Watcher

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 (27/06/2022)

Cliché, mais avec une actrice principale agréable (j'ai une faiblesse particulière pour le « blond mikado »), solidement réalisé, avec une sensibilité pour les environnements froids et la capacité à donner des frissons. Les jeunes Américaines qui prévoient de visiter ou de déménager en Europe de l'Est, idéalement en Roumanie, sont la meilleure cible pour ce film. Le roumain est parlé dans le film, tout comme l'anglais, le personnage principal étant le seul étranger dans le pays. Le film atteindrait quatre étoiles avec une conclusion plus inventive et intelligente. Au contraire, il se complaît dans la bêtise. Bien que pendant un moment, cela ait ressemblé au genre de fin à laquelle vous ne vous attendriez pas et qui me rendrait personnellement très heureux (et énerverait les spectateur mainstream). (23/07/2022)

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 (23/06/2022)

It's a completely average thriller with no groundbreaking idea or cast and a fairly readable ending. The short running time, the occasional inoffensive elements of paranoia and a dose of suspense are satisfying, but otherwise it runs in the rut of utter mediocrity and doesn't try to take its ambitions anywhere higher. It doesn't offend while watching, but it doesn't enthuse either, and after a week I'll have trouble remembering that I've actually seen Watcher. (07/07/2022)