The Watcher in the Woods

I watched this film when I was about 7 I think and I am not joking when I say it had a profound effect upon me and many of my friends. I was terrified of the dark for years and even scared to look in the mirror in case there was someone else staring back. Quite how this film was shown at 6pm on a Tuesday has always baffled me. It was a shocking decision by the BBC and they would never get away with it now. I met a guy at university who had also been traumatised by this film and I think we bonded over it because we are still very good friends! My memories of it are quite hazy but I'm sure I started crying half way through and didn't stop until the end; would have turned it off but my 10 year old sister wanted to watch it or rather wanted to watch me cry and I was too scared to leave the room. I'm giving it a 9 for fright value. It was a good film and a good idea.

This movie terrified me as a child. So I ran across it and had to buy it. I was expecting it to be horrible and cheesy as an adult, but I was wrong.

This movie has some scary parts, even to adults, and I've watched hundreds of horror movies. This one still creates a few chills.

The basic plot is that a family moves to a new house next to some spooky old lady. One of the daughters starts seeing weird things, like a blind-folded girl in the mirror. She also learns the spooky old-lady neighbor had a daughter that disappeared about 20 or 30 years ago. She investigates this mystery despite the scary things that happen.

I promise this movie will at least give you a few chills. The creepy girl in the mirror still freaks me out. It's hard to believe this was a Disney film.

This typical teen gothic plot about a family who moves into an old house and then biizarre things start to happen . It deals with Mrs. Aylwood (Bette Davis) , a distraught mother since her daughter, Karen , vanished in the Welsh countryside 30 years ago. When the Curtin family (David McCallum, Carroll Baker , Lynn Holly Johnson , Kyle Richards) move into the Aylwood manor for the summer, strange occurrences begin to unnerve the family and Jan (Lynn-Holly Johnson) begins to suspect that they are linked to Karen's disappearance . As Jan needs to find out what is going on in the woods before it has a permanent effect on her sister Ellie (Kyle Richards) . As Jan unravels the dark past hidden by the townspeople , she delves further into the mystery and deeper into danger, but now it might be too late to escape the Watcher in the Woods. Scared of going into the woods? You should be ...What can't be explained, must be explored. A Masterpiece Of Suspense! Something Is Watching. Something Unknown. The Most Legendary Monster Of All Can Now Be Seen For The First Time .As You've Never Seen It Before . It was just an innocent game... until a young girl vanished for thirty years.

This is a mysterious and creepy film about the classic plot regarding ghostly appearances , as once a family moves into the Aylwood house amazing things begin to happen and along the way , Jan hears whispers in the woods , Ellie is sleep talking/screaming , and mirrors are breaking. This is a chilling adaptation based on an assortment of ghouls , ghosts and weird apparitions . It is an interesting and completely obscure film and ends by defiantly refusing to explain itself . Middling budget makes for big scary scream-feast and frights . Based on The Watcher in the Woods by Florence Engel Randall, this movie will have you on the edge of your seat ; however, being rated ¨Parents Guide¨ because of minor violence and some very terrifying scenes . This film is better than its new remake (2017) and strikes a cord of fear and kindness effortlessly. It's fun to watch and it dissects a dark past and its connect connection to Karen's disappearance. This movie leaves no question unanswered and uses the landscape masterfully . Stars the beautiful teen Lynn Holly Johnson and the attractive little girl Kyle Richards along with a good support cast as Carroll Baker , David McCallum , Benedict Taylor , Richard Pasco , Georgina Hale, Ian Bannen and special mention for the great Bette Davis .

The picture was very well directed by John Hough . He often uses visual and sound recourses , echos , zooms and imaginative camera movements . He's a craftsman with eclectic and long directing career . Beginning in television series (Avengers, Protectors) , making Hammer films (Twins of Evil) , Adventures (Island treasure, Black arrow) , wholesome Disney fare (Return and escape to witch mountain) , regency romantic drama (Duel of hearts , Ghost in Montecarlo , Hazard of hearts , The lady and the highwayman) and Horror movies (Howling , American Gothic , Bad karma) and his best film , Legend of Hell House .

It had an inferior remake also titled The Watcher in the Woods (2017) by Melissa Joan Hart with Anjelica Huston , Tallulah Evans , Nicholas Galitzine , Rufus Wright and Benedict Taylor.

"The Watcher In The Woods" is a well crafted thriller from Walt Disney Productions. Originally released in 1980, the film had a rather abrupt ending after which extensive credits for an "Other World" sequence followed. The only problem was that there wasn't any "Other World" sequence in the film and Disney finally admitted that the sequence wasn't finished when the film was released and hoped that no one would notice the credits! When the film was reissued several months with the sequence (really a special effects nightmare) it only made matters worse. Almost a year later the film was re-issued yet again with the ending that is now seen. Through all these problems the film is still one of those rare Disney gems that, to this day, remains overlooked. Bette Davis is well cast as Mrs. Alywood, whose daughter disappeared under mysterious circumstances 30 years earlier. She owns a stately English manor which is rented by an American family over the summer. The eldest daughter Jan (Lynn Holly Johnson) begins to notice strange things happening in the home and in the woods surrounding the manor. She also has an uncanny resembelence to Mrs. Alywood's daughter Karen. Slowly the pieces of Karen's disappearance fall into place and Jan along with the three townspeople that were present when Karen disappeared, try a desparate attempt to bring her back from beyond. The film is not well suited for young children (hence its PG rating) but older kids as well as adults should enjoy it. It's a good horror/mystery film without blood and gore.

It's an interesting contrast to experience Bette Davis in a Disney family suspense thriller--maybe the scariest Disney flick ever made. If anyone could have been more mysterious & bewitchingly secretive, I can't imagine who. I have the 1998 VHS that has a cover with a marvelous photograph of Davis on the back.

Florence Engel Randall's plot in her novel, "A Watcher in the Woods," goes like this: The Curtis family, Helen (Carroll Baker), her husband Paul (David McCullum), & their 2 daughters, Jan (Lynn-Holly Johnson) & Ellie (Kyle Richards), rent an old English manor from it's owner, Mrs. Aylwood (Bette Davis), who lives in the guest cottage. The lady of the manor seems to be haunting, mean & eerily eccentric.

Jan experiences some paranormal events immediately after moving into the manor. For one thing, she can't see her own reflection in a bedroom mirror. Then, Jan begins to strongly sense that someone is watching her in the woods. Neither Helen nor Paul are keen about the girls spending time with Mrs. Aylwood. But, as Jan becomes more scared & curious about who or what is in the woods, the pre-teen begins investigating, starting with Mrs. Aylwood.

After Jan goes into Mrs. Aylwood's cottage to talk with her about the mysterious phenomena that she's noticed, the secret of the woods starts to be revealed by Mrs. Aylwood. Although she's very reluctant to talk about it, Mrs. Aylwood tells Jan the story about her pre-teen daughter's disappearance in the same woods 30 years ago.

The supernatural cinematic effects are well done. Bette Davis' subdued performance as a mysterious older woman makes the show a spine-tingling thriller. The suspense builds to a climax that is not predictable. The settings are spot-on & befitting for a haunted mood.

Keeping in mind that the genre of this movie is a family suspense suitable for children, I found it to be excellent.