The Watcher in the Woods

Plenty of dull stretches, but enough suspense and chilling moments that I was surprisingly pleased. Ending is uninteresting and gives the feel that the whole thing really was appropriate for children after all.

Passes the time.

Forget Snow White. This is by far the scariest Walt Disney movie ever made. Despite Lynn-Holly Johnson's wooden acting.

Surprisingly good for Disney horror

This was quite the letdown after hearing positive things about it for a while. The camerawork's nice but it's not scary and the conclusion's kind of silly.

A Disney Live Action Horror/Thriller? Pretty suspenseful and good music, but dialogue and acting over the top.

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Not especially spooky; most mediocre performances.

Obscure live-action disney fare that you won't find on D+ streaming, and a considerably more spooky tale than you would expect from the studio. A ghost story of sorts for the then younger gen, harbouring a relatively creepy atmosphere, spontaneously cracking glass, ghosts in mirrors, and an element of possession. The closest comparison in tone is Return to Oz. Acting is cheesy, with amusingly bad dialogue, but the narrative is compelling, even if the resolution is less than satisfying.

I'm a softie when it comes to horror, but even I was unmoved by this. (My last massage was scarier!) It's the sort of thing that 7 year olds may find creepy. Worth watching only for Bette Davis, who is a wonderful performer no matter what she's been given. (The boyfriend's mother also did a decent job). No one else seems able to act worth a damn.