It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

RELEASED IN 1980/1981 and directed by John Hough, "The Watcher in the Woods" details events in England when an American family moves into a country manor for the summer while the mysterious owner, Mrs. Aylwood (Bette Davis), lives in the guest house. The teen daughter, Jan (Lynn-Holly Johnson), readily discerns something weird is going on, which is linked to Mrs. Aylwood's missing daughter, Karen (Katharine Levy), from decades earlier. Jan investigates the mystery with the aid of a neighbor stud (Benedict Taylor) and her younger sister (Kyle Richards). Carroll Baker & David McCallum play the girls' parents. This is a great mood movie thick with haunting ambiance, augmented by an unnerving score. DON'T expect typical Disney kiddie fare. Despite inexplicable criticism, winsome Lynn-Holly Johnson shines as the protagonist and carries the film with Davis superlative as the curmudgeonly crone. Baker was still stunning as the mother.The original ending of the movie wasn't finished in time so important expositional scenes were cut, which left the story nonsensical. Negative critical response to a test run in spring, 1980, resulted in the movie being pulled from theaters and, after reshoots, a more subdued ending was inserted for its official release in fall, 1981, which is the "official" ending. The original ending included a cool a skeletal-insectoid alien as the Watcher, who eerily floats in thin air, which also appeared in the 1980 test run, minus an explanatory "other world" sequence (which was the part that wasn't completed in time). While the 1980 ending fails to properly explain events, I thought it was quite effective for the time period and for this type of movie. Not everything's tied up, but that's okay because it's a haunting mystery movie anyway. The longer version with the "other world" sequence goes overkill with the gobbledygook. For a way more low-key version with an intelligible and more interesting (but less entertaining) climax, which happens to be more faithful to the book, see the 2017 TV movie by Melissa Joan Hart. THE FILM RUNS 84 minutes (theatrical version) and was shot in Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire & Pinwood Studios, England, with further studio work and reshoots (directed by Vincent McEveety) done in Burbank, California. WRITERS: Brian Clemens & two others based on Florence Engel Randall's novel. GRADE: B+/A-

when Disney made 'WITW', they were investigating the genres of Sci Fi and horror, and like the studio's other attempts, 'Something Wicked', 'The Black Hole' and 'Tron', this was all relatively new for them. it's always been asserted that most of these attempts failed but i disagree. i think they are some of the most strikingly original ventures in the Burbank studio's history.the most criticized of these films is 'Watcher'. because of the difficulty in approaching the ending it's been said the whole film is a muddle. to the contrary it's unique and original as well as being true to the Disney family formula despite it's spooky premise. and it's very well directed by Disney director John Hough who directed the original 'Witch Mountain' films.'WITW' is a good, eerie supernatural thriller that is suitable for the whole family. there is no sex, violence or profanity. it is also filled with Disney's particular brand of imagination.interesting note; the movie features some motocross sequences for young people. who would've ever figured they had motocross in England.

I watched this movie because it had Bette Davis in it. Her part is very small. As for the movie overall, the acting is bad and the script is worse. This was certainly a low point for Disney. I rented this movie from Netflix and the first disc was damaged and would not play. I should have let it go at that, but I ordered another disc. I would not waste your time watching this movie. Oh, I suppose if I were ten again and watching it when it came out in 1980 maybe I would have liked it, but I seriously doubt it. They are few times when I jumped at some cheap bangs and such, but that was closest that I came to actually being scared. The cover of the box was well down though! LOL

"A Gothic horror film without the horror," is how my beloved "Psychotronic Encyclopedia" describes the 1980 Disney offering "The Watcher in the Woods," and although that accusation does have a ring of truth, an entertaining time can certainly still be had here. In the film, an American family comprised of two young daughters and their folks rents out an impressive mansion in the British countryside, and the two girls soon realize that some strange presence is attempting to make contact with them. Could it be the ghost of Karen Aylwood, who had vanished from the mansion almost 30 years before? An interesting setup, but the film, great as it may be to look at, is, sadly, a mixed bag at best. Lynn-Holly Johnson, who I'd only seen previously as a bratty Olympic hopeful in the 1981 Bond outing "For Your Eyes Only," is quite good in the lead as the older, detectivelike daughter, almost coming off like a Hayley Mills for a new generation. Playing her parents, the great Carroll Baker and former U.N.C.L.E. agent David McCallum are given too little to do in smaller roles, while the most formidable actress of Hollywood's Golden Age, Bette Davis, playing Mrs. Aylwood, the mysterious owner of the imposing pile, fails somehow to convince as a British matron. Perhaps worst of all, the film's ending is a rushed and incoherent mess that never adequately explains away all the assorted mishegas that had come before. (The picture's two previously filmed--and scrapped--endings, included as extras on this DVD, show that the usually dependable screenwriter Brian Clemens had no small run of difficulties in wrapping this story up!) Still, the picture somehow manages to please, mainly due to Johnson's sweet portrayal and some fabulous cinematography. (How great this film must have looked on the big screen!) And with that Disney imprimatur, need I even mention that this is one horror flick eminently suitable for watching with the kiddies? Indeed, they'll probably wind up liking it even more than Mom and Pops!