Observada

Wow, just wow. I had no expectations about Watcher, but it turned out to be really good.

Like seriously, everything worked so well up until the ending, which felt somewhat disappointing and didn't make much sense. It wasn't the worst thing they could've done though, so thanks for that.

Actual care was put into the film and it shows. All the elements they have are nothing new, really, but these blend quite well. The unfamiliar environment, the language barrier, the fear, and the feeling of being misunderstood and left alone by the careless close ones. Great acting, great atmosphere, great music. Just overall a solid thriller that tried to step away from cliches as much as possible.

I can agree that the pacing was relatively slow, but it only helped absorb the atmosphere of what was happening.

A split 7.5/10 could've been an 8.5/10 if not for the ending that felt a little too much, although I get the message.

I am looking forward to new movies from the director.

Above average thriller about people looking out of windows. I wonder where I've seen that before? Of course the entire premise would fail if they'd only buy some curtains like normal people but they don't. Maika Monroe plays the damsel in distress but her character is a bit of a misery guts and spends most of the movie scowling, sulking or frowning. Burn Gorman is perfectly creepy. The movie itself is low key and by the numbers as if it was written and directed according to a check list but it's effective for all that. There's quite a lot of Romanian language so if you watch without subtitles you miss some dialogue but I'm not sure if you miss anything important.

This was a fantastic paranoia thriller. Maika Moore is fantastic as the lead actress and the villian was also perfectly cast, he was quite menacing. The story here is very well done, albeit derivitive and at times you must suspend some levels of your disbelief, but it provides just enough twists and turns throughout to keep it from getting stale. With that said, the movie can also be kind of slow in parts, but I feel like it was a slow burn done right. Hitchcock would be proud of this film. The ending does it right, however I would've enjoyed an extra five minutes just to know what ended up with these characters, but I think I got the jist of it, so I digress. If you're looking for a good paranoia horror/thriller, this would be a great choice and you could definitely do worse. I recommend to people who enjoy a go slow burn that leads up to creepy conclusion. 3.5 creepy creepertons out of.

Having enjoyed Chloe Okuno's segment in V/H/S 94 to some extent, I was exciting for her feature debut. Watcher is a film that reminds you of some of Hitchcock's works, be it in building a slow-burn suspense drama set in a mysteriously new atmosphere and in the way the lead character is established. Chloe also extracts an excellent performance from Maika Monroe who portrays the "fish out of water" protagonist. The best thing about her portrayal is that she manages to induce the same levels of anxiety in audiences too. She effortlessly makes you step into her shoes - the confusion she feels by not fully grasping the local language, that feeling of loneliness when you're in a new place spending days mostly by yourself, the burgeoning dread of having a stalker - all conveyed remarkably well.

The script doesn't have any major twists or surprises to offer, but it keeps you invested in whatever Julia is up to. The only trope I didn't enjoy is the indifferent husband, which gets repeated to terrible effect here. I truly enjoyed the film's aesthetics - be it the use of space, color grading, choice of camera angles, and sparse lighting. Cinematographer Benjamin Kirk Nielsen uses extended shots to convey a sense of paranoia. I'm pretty stoked for anything Chloe Okuno does next!

I found this thriller pretty enjoyable. The acting was phenomenal, particulacy from Maika, our lead. Some of these sequences were so anxiety-inducing, even when our lead is just walking down the street I couldn't help but tense up.

My only main disappointment was the ending. While it was building towards a satisfying conclusion, it just ends abruptly. I wanted more from it. But maybe that just shows how well everything was before hand. Also some awkward dialogue but that's just me nitpicking, it's not that big of a deal.

Overall, while I don't think I'll just check this one out again, I had a good time with it and I'm excited to see what else the director while be making next!