Review of The Watcher in the Woods (1980) by Stephen M — 12 Apr 2008

It's hard to fathom what Disney were trying to do with this messy horror picture; "The Watcher in the Woods" is more likely to upset rather than enchant young children, and older, more discerning viewers will probably find it as toothless as it is incoherent.

It was infamously chopped about and re-shot by the studio and, consequently, makes very little sense. Although there's a good deal of subjective, "Watcher's-eye-view" camerawork, disappointingly we don't ever get to see the creature itself.

However, the atmosphere is reasonably potent and there are a couple of spookily effective moments. Bette Davis makes a late-career appearance, but she's only on hand to look vaguely sinister and contributes little more than a cameo.

Interestingly, the film cribs a couple of elements from "The Shining", namely ESP and backwards writing. Undoubtedly, the worst thing about the movie is the awful lead performance of Lynn-Holly Johnson, who some people may remember being equally bad as the figure-skater in "For Your Eyes Only".