Director: Chloe Okuno
Screenplay: Chloe Okuno
Starring: Maika Monroe, Karl Glusman, Burn Gorman
Country: United States
Running Time: 96 minutes
Year: 2022
BBFC Certificate: 15

The opening scenes of Watcher are that of a gorgeous neo noir, with shadows clashing with unexpected colour, drenched in rain. With a score that recalls Bernard Herrmann or Goldsmith’s Basic Instinct, it’s a very strong start.

The story opens in equally confident fashion in director Chloe Okuno’s hands. She drops us with New Yorker Julia (Maika Monroe) straight into Bucharest. Julia has moved there with her Romanian husband Francis (Karl Glusman), but she has only a thin grasp of the language, no friends, family or purpose and a healthy dose of justified paranoia. There’s a sense of oppressive male gaze; even positively so when she jokingly calls Francis a creep. Ironic of course, but it’s a sympathetic grace note nonetheless. The general unease isn’t helped by reports of a serial killer stalking the neighbourhood. Directly opposite her apartment, a figure stares at Julia each night; Francis is sceptical there is anything to fear.

Unfortunately, what should be a Hitchcockian thriller for the #MeToo era starts to plod by the second act. Though not the film’s fault, it’s not a good sign to be reminded of a Gavin and Stacey plot, and the malaise is rarely broken. In retrospect, there’s arguably an uphill struggle with Julia. Her loneliness highlights the issues women face daily, but despite a cracking performance by Monroe, she’s hard to warm to, especially when she reacts badly, such as a farcical scene in a supermarket. All that said, there is a persistent sense of dread and an admirable consistency. One fantastic sequence subverts Rear Window, when Julia watches the opposite apartment while Francis and the police go to challenge the ‘watcher’. It encapsulates everything the film could be and the cinematic shorthand is welcome, but it doesn’t build on it.

Julia is frequently the reason she is in danger, scaring herself instead of us. Cynical? Maybe, especially when the metaphor is important and the potential twist is that Julia is in fact an antagonist, but there are too many contrivances. There could be a shorter version of the film where she pops out on her second day and buys some curtains, instead of a toy model of Dracula. The Hitchcock method was frequently based on interrupting a recognisable routine with something unthinkably horrific. Here, Julia’s behaviour is rarely relatable, the narrative is thuddingly predictable and the lack of thriller-esque rug pulling disappointing.

Predictability isn’t a problem in a film that has something to grind and get its teeth into, but a serial killer movie should go for the tension or the gore, but not the insipid middle ground Watcher stubbornly takes.

EXTRA FEATURES

The Blu-ray release has one extra features, but it’s a substantial commentary. While my overall impression of the film is distinctly average, it’s an accomplished debut by Chloe Okuno. The insight into the production is an entertaining one.

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Film
Disc/Package
3.0Overall
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