*** (out of ****)
Starring Bette Davis, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Carroll Baker, David McCallum, Kyle Richards, Benedict Taylor, Richard Pasco, and Ian Bannen
Directed by John Hough & written by Brian Clemens, Rosemary Anne Sisson, and Harry Spalding, from the novel by Florence Engel Randall
1980 PG
We all have movies that we loved when we were little kids…and then we watch them when we’re older and wiser, and we turn a little red. I’d never seen Disney’s “The Watcher in the Woods” before this Sunday. Before watching “The Watcher” I wouldn’t describe myself as wary, but Disney hasn’t exactly won a lot of territory on the live-action front. The numerous protestations from my wife and friends about how much the movie freaked them out when they were six didn’t help either. Lucky for me, “The Watcher in the Woods” turned out to be the kind of scary kids’ movie that I’m sure the Brothers Grimm would have happily given their stamp of approval. Children at the age to read Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time” should get a kick out of it, assuming they haven’t been desensitized by Playstation, “Pokemon,” and sugar, and can find ninety minutes to spare between soccer practice and hockey practice.
Located somewhere on the same spectrum as “The Turn of the Screw,” “Rebecca,” and “The Shining,” “The Watcher and the Woods” has everything this kind of a movie needs: a humongous spooky mansion whose rent is suspiciously low, dark unspeakable things from the past, an evil presence in the woods, backwards writing on mirrors, a bitter old man staring into his fireplace, a secret society, demonic possessions, a run through a graveyard, a hermit in the forest living like St. Francis of Assisi, an abandoned Catholic and/or Anglican church that’s basically still in good working order, and a rickety bridge. The only thing it’s missing is a genuine Indian burial ground.
A picture-perfect American family moves into a giant English mansion owned by a creepy old lady (the great Bette Davis, possibly still in fear that Eve will take away her career). The two daughters (Lynn-Holly Johnson and Kyle Richards), one a teenager and the other about ten, begin to channel a weird spirit from the woods and stumble across secrets from the past, involving a girl who disappeared thirty years ago, strange images in the mirror, and furniture that falls over on its own. Most of the story is written well, involving all the elements of the haunted house story and the strange clues leading to the past. The dialogue is all perfunctory and the acting is, well, a little wooden, but more detracting is “Watcher’s” quickly-established routine of the two sisters wandering off, being scared by something popping out of nowhere, and putting the new fright into the larger puzzle.
But this is a children’s movie, and children will hardly notice the acting or the vaguely repetitive plot motions. “Watcher in the Woods” features some truly spectacular locations and set design, including a massive gothic mansion, a forest that must be composed of the spookiest trees in all of England, and a great old church. Everything is foggy or dusty, especially on the newly restored DVD, with sunlight streaming through windows or between branches, and there’s always an ominous wind ready to blow dead leaves. The combined credits of the cinematographer, art director, and set designer include other good-looking movies, including some of the original “Star Wars’” and “Indiana Jones’” movies, as well as “Labyrinth,” “Alien,” and the recent “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Director John Hough makes great use of the wide-angle lens to suggest spaces where something might be lurking, as well as numerous—perhaps a little too numerous—POV shots of the entity amidst the trees. As a veteran of several Hammer films of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Hough is gleefully willing to shoot from the base of the stairs or looming overhead, and there’s also a pretty exciting motorbike race.
“Watcher” is dated more by its obvious special effects, which are thankfully brief, and involve quick blips of colored light that are clearly animation tacked onto the film. Also clashing with its subtle, suggestive aura of terror is that the car that falls into the ravine and the motorcycle that skids out of control both burst into flames, when I think a bump and a clunk might have been more suitable. The newly-issued DVD contains two alternate endings not seen since the movie’s 1980 premiere, in which the Watcher is revealed to us in its physical form. In the commentary, director Hough claims that the Watcher was laughed off the screen at the premiere. To be perfectly honest, I can neither blame those who mocked it, nor those who decided to re-edit the film to remove it, and make the ending more ambiguous. To be sure, the Watcher of the alternate ending is an interesting piece of work, as is his, um, niche, but they belong in a different movie. These images stick out like sore thumbs amidst so many perfect gothic setpieces, and leaving them in would have been a giant build-up leading to a disappointing pay-off. In his DVD biography, Hough mentions how glad he is that recent horror movies are moving away from gore, and back to psychological, more suggestive terror. Actually seeing the Watcher, or anything that has caused so much anticipation, would certainly clash with Hough’s disdain for the overt.
Still, like “A Wrinkle in Time,” “The Watcher in the Woods” is the kind of puzzle kids can easily get into. The clues aren’t too terribly difficult to detect, and the scares will only unsettle them for a night or two. Adults who like “Rebecca” or “The Other” will appreciate “Watcher’s” giddy, sometimes campy, adherence to the haunted house genre, and maybe some lucky parents will remember how the movie used to shock them when they were little.
Finished February 16, 2003
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