The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
- Directed by
- John Hough, Vincent McEveety
- Genre
- horror film, science fiction film, mystery film, ghost film
- Country
- United Kingdom, United States
- Runtime
- 1h 20m
- Rated
- PG
- Rating
- 5.9 of 10 from 154 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
Two sisters move to a house in the English countryside. They get caught up in a mystery about a girl who vanished in the nearby woods years ago.
spookymysteriouseerieslow-buildingsuspensefulatmosphericfamily-orienteddated
What happens
The Watcher in the Woods is a 1980 supernatural horror film directed by John Hough and Vincent McEveety and starring Bette Davis in one of her final roles, Carroll Baker, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Kyle Richards, and David McCallum. Based on the 1976 novel by Florence Engel Randall, the film tells the story of a teenage girl and her little sister who become encompassed in a supernatural mystery regarding a missing girl in the woods surrounding their new home in the English countryside. The film is a co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States. Filmed at Pinewood Studios and the surrounding areas in Buckinghamshire, England, The Watcher in the Woods was one of several live-action films produced by Walt Disney Productions in the 1980s, when the studio was targeting young adult audiences. The film had its premiere at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on April 17, 1980, but was pulled from release after ten days, and future screenings were canceled by the studio because of an overwhelming negative response from critics and audiences. Several changes were made thereafter, including the excision of a pre-credits sequence, as well the filming of an entirely new ending, which was directed by Vincent McEveety without Hough's involvement. Disney re-released the revised cut of the film on October 9, 1981, and it grossed $5 million. Though critical response to the film was varied and included numerous unfavorable reviews, the film went on to gain a cult following in the years following its release. Another adaptation of the novel was released for television in 2017 starring Anjelica Huston. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
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The City of the Dead (1960)
The Uninvited (1944)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.