Watcher is the story of what happens when you don’t communicate well with your partner… and if you keep your blinds open at night.
Julia (Maika Monroe) and Francis (Karl Glusman) move to Romania for Karl’s new promotion. Karl, a 1st Generation American, has no issues settling in and speaking his mother tongue. Julia struggles with the language and customs of this new country. She is left alone a lot as Karl works. But it turns out she is not alone — there is a man in the apartment across from theirs that has the habit of watching her. Always. Julia grows more and more paranoid as things start to get more and more eerily coincidental and weird.
So I had scrolled past Watcher on Shudder many times, debating on if I wanted to put it on my watch list to scroll past there again. Finally, I said “fuck it” and pressed play. I loved Monroe from It Follows, so I was expecting the same type of personality and very quickly grew to hate her character.
Well, hate is a strong word; I’ll say frustrated. For most of the movie, Julia goes from barely trying to learn Romanian to keeping herself holed up in her flat for most of the day to pouting about a man she says is following her. She is so bad at communicating what actually is happening, making Francis confused and just as frustrated with her as I was. Someone sat behind you at the theater and followed you into the supermarket? Say it! Say how he moved close to breathe down you neck. Say how he lingers at the window. Better yet, show others how he does it — you got a phone! Francis isn’t much better either, being so smug and babying Julia because she’s doesn’t understand the language you don’t bother to help her learn. She’s not dumb, she’s just stressed.
Now all that was a bit of a cluster-dump, I know. If you can get past that, Watcher is a tense, tense thriller. I have heard that Watcher is about what women deal with in their day-to-day lives, and I see that completely. As a woman myself, there have definitely been times where I look over my shoulder as I’m walking, or become ultra cognizant of who is around me.
But even if that comparison goes over your head, it’s easy to see how scary Julia’s situation could be. Imagine being in a foreign country and having a crime committed against you. No one, not even your significant other, believes you and says its all in your head. “You’re overthinking it.” Of course you’d become paranoid; it’s your only choice, besides being murdered.
Throughout the movie, we see Julia in situations that could easily get her killed. The lead up to those scares is intense, and I found myself shouting at the screen more than I’d like to admit. So while I say she was a pouty character, she has more than enough reason to be. Watcher‘s filmmakers did an excellent job at setting up these scenes and following through with the most chilling endings.
Speaking of the ending — absolute craziness! I won’t spoil it here, but I went through so many emotions in that last sequence, never missing a beat. I was so into what would happen next, and even now I feel like I was left on a giant cliffhanger because it ended on such a high-energy moment. I need to know what happened next!
Don’t let Watcher fool you. I wish I hadn’t kept scrolling for so long, and am happy to have finally seen it. If you can get past a little bit of “annoying character syndrome,” it’s a film that will stick with you through the night. Watcher will make sure you keep your blinds closed and your eyes and ears open.
What did you think of Watcher? Let us know in the comments!
Watcher is currently available to stream on Shudder.
