FlashCallahan When a normal American family move into a beautiful old English house in a wooded area, strange, paranormal appearances befall them. Their daughter Jan sees, and daughter Ellie hears, the voice of a young teenage girl who mysteriously disappeared during a total solar eclipse decades before.....The early eighties saw Disney go through a dark period with their live action films. Now, there are two kinds of dark. There is Condorman dark, and if you've see that abomination, you'll know the dark I'm referring to. And then there is the blatant darkness of Something Wicked This Way Comes, and this little curiosity piece that went into the abyss for a few years, before being released in eighty one.And it's easy to see why Disney had so many problems with its release. Firstly, it's not very scary, we just see a lot of blue lights flashing. And secondly, Davis aside, it's not very good either.We get the majority of the film with the girl from For Your Eyes Only, and one of those putrid housewives of Beverly somewhere, either listening or hearing strange things.Add a strange Wicker Man vibe to the locals, and you have this strange hodge podge of a film, too sinister for children, too silly for adults.So it's only worth watching to see Davis in a role where she does nothing else but think about paying her bills.It's not terrible, it looks good, and the house and the fun fair scene are quite creepy, but it's not surprising that the film is very difficult to find.

moonspinner55 Florence Engel Randall's book "A Watcher in the Woods" becomes abysmal, dumbed-down entry in Grand Guignol territory by the Disney people, an unusually bland ghost story offering special effects galore but nobody to care about. Young girl's spirit haunts an isolated manor, with Bette Davis doing just-OK work as a spooky neighbor who helps the new residents unravel the mystery. Supporting players Carroll Baker and Lynn-Holly Johnson are acceptable, but the film's major set-pieces, designed for chills, fail to come off due to pedestrian handling. This is a thriller made by people who don't understand the genre, although the production values are up to Disney's high standards. Film is hurt overall by post-production tinkering; the finale, reworked twice due to poor audience reactions, is simply unsatisfactory. *1/2 from ****

Armand maybe not the best thriller/horror. but a charming one. for the presence of the unique Bette Davis. for the story. maybe, for the errors. a Disney film who could be interesting example of a good adaptation. for high delicacy, for the tension and for message. for the science of detail. and, sure, for remember a lost period in which a music box was important for search the truth. the grace to present the events is the lead virtue. and it does it special for the mixture of atmosphere from "80's with the scent of Gothic stories. a film for teenagers, it is useful for adults. because, very sentimental, it use the horror rules in wise manner.

hellraiser7 The woods to me can be one of the creepiest places to be because you never really know what's hidden out there.This film is another underrated and forgotten gem. I'll admit discovering that Disney made a horror film was unreal to me, I felt this was great because it really showed that Disney was starting to take chances they were starting to take the next step. It's a shame Disney didn't make more horror films, I really would of liked to of seen them.The film seems like a lost anthology tale for the TV show "Are you Afraid of the Dark" because like with that show this is a horror film for the family film genre which I think is really cool since we really don't have that many. It is a very tricky feet trying to mix both the horror and family genre, but this film I feel is one done right because it's able to successful balance out both without watering itself down.I really like the production value and even cinematography of the film which I think have some memorable visuals; I really liked how the film used the forest locale, the use of light and shadow which made the woods a character in itself as it emits a sense of mystery and menace. I even like the ruined chapel location which almost looks like part of a level in the video game "Castlevania" which looked spooky from it's Gothic feel and structure and amount of darkness that emitted almost a creepy feeling. Or even the viewpoint of the Watcher which adds to the creep factor because you not sure what this thing or entity is about to do, even thought it's not doing anything now you know it will soon.Music is solid, though not memorable which to me is one of the weak points of the film, I wish this film had a more memorable score but still it was good enough to give the film the right moodiness it has.I really like the story, it's not really a ghost story there really isn't a ghost per say it's more of a psychic mystery thriller, which I think is cool since we don't get nearly enough of those in the horror genre. The suspense is solid, yeah it's a slow burn but I don't mind because as the film gets further things start to escalate. You really have a creepy and disorienting feeling throughout the film because your not entirely sure what's going to happen next or even what all this is leading up to. The mystery I think is very good, it has a great amount of intrigue, there are clues but they're not obvious, we can see them but we can't entirely decipher their meaning or know how they really go together; and I like that feeling it really makes it feel like a real mystery, causing us to think and figure things out. Characters I think are pretty solid from the adult characters mainly Mrs. Aylwood played by Bette Davis one of her last roles. She is pretty much that mysterious wise women on the side of road character but I really like how you actually kind feel for her, as we see throughout the years she has been plagued by this mystery of not knowing what happened to her daughter which is a terrible feeling and in a way just motives you to want the protagonists to solve the mystery and win.And I like both the young female protagonists. Kyle Richards is solid as Elle Curtis and on a side note this actress played Linsey in John Carpenter's "Halloween" which is cool since that's one of my favorite horror films and that's two horror films in a row for the actress which isn't bad. Anyway, I like that she's not some stereotypical annoying little sister but she a sweet girl, she has a bit of charisma, loves dogs, despite young she's not totally naive she does exercise some intelligence.Lynn Holy Johnson I also thought was solid/decent as Jan Curtis, her character is solid, she takes charge, cares for her little sister; there's a good back and forth between both of them, and I like that she's very open doesn't dismiss what's happening as things shes just seeing. Both the sisters are psychics but don't entirely know it or have no idea how to control it, each of them have the ability but it works different. For Elle it's mainly in hearing, she is able to hear voices from a distance or pick up sounds no others can hear, much like with a dog that can hear certain frequencies. Jan it's sight, where she can see images for a certain amount of time and occur at different times.This makes both sympathetic because their in the same boat as us, their struggling to figure out what in the hell is going on, why this is all happening to them. There are some memorable images like one scene which was creepy was Jan putting up a mirror and then when she looks at it again she doesn't see her reflection. But for me the best scene was in the mirror maze when we see Jan suddenly see multiple images of a girl, blind folded and from her lip movements is constantly saying help me.What also makes this films stand out are two of it's endings. I personally really liked the original ending they choice for the film it felt right and well balanced, though I even liked the alternate ending which I thought good let alone even stranger, I won't say what it is you just have to see both for yourself.Like any sight in the woods is worth a watch.Rating: 3 stars