Ahead of its release in 2022, IFC Midnight and Shudder’s Watcher is getting closer. Watcher, a slow-burning thriller starring Maika Monroe, investigates the perils of everyday life through a Hitchcockian prism. Blu-ray copies of the psychological thriller will be available for purchase in the fall. If you’re seeking for a new addition to your horror library, watch out for Chloe Okuno’s Watcher. Watcher, which opened in cinemas in June, followed Alex Garland’s Mad Men. After a delivery scene that some viewers may have thought was a distraction, Okuno’s film slipped softly through the cracks and remained unnoticed.
After its Sundance premiere, several critics thought Watcher predictable, but that’s exactly what makes it so terrifying. As Julia, an American actress who comes to Romania with her husband, Monroe portrays Monroe Amidst the crushing loneliness that comes with not knowing even one person, let alone speaking the language, Julia finds herself struggling to get by. In addition, she’s putting together clues from news reports and a recent attack to believe that “The Spider,” a serial murderer, is on the loose. So much suspense is built by seeing Julia deal with her daily struggles with loneliness and anxiety.
To alleviate her growing paranoia about the shadowy person lurking in the shadows across the street, Julia begins to leave the house in search of some peace and quiet. As a result, Julia’s apprehensions rise to the surface and she takes matters into her own hands, despite the risks. By the time the film reaches its conclusion, the predictability is exactly what enrages the viewer, because the build-up is so tight and the bizarre desertion of both the police and her husband is so perplexing.
When the spouse refuses to listen, when the police decline to continue their inquiry, it comes as no surprise. According to Okuno’s comments in an interview with Letterboxd, formulaic features might be boring to certain viewers. “After hearing you recount this tale a few times now, I thought that even if we’re aware of this problem now, it doesn’t seem like we’ll ever get it fixed. In my opinion, you may be aware of an issue and still have a problem even though you know about it.”
It was Okuno’s AFI thesis short named Slut that actress Monroe fell in love with before she was given the script for Watcher, her first feature picture. Okuno has laid the groundwork for a promising career as a horror filmmaker with this taut thriller, which she adapted from a Zack Ford screenplay. More women in horror, please! It’s possible to see more of Okuno’s work in the upcoming dating show drama The Dating Game, which will star Anna Kendrick, as well as in V/H/”Storm S/94’s Drain” section. Julia’s husband Francis is played by The Neon Demon’s Karl Glusman, while Watcher is played by Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’s Burn Gorman. Watcher will be released on Blu-ray on October 4th and is already available for pre-order on Amazon.