Naomi Watts teases her return to horror in 'freaky' Ryan Murphy Watcher series

[Canada]

EW Article

Watts says the original "freaky" article inspired her deep dive into terrifying stalker territory for Murphy's new Netflix series The Watcher: "It’s a genre that you know I love."

Naomi Watts is stalking a grand return to horror in Ryan Murphy's upcoming Netflix series The Watcher.

In an interview for her new movie Lakewood out of the Toronto International Film Festival, the Oscar-nominated actress tells EW she's ready to scare the hell out of us once again, nearly 20 years after she became an iconic scream queen at the center of the 2002 classic The Ring.

"Yeah, that article is so freaky. That's what got me in!" Watts says, referencing The Cut's 2018 piece that follows Maria and Derek Broaddus, a married couple that relocates to a suburban New Jersey paradise in the summer of 2014. Shortly after moving into their dream home, they're met with an onslaught of disturbing handwritten notes claiming to be from the house's decades-long guardian, who's none too pleased with the new tenants.

"I'm only just now getting into prep, we're going to start shooting soon. It's exciting, I can't say much more," she continues, also expressing admiration for her costar, Bobby Cannavale, as the two will play the central couple terrorized by the mystery stalker. "I'm thrilled to be working with Ryan, he seems to have the Midas touch. It's a genre that you know I love."

Though Watts has yet to visit the real-life locale, she's had plenty of experience shooting in terrifying conditions throughout her career. After battling an evil ghost in horror hits like The Ring and its 2005 sequel, Watts played the victim of a psychopathic duo's violent home intrusion in Funny Games and weathered ghostly threats in Dream House, with The Watcher marking her first genre entry since 2016's Shut In.

In addition to The Watcher, she's also set to star in a remake of the 2014 Austrian horror film Goodnight Mommy, which follows a pair of twins who begin to suspect their mother — whose face remains wrapped under bandages while she recovers from facial surgery — is not the same person they once knew.