Creeptober Day 19: Watcher

We’ve watched a lot of horror movies so far during Creeptober. Now it’s time to watch a movie about people watching people. The pick for day nineteen of Creeptober is Watcher, one of the best thrillers of the past few years. Get ready to feel a growing sense of tension for about an hour and a half, because Watcher is a beautifully suspenseful film.

Read on for our thoughts on Watcher (2022) as well as a recap of the movie, and join the conversation on our Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram!

Reacting to Watcher

Watcher was one of my favorite movies from 2022 (it’s #3 in Creepy Catalog’s ranking of 2022 horror movies). It’s one of those movies that feels like it was constructed by a perfect combination of cast and crew. This might be Maika Monroe’s best performance, which is saying a lot. And it is director Chloe Okuno’s feature-length debut. Together, along with the rest of the crew whose contributions are not to be overlooked, they created one of the most tense movies of the modern era.

The most obvious place to start with Watcher is by talking about how strong it is from the perspective of a psychological thriller. There have been plenty of movies made about voyeurism and paranoia, but where Watcher excels is in depicting the mental toll being taken on its lead character. Julia is not only being watched and stalked, but she feels alone because nearly everyone around her is dismissing or downplaying her fears. The growing frustration, anger, and pain she feels resonates with the audience so strongly thanks to Maika Monroe’s quietly powerful performance. The emotional impact is severe in moments like when she is coerced into shaking Daniel’s hand, or when she apologizes to Daniel in the subway, or when she looks at Francis when he says she believes a fantasy. It all builds, hurtling ever faster towards the gripping finale.

I really like how Watcher twists the overused trope of someone not being believed when they say they’ve seen or experienced something. I talked about this a little in my Creeptober reaction to Let’s Scare Jessica to Death. It usually plays out with a woman not being believed, then everyone moves on to the next scene. In Watcher, it is much more nuanced. Francis says he believes Julia when she talks about her concerns, but does he ever really believe her? It doesn’t seem so, despite what he says. Does he just not want to deal with her when it gets to be too much for him (which takes a shockingly short amount of time)? Francis is extremely frustrating throughout the movie, but he’s frustrating in an uncomfortably realistic way. We understand exactly why Julia begins shutting Francis out, but even then, it’s still painful when we hear Francis joke about Julia’s situation.

The feeling of isolation is also something that gets me every time I rewatch Watcher. Living in a foreign country where communication is difficult is already a tough thing to get used to. But to know that the person who is supposed to understand you the best isn’t present for you, that’s even more lonely than being by yourself. It can make you feel small, and that comes across well in the movie.

Watcher – A Recap

Julia and Francis move from the United States to an apartment in Bucharest, Romania. Julia is American and speaks no Romanian, but Francis’s family is from Romania, so he can speak the language well. The couple moved to the country for Francis’s job in a marketing company, and his work hours are extremely long. Julia is alone most of the time, and since she doesn’t have a job and can’t communicate freely with the locals yet, she begins feeling isolated. She also notices a person watching her from a window in the apartment building across from hers.

While out one night with Francis, Julia sees an ambulance at a nearby building. She later learns that the incident was a murder, and the culprit is thought to be a serial killer referred to in the media as The Spider. While out by herself one day, Julia suspects that someone is following her. She goes to a movie theater and to a grocery store, and she sees the same man shadowing her at both locations. Later, Julia and Francis look at the security-camera footage at the store. They all see the man staring at Julia, but Francis suggests that maybe he was staring at her because Julia was staring at him.

Julia is becoming increasingly nervous, but Francis tends to downplay her concerns. Julia starts watching the man in the window. She also befriends her next-door neighbor Irina whose friendship helps her feel comfortable. After a night of drinking with Irina, Julia once again looks at the man in the window. To see if he’s really looking at her, she waves. The man in the window waves back.

Julia tells Francis what happened. Francis asks if Julia wants to call the police, and she immediately agrees. The officer is skeptical about Julia’s story, but he goes over to the man’s apartment with Francis. Francis returns alone, and he tries to explain away all of Julia’s fears by saying Julia is stressed and feels alone. All Julia wants is to be believed, but Francis can’t, or he won’t.

During the day, Julia follows the man. She finds out that he is working as a janitor in the same club where Irina works. At night, Julia hears a scream and a crash coming from Irina’s apartment. Julia has the landlord open the door to Irina’s apartment, but all they find is a broken lamp and a cat. The next day, Julia meets Cristian, the man whom Irina was supposed to meet up with last night. They call Irina and hear her phone in her apartment, but nobody comes to the door. Cristian thinks Irina is avoiding him.

Julia then asks Cristian to help her. She wants him to knock on the window-man’s apartment so she can take a look at him and confirm that he is the same man who followed her. No one answers when Cristian knocks, but an old man answers when Julia knocks. As Julia leaves, she sees the man who followed her coming up the stairs. He looks surprised, and Julia quickly leaves. Later, the man arrives at her apartment with the police officer from before. The man, named Daniel, says Julia is harassing him. Julia is coerced into shaking Daniel’s hand and acknowledging that everything was a misunderstanding.

Afterwards, Julia goes with Francis to an event for work. During conversation with a group of people, news that The Spider has been captured is brought up. Francis, while speaking Romanian, jokes about Julia not being lonely because “at least she has The Spider to keep her company.” Francis says Julia’s worries are a fantasy. Hurt and angry, Julia leaves. While on the subway home, Daniel comes over to her and demands an apology. Scared, Julia says, “I’m sorry.”

Back in her apartment, Julia packs a bag. She hears music coming from Irina’s apartment and goes over to see if she is home. The door to Irina’s place is unlocked. Inside, Julia finds Irina’s headless body. Daniel attacks Julia from behind, knocking her out. He holds a knife to her throat, and when Julia tries to call out to Francis, Daniel cuts her neck. Losing blood, Julia crawls into the living room where she knows that Irina has a gun in a drawer. Julia collapses before she makes it there. Meanwhile, Francis tries to call Julia. He hears her phone in Irina’s apartment, so he starts to go over there. At the same time, Daniel is leaving Irina’s place. As the two men look at each other, Daniel is shot. From inside the apartment, Julia shoots Daniel a second time, killing him. Julia emerges from the doorway, turns to Francis, and stares at him with a knowing look.

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