HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The Watcher in the Woods'' is a 1980 American
supernatural horror film Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of horror film and supernatural film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common theme ...
directed by John Hough and
Vincent McEveety Vincent Michael McEveety (August 10, 1929 – May 19, 2018) was an American film and television director and producer. Career Vince McEveety directed numerous Emmy Award-winning television series, including ''The Untouchables'', '' Gunsmoke ...
and starring
Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...
,
Carroll Baker Carroll Baker (born May 28, 1931) is an American former actress. After studying under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Baker began performing on Broadway in 1954. From there, she was recruited by director Elia Kazan to play the lead in t ...
, Lynn-Holly Johnson,
Kyle Richards Kyle Richards Umansky (: born January 11, 1969) is an American actress, socialite, and television personality. Since 2010, she has appeared as a main cast member on ''The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'', and as of 2022, is the last remaining ...
, and
David McCallum David Keith McCallum Jr. (born 19 September 1933) is a Scottish actor and musician. He first gained recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E''. In recent years, McCall ...
. Based on the 1976 novel by Florence Engel Randall, the film tells the story of a teenage girl and her little sister who become encompassed in a supernatural mystery regarding a missing girl in the woods surrounding their new home in the English countryside. Filmed at
Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...
and the surrounding areas in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...
, England, ''The Watcher in the Woods'' was one of several live-action films produced by
Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...
in the 1980s, when the studio was targeting
young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...
audiences. The film had its premiere at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on April 17, 1980, but was pulled from release after ten days, and future screenings were canceled by the studio because of an overwhelming negative response from critics and audiences. Several changes were made thereafter, including the excision of a pre-credits sequence, as well the filming of an entirely new ending, which was directed by
Vincent McEveety Vincent Michael McEveety (August 10, 1929 – May 19, 2018) was an American film and television director and producer. Career Vince McEveety directed numerous Emmy Award-winning television series, including ''The Untouchables'', '' Gunsmoke ...
without Hough's involvement. Disney re-released the revised cut of the film on October 9, 1981, and it grossed $5 million. Though critical response to the film was varied and included numerous unfavorable reviews, the film went on to garner a
cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
in the years following its release. Another adaptation of the novel was released for television in 2017 starring
Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress and director. Known for often portraying eccentric and distinctive characters, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nom ...
.


Plot

Americans Helen and Paul Curtis and their daughters, Jan and Ellie, move into a manor in rural
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. Mrs. Aylwood, the owner of the residence who now lives in the guest house next door, notices that Jan bears a striking resemblance to her daughter, Karen, who disappeared inside an abandoned chapel in the woods thirty years earlier. Jan senses something unusual about the property almost immediately, and begins to see strange blue lights in the woods, triangles, and glowing objects. On one occasion, she sees the apparition of a blindfolded girl in a mirror in front of her. Shortly after the family settles in, Ellie goes to buy a puppy she inexplicably names "Nerak". After seeing the reflection of the name "Nerak" (Karen spelled backwards), Jan is told about the mystery of Mrs. Aylwood's missing daughter by Mike Fleming, the teenage son of a local woman, Mary. One afternoon, Nerak runs into woods, and Ellie chases after him. Jan, realizing her sister has disappeared from the yard, goes into the woods to find her, eventually locating her at a pond. In the water, she sees a blue circle of light, and is blinded by a flash, causing her to fall in; she nearly drowns, but Mrs. Aylwood saves her. Mrs. Aylwood brings Jan and Ellie to her home, and recounts the night her daughter disappeared. Later, Mike discovers that his mother, Mary, was with Karen when she disappeared, but she evades his questions. Meanwhile, Jan attempts to get information from John Keller, a reclusive aristocrat who was also there that night, but he refuses to speak to her. On her way home, Jan cuts through the woods, where she encounters a local
hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a C ...
, Tom Colley, who tells Jan he was also present at Karen's disappearance. He claims that during a seance-like initiation ceremony on the night of a
lunar eclipse A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. Such alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of the Ear ...
, Karen vanished when lightning struck the church bell tower. Jan decides to recreate the ceremony during the upcoming
solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six mon ...
, hoping it will bring Karen back. She gathers Mary, Tom, and John at the abandoned chapel, and they attempt to repeat the ceremony. Meanwhile, Ellie, while watching the eclipse from the front yard, suddenly goes into a
trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
-like state, apparently possessed, and enters the woods. At the chapel, the ceremony is interrupted by a powerful wind that shatters the windows, and Ellie appears. In a voice that is not her own, she explains that an accidental switch took place thirty years ago, in which Karen traded places with an alien presence from an alternate dimension; thus, the Watcher has been haunting the woods since, while Karen has remained suspended in time. The Watcher leaves Ellie's body, manifesting as a pillar of light, fueled by the "circle of friendship". It engulfs Jan and lifts her into the air, but Mike intercedes and pulls her away before the Watcher disappears. Simultaneously, the eclipse ends, and Karen, still the same age as when she disappeared, reappears – still blindfolded. She removes the blindfold just as Mrs. Aylwood enters the chapel.


Cast


Production


Development

''The Watcher in the Woods'' is based on Florence Engel Randall's 1976 novel '' A Watcher in the Woods''. Producer Tom Leetch pitched the project to Disney executive Ron Miller, stating that "This could be our ''
Exorcist In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, ...
''." Brian Clemens adapted the novel into a screenplay. However, Disney decided that Clemens' version—which had a different conclusion than that of the novel—was "too dark and threatening and black," and had Rosemary Anne Sisson revise it. This script was later revised again by
Gerry Day Gerry Day (January 27, 1922 – February 13, 2013) was an American screenwriter. She was also a newspaper reporter for the ''Hollywood Citizen News'' in the mid-1940s. Early life Gerald Lallande Day was born in Los Angeles, California, the dau ...
in July 1979. Miller recruited John Hough to direct the film after seeing his previous movie, ''
The Legend of Hell House ''The Legend of Hell House'' is a 1973 supernatural horror film directed by John Hough, and starring Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, Clive Revill, and Gayle Hunnicutt. It follows a group of researchers who spend a week in the former home of a ...
'' with
Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...
. When the film was pulled from theatres, several new endings were penned by various writers at Disney to substitute for the original. In addition to the work of studio writers, a number of science fiction writers, including Robert Silverberg, Joe Haldeman, and the Niven/Pournelle team, all working separately, were brought in and paid for alternate endings, but apparently none of those were used. Harrison Ellenshaw, the visual effects designer, later stated that there were "roughly 152" possible endings. Ellenshaw wrote the version of the ending that eventually accompanied the final 1981 re-released version the film.


Casting

According to director John Hough during his
audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...
on the 2002 Anchor Bay DVD release, casting the role of the young Mrs. Aylwood was complicated, since the character is featured in two separate time periods;
Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her p ...
, who was already cast as Mrs. Aylwood, was considered for playing both the young and old versions of the character. According to Hough, Davis "desperately" wanted to play both parts; so much so, that the production crew had make-up and hair specialists flown in from Los Angeles in order to work on Davis in preparation for
screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a came ...
s; the goal was to reverse her age appearance by thirty years. After the screen tests were completed and viewed by the crew, Hough was concerned about Davis playing the younger character, and felt that the make-up and hair work had "maybe knocked about twenty years off of her age, but not forty"; Davis was 72 years old at the time. Upon viewing the tests, Hough cued for the crew to leave the screening room, and said, "Bette, I don't think you've made it". After taking one long drag from her cigarette, Davis replied: "You're goddamn right". British actress
Georgina Hale Georgina Hale (born 4 August 1943) is an English film, television and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in the films of director Ken Russell, including '' The Devils'' (1971), '' The Boy Friend'' (1971), and '' Mahler'' (1974), for ...
ended up taking the role of the younger Mrs. Aylwood; according to Hough, she took the part largely because of her admiration for Davis. In casting the leading part of Jan,
Diane Lane Diane Colleen Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at age 14 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film '' A Little Romance''. The two films that could have catapulted her to st ...
had been the initial choice, but she declined. The part eventually went to Lynn-Holly Johnson, who had gained attention in the United States as a professional
figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
, as well as for her acting role as a blind ice skater in the 1978 film, '' Ice Castles'', for which she received a
Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...
nomination. Carroll Baker, who was living in London at the time, was asked to play the part for Hough (who had long admired her work). She accepted the role. Eleven-year-old Kyle Richards - who played Ellie, the youngest sister in the film - had previously worked with Hough on '' Escape to Witch Mountain'' in an uncredited role as a younger version of her sister,
Kim Richards Kim Erica Richards (born September 19, 1964) is an American actress, socialite, and television personality. She began her career as a child actress, and rose to prominence from her roles in '' Nanny and the Professor'', '' Escape to Witch Mount ...
.


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...
for ''The Watcher of the Woods'' began in August 1979, on a budget of approximately $7 million. The film was shot primarily at
Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...
in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...
, England, and the surrounding areas. St. Hubert's Manor, the house used in the film was located near
Iver Heath Iver is a large civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park. Geography, transport and economy Part of the 43-square- ...
; it has since been deconstructed and turned into
apartments An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are man ...
. Hough used several locations that are also seen in
Robert Wise Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American film director, producer, and editor. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his musical films ''West Side Story'' (1961) and ''The Sound of ...
's '' The Haunting'', most notably the grand mansion in which John Keller's character lives; this was the same house used for filming ''The Haunting'' ( Ettington Park,
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...
). The shoot lasted a total of twelve weeks. During filming, producer Ron Miller would often intervene to tone down intense scenes, leading to "unhappy compromises" between him and the filmmakers.


Special effects

The special effects sequences (much of which appear in the film's excised alternate endings) were completed at Disney studios in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, who ...
by
Harrison Ellenshaw Harrison Ellenshaw (born Peter Samuel Ellenshaw, July 20, 1945, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) is an American matte painter, following his British father Peter Ellenshaw. He started his career at Walt Disney Studios. He later joined George Lucas' ...
after filming in England was completed. Ellenshaw's previous credits included ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...
'' (1977) and ''
The Black Hole ''The Black Hole'' is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Gary Nelson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The film stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins and Ernest Borgn ...
'' (1979). Art Cruickshank and Bob Broughton oversaw the photographic effects, while Cruickshank completed miniature photography. Hough was disappointed with the way the alien appeared on film, and recalled: "The animation was out of my control. I had no say. The last four minutes undid all the good work of the previous 87 minutes when the monster came out,” he continues. “It moved in a very stiff way, and it really wasn’t up to what we were later going to see in later films."


Post-production


Ending reshoots

The film's original intended ending featured an appearance by the growling Watcher, a skeletal, insectoid
alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
, which picks Jan up in the chapel and disappears. At this point, the two were supposed to fly across an alien landscape to the Watcher's crippled spacecraft. Inside, Karen was trapped in a pyramidal prism. According to Sam Nicholson, the visual effects supervisor, "For some reason, the girl who disappeared imbalanced this alien's craft when she went through this portal. Which in turn caused this alien to crash." Jan reached out to Karen, and when the two embraced they were teleported back to the chapel. The girls then returned to the manor, where Mrs. Aylwood and her daughter were reunited. As they walk arm in arm, Jan explains everything to Ellie: the Watcher – who was switched with Karen by accident during the eclipse – needed Jan to free the girl. The visual effects for the "other world" scenes were not finished in time for the release because the film was rushed out to coincide with Bette Davis's 50th anniversary as a film actor in 1980 (Davis was first hired by
Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
in 1930). Rather than finish the existing effects shots, Disney opted to rewrite and reshoot the ending, toning down the references to the
occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...
. The first official theatrical ending, which was shown in the film's brief 1980 screening in New York City (see
Release history Release may refer to: * Art release, the public distribution of an artistic production, such as a film, album, or song * Legal release, a legal instrument * News release, a communication directed at the news media * Release (ISUP), a code to iden ...
) featured only part of the original ending, eliminating the "other world" sequence and replacing it with Helen's interrogation of Tom, Mary, and John at the chapel, after Jan disappears during their re-enactment of the séance. It did, however, include the appearance of the alien creature as it picks up Jan and disappears into thin air. While Helen is questioning everyone in the chapel, Jan re-appears, and emerges from a beam of light, hand-in-hand with Karen. The girls return to the house, where Mrs. Aylwood and Karen are re-united in the front yard, and Jan discusses the watcher with Ellie. This ending forced the film to rely on Jan's brief, cryptic explanation to provide closure. This conclusion to ''The Watcher in the Woods'' was nearly unintelligible as a result, thus giving the film the reputation of not having an ending. It also omitted Mrs. Aylwood's condemnation of recreating the séance on the basis that it was
witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...
. After critical backlash during the film's limited theatrical run in New York on April 17, 1980, the film was pulled from theaters and reshoots of its ending began without director Hough in the late spring of 1980. Due to the
1980 actors strike The 1980 actors strike was a labor strike held in 1980 by the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, two labor unions representing actors in the American film industry. The strike was caused by a break ...
, Davis was unable to return to England to film reshoots, so her additional footage was shot in California. The 1981 theatrical release is the "official" version of the film and can be found on any VHS,
laserdisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diameter typical ...
, or DVD release of ''The Watcher in the Woods'' (except for Blu-ray). It is summarized above in the film's synopsis. In this third, official ending, the re-imagined Watcher (an
ectoplasmic Ectoplasm may refer to: Biology * Ectoplasm (cell biology), the outer part of the cytoplasm * Ectoplasm, outer layer of soft tissue in foraminiferans Art and entertainment * ''Ectoplasm'' (radio show), BBC Radio 4 comedy series * Ectoplasm ('' ...
pillar of light) was less threatening and more supernatural. The nature of Karen and the Watcher's switch was clearly explained by Ellie in the chapel (whilst possessed by the Watcher). The new footage (including the forest scenes that replaced the original opening credits) was directed by
Vincent McEveety Vincent Michael McEveety (August 10, 1929 – May 19, 2018) was an American film and television director and producer. Career Vince McEveety directed numerous Emmy Award-winning television series, including ''The Untouchables'', '' Gunsmoke ...
, although he was not credited due to union rules which forbade a screen credit unless the director worked on the film for a certain number of hours.


Excised opening scene

In addition to the replaced ending, the film's opening sequence was also changed: In Hough's original cut, the opening credits sequence was played after a sequence in which a young girl playing in the woods encounters the Watcher, who strikes her doll with a blue beam of light, incinerating it.


Release

''The Watcher in the Woods'' had a limited release showing at
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
's Ziegfeld Theatre beginning April 17, 1980. Initially, the studio had planned to expand the film's release to between 600 and 700 theaters by June 1980. However, following an overwhelmingly negative reaction from audiences and critics, the film was pulled from the Ziegfeld Theater after only 10 days, and other scheduled screenings were canceled. The negative response prompted Disney to undertake reshoots of the film's ending, which cost the production an additional $1 million. In its place, Disney re-released ''
Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film star ...
'' (1964). The film was re-released eighteen months later on October 9, 1981, after extensive reshoots and the addition of an entirely new ending. Promotional material for the film presented it as a straightforward suspense film aimed for more mature audiences, a new endeavor for Disney; the film's theatrical trailer began with a title card reading: The re-release was regionally staggered, with the film opening on the East Coast first, and expanding to the West Coast in late November 1981.


Box office

During its original April 17, 1980 run in New York City, the film grossed only $40,000 before being pulled from theaters due to poor audience response. It was re-released on October 9, 1981 on 240 screens, and grossed $1.2 million during its opening week. It went on to gross a total of $5 million domestically,


Home media

The film was released on VHS in the 1980s. In 1999,
Anchor Bay Entertainment Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television se ...
announced a special edition DVD release of the film, but it was removed from their schedule shortly after and delayed indefinitely. Anchor Bay released the film three years after their initial announcement, on April 2, 2002. Their edition of the film features an audio commentary with director Hough, three theatrical trailers, a television spot, as well as two alternate endings viewable separate from the film: the "other world" footage as an abbreviated (14 minute long) and unfinished alternate ending. The second alternate ending (6 minutes long) is an approximation of the first theatrical ending.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, a ...
re-released a Region 2 DVD of the film in early 2004, and in the United States on August 3, 2004. Hough's audio commentary commissioned for the Anchor Bay release is not present on this disc. On September 7, 2021, the film was released on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
exclusively through Disney Movie Club (which was presented in the original 1980 theatrical version instead of the 1981 theatrical re-release version). The film is not available on
Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...
at this time. However, it is available to watch for free on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
.


Reception


Critical response


Initial run

Vincent Canby of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' panned the film during its original 1980 theatrical run, writing: "I challenge even the most indulgent fan to give a coherent translation of what passes for an explanation at the end." He also criticized the special effects, noting that the creature in the film's finale "looks as if it had been stolen from a Chinese New Year's parade." Kathleen Carroll of the ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...
'' similarly deemed it a "somewhat tantalizing but ultimately ridiculous suspense movie." Gene Shalit of ''
Ladies Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In ...
'' also criticized the film, writing: "''The Watcher in the Woods'' wastes the talents of Bette Davis and wastes our time with the non-talents of two children who speak in monotones... This dreary Disney movie may scare some ten-year-old girls who enjoy teenage mysteries, but parents and other adults will be exasperated. In a review published in ''
Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...
'', Bonnie Allen noted: "I could not figure out what audience the film was made for. The plot has no new twist on the haunted English mansion scenario. Bette Davis, as the mother of the hauntee, is not enough to legitimize this horrid horror. As a matter of fact, ''The Watcher in the Woods'' is best left unwatched." Jim Wright of the ''Hackensack Record'' similarly felt the film was unoriginal, and that "when the payoff arrives...  it is filled with absurdities rather than answers." A review published in ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' gave the film a middling review, noting: "The acting and writing are barely professional but the art direction, especially Alan Hume’s stunning camerawork, gives the pic a gloss." At the time, producer Miller stated he felt the film had fared poorly with critics and audiences because "most of the film is a mysterious suspenseful movie but ends with a sci-fi twist. We're now looking for a more clever ending." Al Frank of the ''
Morristown Daily Record Morristown may refer to: Places Canada *Morristown, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Morristown, Arizona *Morristown, Indiana ** Morristown station (Indiana) *Morristown, Minnesota ** Morristown Township, Rice County, Minnesota *Morrist ...
'' felt that, though the film had a flawed conclusion, "John Hough's direction mixes the light with the spooky so well you're always surprised at what comes next." ''
The Central New Jersey Home News The ''Central New Jersey Home News Tribune'' is a Daily newspaper serving Middlesex County, New Jersey. The paper has an average daily weekday circulation of about 49,000. The newspaper is the result of the 1995 merger of ''The Home News'' of ...
''s Ted Serrill noted that the film was "entertaining without let-up" and praised its cinematography, concluding that it "will do as a tasty forerunner of '' The Shining'', which is to come next month." Christopher John reviewed ''The Watcher in the Woods'' in '' Ares Magazine'' #3 and commented that "It must be put on record that for a studio unused to being totally serious, this is a big step forward. ''The Watcher In The Woods'' takes its creators quite a distance from the syrup of Disney's past. It is just unfortunate that a baby's first steps are usually awkward, stumbling ones."


Re-release

The film's second theatrical run with a brand new ending garnered it some critical praise, with ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' calling it a "A rattlingly good suspense yarn. The ending is seamless, satisfying, resolving the mystery. The film is genuinely eerie and scary." An article published in ''The New York Times'' commented on the revised version of the film, writing: "The early good reviews for the revised ''Watcher in the Woods'' do not, by any means, solve all of Disney's problems. The PG-rated (Parental Guidance Suggested) movie is tense and scary enough to appeal to the teen-age audience that the studio has been trying to woo for the last four or five years. But can any film with a Disney label attract teen-agers?" A review published in ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...
'' criticized the film even with the revised ending and gave it one out of four stars, noting: "From the start it's apparent that he settingis no ordinary glen teeming with cute little Disney squirrels. Johnson, however, isn't intimidated by the woods, but strange incidents begin occurring when she becomes possessed by the spirit of Davis's long-dead daughter. Though the filmmakers make some effort to create a creepy atmosphere, they fail at one of horror's most basic formats—the haunted house story." Michael Blowen of ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' was also critical, deeming Davis "sour-faced," adding: "Everything in the filmdirection, acting, writing, music arrangements, and editingis as transparent as
Casper the Friendly Ghost Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a pleasant, personable and translucent ghost, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles, the Ghostly Trio. The ...
." , ''The Watcher in the Woods'' holds a rating of 52% based on 25 reviews with the consensus: "''The Watcher in the Woods'' boasts plenty of spooky atmosphere and a typically strong performance from Bette Davis, but it builds to a conclusion so dissatisfying that it undermines all that came before."


Accolades, awards and nominations


See also

*
List of films featuring eclipses There is a body of films featuring stellar eclipses and eclipses of natural satellites. Compared to other astronomical events featured in films, such as full moons and asteroid strikes, solar eclipses are less commonly seen. When they have featur ...
* ''The Watcher in the Woods'' (2017 film), a second adaptation of the book


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * *


External links

* * * * *
Digital Cinema
detailed articles on the controversies surrounding ''The Watcher in the Woods'' by journalist Scott Michael Bosco. * , as featured in the 1980 theatrical release * , featuring the "other world" sequence
Internet Archives
free download of ''The Watcher in the Woods''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Watcher In The Woods, The 1980 films 1980 horror films 1980s mystery films 1980 thriller films American supernatural horror films American mystery horror films American thriller films Films based on American novels Films based on mystery novels Films directed by John Hough Films produced by Ron W. Miller Films scored by Stanley Myers Films set in country houses Films set in forests American ghost films American haunted house films Films shot at Pinewood Studios American supernatural thriller films Walt Disney Pictures films 1980s ghost films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films