Disney’s Strange Little Gem
When one thinks of horror films, they probably don’t think about films produced by Disney. While the Mouse is best known for its family films, it has managed to produce a few solid horror flicks, albeit mostly of the family friendly variety. One of the earliest Disney horror films to push that family friendly envelope was 1980’s The Watcher In The Woods. Based on the novel A Watcher In The Woods by Florence Engel Randall, the film has garnered a decent cult following over the years.
Non-Spoiler Review Ahead!!!!
The film starred Bette Davis, Carroll Baker, Lynn-Holly Johnson, and Kyle Richards. It tells the story of two young girls, Jan and Ellie (Johnson and Richards), who experience bizarre occurrences and witness strange lights and ghostly apparitions in the woods near their new home in England. They are also creeped out by their landlord, Mrs. Aylwood (Davis), who tells Jan that she looks very similar to her own daughter who went missing thirty years prior.
Ellie buys a dog in town and is compelled to name it Nerak. That name stuns Jan and a local boy that she’s taken a liking to named Mike (Benedict Taylor), who tells Jan about the mystery that surrounds the disappearance of Mrs. Aylwood’s daughter. Driven by a desire to find out the truth and pushed to do so by an apparently supernatural force, Jan goes on the hunt to find out what really happened to Mrs. Aylwood’s daughter and hopes to bring her home. Does Jan find out the truth? Check out The Watcher In The Woods to find out!
I decided to give this film a spoiler-free review because even the smallest spoiler could ruin the film as a whole. It’s not Disney’s best film and I wouldn’t rank it very high as a horror film, but it definitely has tons of creepiness and atmosphere throughout its run time. It’s safe enough for children to watch but younger kids will probably get very scared at certain moments.
The film’s original ending and original opening sequences were met with criticism by early audiences in a limited release. Disney went back to the drawing board and completely changed the original opening and edited the ending for special effects, monster effects, and even deleted an entire sequence that many felt was just too “out there” for audiences to understand. There are currently three different endings and two opening sequences available to check out.
The cast does a surprisingly good job, especially Lynn-Holly Johnson, who carries the bulk of the film on her shoulders. Bette Davis is sufficient with her limited role and Carroll Baker does a superb job as Jan and Ellie’s mother, Helen. David McCallum, perhaps best known for his role as Illya Kuryakin in The Man From U.N.C.L.E., does a nice job as the father of Jan and Ellie. The rest of the cast do a great job of building tension during the film and bringing the suspense level to its peak near the film’s climax. The film’s music also did a great job of building the creepiness of the film overall.
The film isn’t currently available on Disney+ and was last released on DVD in the early 2000’s. It is available for purchase in the Disney Movie Club if you’re a member of that particular group. You can also find the film on YouTube but you’ll have to do some digging to find the original opening and/or the other ending sequences.
Thanks for reading my brief review. I hope that you check out The Watcher in the Woods if for no other reason than to see just how bizarre a Disney film can be when the “family friendly” reins are loosened a bit. More horrific Disney fun is on the way the rest of this month!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 