Watcher (2022)

[BloodshotUSA]

Finally watched this one. It's reminiscent of Hitchcock's Rear Window or John Carpenter's Someone's Watching Me!. I really wish it hadn't taken me so long to decide to watch this.

Maika Monroe is Julia, a woman whose husband got a job in Romania and she has moved with him. As a foreigner who doesn't speak the language and is left alone by her husband for long periods of time, she begins to suffer from isolation and loneliness. Then when she suspects a neighbor living across the street is watching her, she mind begins become paranoid that her life is in danger. The fact that there is a serial killer on the loose, targeting woman, doesn't help Julia's mental state.

The movie is 91 minutes long and some people might watch the movie and think "nothing happens". But this movie uses every minute of its runtime perfectly. The movie is constantly escalating the tension for its main character. Every scene makes you (and the character) wonder if she is being followed or if everything is in her head. It's a massive slow burn until everything boils over in the final 10 minutes or so.

Maika Monroe is great. She carries the movie and is on screen for the entire runtime of the film. Karl Glusman is good as Julia's husband, who spends most of the movie offscreen and is incredibly patronizing when he is on screen. Burn Gorman plays the neighbor, who doesn't really good at straddling the line between a dangerous creep and just some lonely introvert. You really can't get a read on his character. There is also Mădălina Anea, who plays Irina, Julia's next door neighbor and stripper. She's probably the only person in Bucharest who is friendly to Julia, including her husband.

I think Maika Monroe is one of the best actresses working today. I like that she chooses these low budget type of films to work on like The Guest, It Follows and this. She did make Independence Day 2 but seems to avoid the big Hollywood machine for the most part.

Question for anyone else on the ending.

[Show spoiler]Was the plumber who was arrested the actual Spider serial killer and Daniel was a different killer? The news reported that they found victims clothing in the plumbers apartment but are we supposed to believe that Daniel actually set that guy up? Or were there 2 separate serial killers working that neighborhood in Bucharest?

10/10.

[unberechenbar]

Originally Posted by BloodshotUSA

Question for anyone else on the ending.

[Show spoiler]Was the plumber who was arrested the actual Spider serial killer and Daniel was a different killer? The news reported that they found victims clothing in the plumbers apartment but are we supposed to believe that Daniel actually set that guy up? Or were there 2 separate serial killers working that neighborhood in Bucharest?

[Show spoiler]I was under the impression that there were two serial killers.

[VictoryAtNight]

Watched this @ my sister’s house.

It takes awhile until the movie gets interesting. Only when

[Show spoiler]Julia/Maika gets her throat slit at the end.

[thequerelle]

Rewatched this last night. Anyone else think the UK Blu-ray transfer is borderline hideous? Every other shot is excessive banding. If I didn't know any better I would swear I was watching a crappy webrip from an illegal streaming service. It kept taking me out of the movie.

I just upgraded the size of my TV so maybe that's why I noticed it more.