User Reviews

This movie starts off so slow, taking forever before anything interesting or intriguing happens. Then when it finally does, we get our first dose of many idiotic decisions that make it difficult to care for the character. We see more annoying tropes and very little payoff in this slog of a movie. (1 viewing, opening Thursday 6/2/2022)

SPOILERS

Was anyone else annoyed by the extensive amount of dialogue in Romanian without subtitles? I understand they are trying to make us feel as isolated as the character feels, but it's aggravating.

When the first "scary" moment happens in the grocery store, I'm thinking she's perfectly safe here in the open with people around. But she decides to go into a poorly lit backroom with no one around. And even after knowing there is a serial killer on the loose, she repeatedly walks alone down a dark alley. I know they are trying to build tension, but you can't do that at the expense of the character's credibility.

Then we get a HEAVY dose of one of the most annoying tropes in thrillers and especially in horror: the boyfriend/husband doesn't believe her. He starts off seeming very supportive, to the point where he suggests going to look at the footage from the grocery store. But he throws her under the bus and claims she's the one staring at him, when we haven't seen anything to warrant this conclusion.

He spends the rest of the movie being the worst husband ever. By the time we reach the climax, I cared so little about the lead character (I can't even remember her name) and hated the husband so much that I really wanted her to die just so he feels like a piece of garbage. I don't think that was the intention of these filmmakers.

The ending is laughable. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure slicing the carotid artery doesn't prevent you from breathing or screaming. Then she crawls towards the gun and plays dead. Once he leaves she gets the gun and shoots him. But why would she play dead in the first place? She could have easily reached the gun before that. What if he stabbed her more or cut off her head?

And apparently he didn't slice the carotid artery, otherwise she would be dead in minutes. Apparently he sliced a different artery that gushes large amounts of blood but doesn't kill you. Give me a break, movie.

Greetings again from the darkness. It's tough being the new kid. Moving to a new city with no friends is always a challenge. That's especially true for a grown-up when the new city is in a country where you don't speak the language - and you gave up your career to support your spouse who got a promotion to his home country. The first feature film from writer-director Chloe Okuno and co-writer Zack Ford is a bit of a throwback thriller that reminded me of some of Brian DePalma's work in the 1970's and 1980's, while also recalling other genre films.

Maika Monroe (IT FOLLOWS, 2014) stars as Julia, wife of Francis (Karl Glusman, LOVE, 2015). Their new apartment has a large picture window that overlooks the run-down tenement located across the street. Julia immediately notices the shadowed figure of a man who appears to be watching her. Yes, the set-up reminds us of Hitchcock's classic REAR WINDOW, though this one heads off in a different direction. The pressures of Francis' new job keep him working long hours, which means Julia is left alone a great deal of the time. As a former actor, now 're-evaluating' her career path, Julia spends the days walking the local streets and listening to language tapes. See, their new place is in Bucharest, Romania, and the language gap plays a huge role in casting her as an outsider in all social interactions.

But wait, there's more! Local news reports detail a serial killer nicknamed "Spider" has been murdering and beheading women. So when Julia begins seeing that shadowy figure from the window everywhere she goes, she assumes he's following/stalking her. Is he the serial killer? Perhaps the question is, who is the cat and who is the mouse? While making the point that the film so desperately wants to make, it does so in the least believable manner. Husband Francis dismisses her paranoia as that of a lonely woman - a reaction that seems absurd given the presence of a serial killer (Grace Kelly believed Jimmy Stewart!). Fortunately, filmmaker Okuno and the performance of Ms. Monroe prevent this from becoming an eye-roller for viewers.

As Julia and the "watcher" (played with a creepy stoicism by Burn Gorman, CRIMSON PEAK, 2015) continue to cross paths, Francis asks, "Is he watching you, or is he watching the person who is watching him?" It's this attitude that every woman will recognize ... being accused of having it be "all in her head", and having concerns minimized by men (spouses, cops, doctors, etc). Ms. Monroe gives a subdued, quiet performance that works terrifically in this setting. She kind of glows on screen and excels at conveying the feeling of isolation that Julia experiences, some of it enhanced by her husband's approach.

There are a couple of terrific scenes featuring Julia and her neighbor Irina (Madalina Anea), a single woman who understands Julia's trepidation. Other excellent scenes include Julia going solo to the movie theater to watch CHARADE, a film from which Okuno obviously draws inspiration; and best of all, a scene on the train where Julia and the watcher come face to face and have one of the more uncomfortable conversations (with a wonderful prop) we'll likely ever see on screen. Both actors are superb here.

The cinematography of Benjamin Kirk Nielsen and the score from Nathan Halpern perfectly correspond to the slow-burn pacing that lacks the typical 'jump-scares' that have become commonplace in thrillers. Despite some 'iffy' dialogue, the film is effective in isolating Julia and presenting the fear that women live with, while often having their feelings minimized. A strong ending sets up Chloe Okuno as a filmmaker to watch.

In theaters June 3, 2022 and On Demand June 21, 2022.

It's an interesting film and the tension level is high throughout. The cast are good and it looks nice and atmospheric. You really do feel her isolation and growing unease. I feel there are a few issues with the film. Firstly, we don't get enough to potentially consider that there is another explanation other than she is being watched. The husband also becomes a bit of a caricature towards the end with his at least she has company line. Talking about endings, that for me was the biggest disappointment. I really don't buy into this American need for a happy ending. I felt we were getting something different which while sad was realistic and more memorable...until we are thrown a final twist to make everything all nice and happy. That isn't life and takes away from the reality as well as making it overall a less enjoyable watch.

I don't know if this film just resonated with me differently but I found this film really, really terrifying. I didn't find the movie slow at all, I felt like it expertly built the tension and I could feel my anxiety building throughout. There wasn't a moment in it I was bored and I was very invested in the story. Completely agree it is very Hitchcock and simple and serious in its execution. You could also really feel her isolation and loneliness which contributed to the anxiety and "chilled" feeling I got while watching it (if that makes sense). I saw it in the theater and really loved it. One of the best horror films in recent memory for me. Most of the time, I watched your reviews first before watching the movie, so I was very intrigued by this film. I also gave it 7/10 because I felt this movie is missing something remarkable in order to give it a perfect score. I love Jules' character. She tries to survive to that sociopath by her own which is admirable because she was alone. I hate her husband, so selfish thinking about himself and his work. He didn't care about his wife at all pretending she was imaging everything. The watcher obviously is frustrated with his life. He has to take care about his old father which is something that bothers him a lot. It took me by surprise the end because I was 100% sure Jules would not make it, however, there is a clue when she is crawling on the floor she sees the drawer where Irina's gun is kept.

I saw Watcher, starring Maika Monroe-Independence Day:Resurgence, It Follows; Karl Glusman-Nocturnal Animals, The Neon Demon and Burn Gorman-the Pacific Rim movies, Game of Thrones_tv.

This is a thriller that has hints of Rear Window. Maika and Karl are a married couple that move to Bucharest-where Karl is from-for Karls' job. They get an apartment and while Karl is working all day, Maika spends time shopping or looking out her window. She notices Burn-across the street from their apartment-seems to be watching her. She goes to the movies or the grocery store and he follows her. He never makes contact with her but just follows her. Maika and Karl hear about a serial killer that is attacking women in the area-decapitating them-and Maika jumps to the conclusion that it is Burn. Is it him? Or is she just being paranoid or imagining it? That's what everyone keeps telling her. To be honest, she does do some dumb things, like following Burn-alone-into buildings instead of calling for someone to go with her. The ending is pretty predictable, too.

It's rated R for bloody violence, language and sexual content-including nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour& 31 minutes.

It's not one that I would buy on DVD but it would be alright as a rental.

I wanted to like this movie but I'd have also felt like a kindergarten pupil if I did after seeing how it ended. Not saying the karma was undeserved but how could someone bleed out so much blood from the neck and still be able to hold a pistol.

Are we all kids?