Watcher - A Movie Review

Do you see that man looking at me across the street?

Watcher is a 2022 film. Moving with her husband to Bucharest, Julia is unsettled when a man keeps following her around. The same predator keeps watching her from the window directly across the street. Following him, Julia finds out what this lurkers’ plans are.

While exiting the theater, these two women commented, ‘Now that’s a movie to keep you on your toes.’ I agree. Not as original as we have seen this story in other films, Watcher is a tense film that makes you pay the closest attention to any minute detail.

Maika Monroe has become quite the actress. I have seen her act in films like It Follows and a small role in Greta. Monroe is fantastic at garnering new personalities in each role she’s in. Julia is terrified of this mysterious follower tracking her every step.

Isolated in a different country, with little expertise in the language, Monroe does a good job making audiences feel her isolation. I liked how Julia’s physical appearance diminishes to ragged clothing and messy hair to discern how paranoid and scared she is.

This film makes you watch every movement and facial expression from the supporting cast, including people who just walk by in the background for a second. Watcher contains a small cast of actors. Credits include Karl Glusman, Burn Gorman, Madalina Anea, Daniel Nuta, and an ensemble to fill in as characters in the apartment building or on the street.

I had mixed feelings about Francies (Glusman). His character could have been written better. As Julia’s husband, at first he is supportive until he transforms into a gaslighting man who denies anything his wife says. I think his character should have been written differently because we have seen too many films with the husband denying his wife’s alerts.

Burn Gorman’s icy, intimidating, and slow movements were dictated well by the actor. Gorman’s delivery of a supposedly innocent monologue was so well-acted that it sent shivers up my spine.

Watcher is a tense film. It makes you feel the tense atmosphere, even jumping in your seat when there’s a knock at the door. This film makes you think twice about looking around at the people who are in the movie theater with you. You never know who is staring back at you.

Chloe Okuno did a solid job with the setting, story, and overall direction. Her use of cinematography was highly engrossing. It was also a wise decision not to include subtitles. Isolation is horror.

The one problem is that it is not as original. If the film took a different angle it could have been an engaging twist. Julia becomes the stalker for a bit, following her stalker wherever he goes, even getting in trouble for her actions. Have any films done this where audiences are following an unreliable narrator only to discover that the main character is the stalker?

One of the signature scenes portrays Julia having a conversation with a significant character. During the whole scene, the dialogue fades out as the camera slowly looms in on a bag. The object encased in this bag becomes more apparent by the second. I felt goosebumps.

The ending is so suspenseful that I almost screamed in the theater. The climax felt a bit rushed. Take caution as the subject matter of Watcher is triggering for any audience who has experienced situations as seen in this film.

You have to see Watcher whether in theaters or when it’s released to any streaming service. I always enjoy a good suspenseful film.