Watcher

Though Watcher is a clichéd film, it does have a pleasant lead actress (I have a particular weakness for a blonde bob cut), solid production, a feel for its cold setting and the ability to raise goosebumps. The film’s best target audience is young American women who are planning to visit or move to Eastern Europe, ideally Romania. In addition to English, Romanian is spoken in the film and the main character is the only foreigner in the country. The film would have earned four stars with a more imaginative and clever climax. As it stands, however, the climax is embarrassing, though for a moment it looked like an ending that you wouldn’t expect and that I personally would have been very pleased with (and which would have pissed off mainstream viewers). (07/23/2022)

Watcher won't score points for originality, but I personally give it points for style and directorial skill. The subject has been dealt with many times, but usually I find films in which strange things happen to the main female character, her husband doesn't believe her, and the viewer is supposed to be in uncertainty whether there really is something evil or whether it’s all in the protagonist’s head, annoying because of their triteness. But Maika Monroe is a great actress and Chloe Okuna clearly has directorial talent, so Watcher hooked me and entertained me, very much. The tension in the subway scene, for example, is palpable. Those who can tune in properly will get a quality chilling slowburn. 7/10 (06/23/2022)

A solid old school paranoid psycho thriller with a touch of Hitchcock. I usually find genre films with a similar concept to be mediocre, but Watcher managed to win me over with something despite its slow pace. The attractive and well-acted Maika Monroe moves to Bucharest to visit her husband, but he spends most of the day at work, so the main character has to spend most of her time alone and Bucharest is not exactly an ideal place to spend your free time. The film also works well because of the setting, where the main character tries to fit in in an unfamiliar city where she knows no one, most of the people are sketchy, there is a serial killer who hangs out in the city and cuts women's heads off, and she is stalked by her next door neighbour. Apparently Romania is a country without curtains, and thanks to the big windows overlooking all the neighbours, it manages to evoke the right uncomfortable feelings. An honest, authentic, realistic and chilling slow burn with excellent craftsmanship, a great female lead, a good bad guy, an intense final half hour (the metro is atmospheric awesome), and an awesome finale! You can say that the film could have brought some more fundamental twist, but I'm still surprisingly satisfied with the quality this time. Story 3/5. Action 2/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 2/5, Fun 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 4/5. 7/10 (06/27/2022)