WATCHER IN THE WOODS (1980)

 

The Watcher in the Woods is possibly Disney’s oddest release. It has a fervent following but has kind of been abandoned by the studio forty plus years on. It seems they never knew what it was or what to do with it.

The film came out of the studio trying to match the times of the late 70’s. The Disney kiddie films were dying. The studio heads did not know what to do since Walt died and it was killing the brand. The Black Hole was a move to step things up- and it kind of worked, though the darkness and implication of one character being the devil annoyed people who wanted wholesome. Feeling the need to try something the decided to make a dark fantasy, ret-conned into something else over time about a weird force in the woods that was causing problems and taking people. It was a spooky film that was very much not for young kids.  As the execs saw what was being made, they asked for changes, screenings brought more changes. It was pulled from theaters, and the end was changed multiple times.

Ultimately it was all but abandoned by everyone except a vocal few who championed the film.

Decades on and multiple watches over the years and I’m not certain what I think. The film is very good for much of the running time. It’s a spooky film about a family trying to make sense the weird things that are going on. Its far from graphic and full of mood. This was not what many people wanted since we were shifting to the graphic kills of Halloween, Jason and Dawn of the Dead. Also Star Wars was a huge hit so what was not supposed to be science fiction became one  because science fiction sold.  In all honesty up to a certain point the film is a pretty good Disney-esque thriller (actually you would not have noticed the Disney connection if it wasn’t in the credits to remind you). Then there is a point and the film stumbles. I’m not certain at what point but somewhere in the final third the film drifts and you get the sense this was where they started farting around.

You will forgive me for not being specific about a lot of this, but there are hundreds or thousands of pieces about the making and the unmaking of the film. There are so many details that I knew if I started writing this would get wildly out of hand, so I decided to keep it short.

That said this is a mostly solid little B film that has gotten lost. It’s a film that needs to have a Criterion release made about it- but that will never happen. Instead do yourself a favor and track the film and see it- and then dive into the various sites devoted to the film.