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"Watcher" dir. by Chloe Okuno


"Watcher"

Where I watched it: Shudder

Maika Monroe stars in this sequel to "It Follows." The ghost from the first movie will just not let up and has now taken the form of a rent-paying citizen in Romania so that he can keep a close watch on his precious Maika Monroe.

Obviously, I'm kidding. There are a few similarities between "It Follows" and "Watcher" but they have nothing to do with each other.

"Watcher" is about a young couple that move to Romania for the husband's job and while staying in their temporary abode, the wife played by Maika Monroe sees the shadow of a person watching her from the building next door.

This film is about paranoia, it's about fear and in many ways similar to that of Lvx Æterna is about being a woman ("watch-her"). This film coincidentally also stars Karl Glusman.

I can't go into too much without giving it away but the take away here is that this film is great. It's a wonderful example of isolation and alienation as experienced through the eyes of someone who is female presenting. The fact that it's set in Romania where most of the characters do not speak English and there are no subtitles works wonders in allowing the audience to feel a similar degree of alienation as the lead character.

Great performances all around, very subtle camerawork that makes for perfect tension building.

Definitely more of a thriller than a horror but there are some pretty scary and horrific moments.

9/10

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