The Watcher in the Woods

Infobox Film | name = The Watcher in the Woods


caption = The film's second theatrical poster.
director = John Hough
Vincent McEveety (uncredited)
producer = Hugh Attwooll
Tom Leetch
Ron Miller

writer = Novel:
Florence Engel Randall
Screenplay:
Brian Clemens
Rosemary Anne Sisson
Harry Spalding
Gerry Day (uncredited)
starring = Bette Davis
Lynn-Holly Johnson
Kyle Richards
Carroll Baker
David McCallum
music = Stanley Myers
cinematography = Alan Hume
editing = Geoffrey Foot
distributor = Walt Disney Pictures
released = 17 April 1980
7 October 1981
runtime = 84 minutes
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:53539
imdb_id = 0081738

"The Watcher in the Woods" is a 1980 thriller film from Disney. It was based on the 1976 novel by Florence Engel Randall. It is a live action movie that, though predominantly a family oriented work, is also a mystery, thriller, horror, and science fiction. "The Watcher in the Woods" is also well-known for its notorious rewrites, reshoots, and recuts (including the film's original opening credits and conclusion) after being pulled from theatres in 1980. It was rereleased in 1981.

ynopsis

Thirty years ago in an English village, a young girl named Karen Aylwood (Katherine Levy) mysteriously disappeared in a decrepit chapel during a solar eclipse. Thirty years later, an Anglo-American family - Helen and Paul Curtis (Carroll Baker and David McCallum) and their daughters Jan (Lynn-Holly Johnson) and Ellie (Kyle Richards) - move into a manor close to where the event occurred. Mrs. Aylwood (Bette Davis), the owner of the residence and Karen's mother, notices that Jan bears a striking resemblance to her missing daughter.

The girls sense a strange presence lingering in the woods: Jan sees ghostly apparitions of Karen trapped within mirrors, blindfolded and calling for help, while Ellie channels the thoughts of an unseen ethereal being ("the Watcher") that may or may not be the missing girl. Jan assumes the presence is Karen and, in an attempt to help her, tries to unravel the events surrounding Karen's disappearance. However, a veil of fear silences the residents of the tiny village, including Karen's childhood friends, who seem determined to conceal the secrets that could unlock the thirty-year old mystery.

Jan realizes, via the Watcher's communications through Ellie, that Karen's disappearance is linked to the solar eclipse. In an attempt to save Karen she recreates the séance-like ceremony that occurred at the time of the disappearance, in which Karen's three best friends linked hands around her. In the chapel, the Watcher possesses Ellie and explains the accidental switch that took place thirty years ago. It then appears independently as a pillar of light, fueled by the "circle of friendship". It engulfs Jan and lifts her into the air, but Jan's friend Mike Fleming (Benedict Taylor) intercedes and pulls her away before the Watcher disappears. At the same time, the eclipse ends and Karen reappears – still blindfolded. She removes the blindfold as her mother enters the chapel.

Endings

The "other world"

The "other world" sequence was an integral part of the intended ending for the film; it was never completed.

The original ending featured an appearance by the growling Watcher, a skeletal, insectoid alien, which picks Jan up in the chapel and disappears. At this point, the two were supposed to fly across an alien landscape to the Watcher's crippled spacecraft. Inside, Karen was trapped in a pyramidal prism. According to Sam Nicholson, the visual effects supervisor, "For some reason, the girl who disappeared imbalanced this alien's craft when she went through this portal. Which in turn caused this alien to crash." [Bosco, Scott Michael. [http://www.geocities.com/ditcininterviews/nicholsonwatcher.html "Interview with Sam Nicholson"] . "Digital Cinema". 1 April 2002.] Jan reached out to Karen, and when the two embraced they were teleported to the chapel. The girls then returned to the manor, where Mrs. Aylwood and her daughter were reunited. As they walked arm in arm, Jan explained everything to Ellie: the Watcher – who was switched with Karen by accident during the eclipse – needed Jan to free the girl.

The visual effects for the "other world" scenes were not finished in time for the release because the film was rushed out to coincide with Bette Davis's 50th anniversary as a film actor in 1980 (Davis was first hired by Universal Studios in 1930). Rather than finish the existing effects shots, Disney opted to rewrite and re-shoot the ending to create a more benign Watcher and tone down references to the occult.

First theatrical release (1980)

The first theatrical ending featured only part of the intended ending, leaving out all of the "other world" sequence and replacing it with Helen's interrogation of Karen's friends (after Jan disappeared). The film relied on Jan's brief, cryptic explanation to provide closure. The conclusion to "The Watcher in the Woods" was nearly unintelligible as a result, thus giving the film the reputation of not having an ending. It also omitted Mrs. Aylwood's condemnation of recreating the séance on the basis that it was witchcraft. After a week-long run of sneak previews was poorly received by critics, the film was pulled from theatres and work on a new ending began.

econd theatrical release (1981)

The 1981 theatrical release is the "official" version of the movie and can be found on any VHS, laserdisc, or DVD release of "The Watcher in the Woods". It is summarized above in the film's synopsis.

In the new ending, the re-imagined Watcher (an ectoplasmic pillar of light) was less threatening and more supernatural. The nature of Karen and the Watcher's switch was clearly explained by Ellie in the chapel (whilst possessed by the Watcher). The new footage (including the forest scenes that replaced the original opening credits) was directed by Vincent McEveety, although he was not credited due to union rules which forbade a screen credit unless the director worked on the film for a certain number of hours.

Anchor Bay "special edition"

When Anchor Bay Entertainment obtained the rights to release "The Watcher in the Woods" on DVD, it spearheaded an effort to find the original film elements and enlist director John Hough's help in re-editing the film. They planned to release two versions of the film: the 1981 theatrical version as well as John Hough's director's cut, which would feature the censored opening credits (in which the Watcher scares a girl and incinerates her doll) and a finished version of the "other world" ending.

However, Anchor Bay encountered considerable resistance from Disney. In the end, they were forced to drop the original credits and release the "other world" footage as an abbreviated (14 minute long) and unfinished alternate ending. The other alternate ending (6 minutes long) is an approximation of the first theatrical ending. Both of these alternate endings were later included in Disney's own DVD release of the film in 2004.

Cast

*Bette Davis ... Mrs. Aylwood
*Carroll Baker ... Helen Curtis
*David McCallum ... Paul Curtis
*Lynn-Holly Johnson ... Jan Curtis
*Kyle Richards ... Ellie Curtis
*Ian Bannen ... John Keller
*Richard Pasco ... Tom Colley
*Frances Cuka ... Mary Fleming
*Benedict Taylor ... Mike Fleming
*Eleanor Summerfield ... Mrs. Thayer
*Georgina Hale ... Young Mrs. Aylwood
*Katherine Levy* ... Karen Aylwood

* Uncredited for second theatrical release (1981), but credited for first theatrical release (1980).

ource novel and screenplay

"The Watcher in the Woods" is based on Florence Engel Randall's 1976 novel "A Watcher in the Woods". Producer Tom Leetch pitched the project to Disney executive Ron Miller, stating that "This could be our Exorcist." [Bosco, Scott Michael. [http://www.geocities.com/ditcin4/watchermystery.html "The Watcher in the Woods: The Mystery Behind the Mystery"] . "Digital Cinema". 5 May 2002.] Brian Clemens adapted the novel into a screenplay. However, Disney decided that Clemens' version was too dark and had Rosemary Anne Sisson revise it. This script was later revised again by Gerry Day in July of 1979. [ [http://www.scriptcity.net/details.asp?SORT=W&offset=40&ID=5540 Gerry Day's "The Watcher in the Woods" script revision lisiting] dated 11 July 1979 at Script City.] During filming, Ron Miller would often intervene to tone down intense scenes, leading to tension between himself and Leetch.

When the film was pulled from theatres, several new endings were penned by various writers at Disney to substitute for the original. Harrison Ellenshaw, the visual effects designer, later stated (possibly jokingly) that there were "roughly 152" possible endings. [Bosco, Scott Michael. [http://www.geocities.com/ditcininterviews/ellenshawwatcher.html "Interview with Harrison Ellenshaw"] . "Digital Cinema". 27 March 2002. Interview conducted 7 November 1998.] "The Watcher in the Woods"' visual effects designer, Harrison Ellenshaw, wrote the version of the ending that eventually accompanied the re-release of the film.

DVD Releases

Released by Anchor Bay on 2 April 2002. This version comes with a wealth of extras including an audio commentary by director John Hough, a detailed biography of Hough, two alternate endings, three theatrical trailers, and a TV commercial. The DVD also comes with a 20 page collectible booklet and card insert of the film's original poster art (seen on the DVD's front cover). The Anchor Bay DVD is now permanently out-of-print.
*1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
*Dolby Digital-EX 6.1 (English)
*DTS-ES 6.1 (English)
*Region 1 encoding
*Subtitles: English
*Run time 84 minutes

Released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment on 29 March 2004 (primarily in the United Kingdom and Australia). There are no extra features on this release.
*Region 2 encoding
*Subtitles: Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, English, Finnish, Dutch, Danish
*Run time: 80 minutes

Released by Walt Disney Video on 3 August 2004. This version has far less features than the Anchor Bay release, however, it is the only version currently available through retailers. This version only includes the two alternate endings and two theatrical trailers. It does not come with the audio commentary, biography, third trailer, TV commercial, booklet, or card insert.
*1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
*Dolby Digital 5.1 (English)
*Region 1 encoding
*Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
*Run time: 83 minutes

Taglines

*"A masterpiece of suspense!"
*"It was just an innocent game until a young girl vanished... for thirty years."
*"It is not a fairy tale."
*"Something is watching. Something unknown."

Award nominations

*The film was nominated for a Saturn Award (Best International Film 1982).
*Kyle Richards was nominated for a Saturn Award (Best Supporting Actress 1982) and Young Artist Award (Best Young Motion Picture Actress 1982) for her portrayal of Ellie Curtis.

Trivia

*In the second theatrical release of the film, Katherine Levy portrayed Karen in all but the final scene (an uncredited actress replaced her).Fact|date=July 2008
*When the Curtis family attempts to flee in the middle of a storm, you can see a hose behind their car spraying water (which is supposed to be rain) just before they drive onto the bridge.
*Mr. Keller (Ian Bannen)'s home also served as Hill House in Robert Wise's 1963 horror classic "The Haunting".
*"The Watcher in the Woods" was one of Disney's first films to receive a MPAA rating of PG. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081738/trivia]
*The film's total domestic gross was approximately $5,000,000. [ [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=watcherinthewoods.htm "The Watcher in the Woods"] at Box Office Mojo.]
*There is an episode of the TV series Are You Afraid of the Dark called Watcher's Woods that bears a similar plotlineFact|date=July 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/ditcin4/watchermystery.html Digital Cinema] , detailed articles on the controversies surrounding "The Watcher in the Woods" by journalist Scott Michael Bosco.
* [http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/616/ RetroJunk] , article about the film, novel, and lost footage.
* [http://www.ultimatedisney.com/watcher.htm Review of the Anchor Bay DVD] at Ultimate Disney.
* [http://www.ultimatedisney.com/watcher.html Review of the Walt Disney Video DVD] at Ultimate Disney.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkpf2IzmMVg Anchor Bay alternate ending (6 min)] on YouTube.