Horrorfest 2022 Presents: Watcher (2022, Chloe Okuno)

Although Watcher is a slow burn, the movie pays off pretty well in the last half and it is a very claustrophobic and intense horror thriller that lets the viewer into the mindset of a woman in a foreign city. Lucky for her she is with her boyfriend, however she is left alone to her own devices while he is working and she wanders Bucharest, all while a serial killer runs amok. Maika Monroe is excellent in role of Julia, who attracts unwanted attention when she looks across at another building’s window from hers. Sure this is very Rear Window to a degree, yet Watcher operates differently from that one. Chloe Okuno does a fine job of showing the viewer what possibly justifiable paranoia feels like, and how women often experience this whenever they go. It’s quite different for a man, and I often think about how I’m fine walking alone in many places, where as women wouldn’t feel this way. That’s too bad, yet that’s often the case.

I’m a little mixed about the finale, and I kind of wondered if maybe things could have played out a bit differently. Maybe the movie couldn’t have had it’s cake and eaten it too, yet that final shot is rather haunting and very effective. I probably should have tried to see this movie in theaters, and I loved those late night scenes that linger in my mind a little. Cities look so beautiful and peaceful at night, yet behind closed doors may lurk unknown horrors or evil that we don’t know about. Horror movies do a great job of bringing that to the forefront, although some times it can make one very fearful and well, paranoid. Shudder has this one, check it out.

Be Careful of Who You Invite Into Your Home

That single opening shot before the film’s title card is mysterious: a man runs along a dusty road. There are no clues about where the man is running to or what he is running from. The viewer is left wondering what is going on, and the mystery of the person who says he is named David lies at the heart of Adam Wingard’s cult film masterwork The Guest. I loved that establishing shot of the Peterson family residence because the pumpkin headed scarecrow echoes the freaky opening credits for Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and thus hints at what occurs later on in the film.

Throughout most of this movie is a harrowing intense feeling of doom. David gives off a charming likeable feel and yet he clearly masks something nasty beneath his icy smile and the forced chuckles. It’s creepy how a stranger like David can insert himself into a normal family and yet by acting as a demonic guardian he earns their trust. It’s fitting that Anna, the daughter, sees though David’s projection of himself as this nice guy willing to help out the family of his dead comrade in arms. Unfortunately for her this urge to ask questions results in a literally explosive final act that is equal parts thrilling and creepy.

This film has shades of classics such as Halloween and The Terminator, existing as a horror action thriller hybrid. It’s soundtrack is also 80s heavy and very cool, underlying the proceedings in full synthesizer glory. Dan Stevens is impressive as David, and I love how the film is kind of “Unstoppable Badass Sits Down to Dinner.” Also I figured out that Wingard offers even more of a twist on the slasher film genre here than he even did with You’re Next, another great film he’s made. Particularly with the eerie and tension filled high school sequence, a classic staple of slasher films.

Oh and the ending made me smile. A lot. Yes The Guest is rather simplistic pilot wise however I don’t care. Maika Monroe had a strong presence as Anna and at times was channeling Amber Heard, which is a good thing. The action sequences are all crisp and badass, and David always feels intense and relentless. When he finally drops his mask its a great shock and a reminder that in this world maybe its smarter to distrust people you don’t know.