by the numbers what's in the dark closet thriller. Whilst credit has to be given to the writers for managing to hold the viewers for 75 minutes of mysterious intrigue, but then there is the flipping ending. Lurching from horror to cheap sci-fi pretentiousness could have been forgiven if it wasn't covered in a shambled glue, with the whole thing smacking of someone clearly out of horror ideas, it's such a shame that the build up is let down so badly by this tragically misguided misstep.

My advice is to watch it and switch off at the 75 minute mark, trust me on this, you wont die wondering what happens, you honestly will be better off using your own imagination. 5/10