#149 THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS

RELEASE DATES
Premiere: 16 Apr 1980
Theatrical: 7 Oct 1981
VHS: 1982
DVD: 2002, 2004

After several years of box office disappointments, it's clear that those who inherited Walt's kingdom were trying new things to interest audiences in the late 1970s and early '80s. Just look at all of the titles released around that time period that could be considered very non-traditional for the Disney studios - Midnight Madness (which didn't even use the Disney name in its marketing), Tex, Something Wicked This Way Comes, etc. The introduction of Touchstone Pictures and its adult target is more evidence of this. It seems they were constantly trying to change things up and appeal to that coveted teenage demographic, even if it meant using the success of Star Wars as a jumping-off point (The Black Hole). In the midst of this was the eerie tale of The Watcher in the Woods.



I don't really plan on criticizing acting skills on this blog, but it did seem odd to have veteran Bette Davis playing alongside some much less talented performers (I'll let you decide which ones they are). I was convinced that the young actress who played Ellie was Kim Richards from the Witch Mountain movies, but after checking IMDB.com, I found that it was actually her little sister, Kyle (on a sidenote, I also learned their older sister is Kathy Richards, mother of Paris Hilton).

My own memories of this film began with the promotional spots I'd see on The Disney Channel. I got creeped out easily as a kid (i.e. Sleeping Beauty when Malificent appears in the fireplace or even in the opening of Star Wars when Darth Vader first appeared) so I actually never seen it until someone rented it for a Halloween party I went to in 6th grade. I never fully appreciated it though until it recently came up in my Netflix queue.

I like the darker atmosphere and unique photography. It does get strange toward the end with the whole parallel dimension concept, but if you really want to be weirded out, rent the DVD and check out the alternate endings! From what I understand, they're comprised mostly of the original cut which first premiered in New York to unsatisfied audiences. The reason is obvious when you actually see the watcher, which looks more like something from a Terminator or Alien movie. The watcher takes Jan into its wings and rockets off to the other dimension where Karen has been trapped for 30 years. It suddenly seems like a completely different film with scenes of a large spaceship that appears to have crash-landed in a river on another planet. Next you see Karen inside just standing (or frozen in time I guess) in a glass pyramid. Jan approaches her, Karen is happy to see her (or feel her, since she's still blind-folded) and they return to the chapel.

After the unsuccessful premiere, the ending was re-shot. Any hype that was created in anticipation of the wide release had subdued by the time it finally came out a year-and-a-half later and was a failure financially. You can find the alternate endings on Disney DVD or an earlier Anchor Bay DVD which, I belive, also has a director's commentary.