The Watcher – Movie Review (3/5)

The Watcher is a creepy story with elements of stalking and the paranormal, but not everything is as it seems!

I’ll gladly admit that the cast in The Watcher is what caught my attention more than the story.

We have Erin Cahill from Power Rangers and Denise Crosby from Pet Semetary in key roles. That’s enough for me to want to watch it.

Also, the story reads like a very classic horror movie, so I figured it couldn’t be too bad. And it definitely wasn’t.

In fact, it works pretty well. The story is small and there are no big surprises, but it is entertaining and the horror elements work really well.

The Watcher is worth watching for its characters

There’s nothing new in The Watcher really, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch it. In fact, you should give this movie a chance due to the characters.

All the characters are interesting in their own way, so you’ll be curious to see what every scene brings.

But no, the story probably won’t surprise you in any way. And yes, you will probably guess many elements of the ending from the beginning. Still, it’s very entertaining to see everything unfold.

Basically, I’ll give this credit to The Watcher: it’s safe for the mainstream audience. So if you’re looking for a horror movie that falls safely in the middle of hardcore horror and a decent horror story, then this should work.

Everyone will be entertained, but no one will be scared for life.

Some cult names in the cast

Like I said in the beginning, The Watcher has a great asset in the cast. You get Denise Crosby from Pet Semetary, who is playing a pretty fascinating character. She comes close to being a stereotype but sidesteps elegantly.

We also see Edi Gathegi (Twilight) playing an important character in the story. He does an excellent job, but without much to work with.

This cannot be said for Erin Cahill from Power Rangers. And I have to give it to her, she is very good. She gets a lot more to work with and definitely makes the most of it.

Personally, I would love to see her in more horror movies. And not just a straight-to-video (or rather VOD) sequel, but in the high-quality indie kind. She’s got the acting chops for it and could easily portray any iconic horror characters.

Ryan Rothmaier wrote and directed The Watcher. This marks his feature film debut as a director, while he has written one feature film before this one. Overall, he does a very decent job, but a bit more innovation – or edge – would’ve made it better.

The Watcher is available on Netflix now – it was released on this platform on January 10, 2017.

Details

Director: Ryan Rothmaier
Writer: Ryan Rothmaier
Cast: Erin Cahill, Edi Gathegi, Denise Crosby

Plot

Unaware of its terrible history, a young couple buys their dream home. However, it soon becomes clear that they’re not alone in the house. Someone – or something – is determined to drive them out.