Gli occhi del parco

It's the 80's not even Disney is dodging the horror craze and is attempting a scare for those whose age is still single digits.

What happens when wholesome meets horror? A lot of foliage blowing in the wind, the little girl babysat for in Halloween getting mildly possessed and lots of shrieking when lightning bolts strike.

Seven year old me found this on tv in the middle of a run of Disney films in the 1980's, so after weeks of sickly sweet, this did stand out and I can remember finding it spooky - that's spooky not scary.

That made me the exact audience this was for, unfortunately it's so exact it only really works if you're watching this pre your 10th birthday somewhere around 1984.

It's not a bad film for something that's only a few degrees away from Scooby Doo. Rewatching this 35 years later as an adult I still made it all the way through without getting to bored as there's an 'okay' plot going on.

I will say Bette Davis is fabulous wondering around like a bitter witch looking for her vodka and the rest of the cast pull it off without putting to much effort in.

Make sure you YouTube the alternative endings, it's like the acid just kicked in they really want to try and scare the bejesus out of the kids.

Overall it works as a nostalgic flick for background noise for adults and there maybe a few kids out there that can get over it's early 80'sness and watch it til the end.

Not bad, not good but short n sweet.

Horror fans this will take you to the point where you're 0.5 degrees away from not watching a horror, but you might like the soft copy catting - children writing messages backwards I'm looking at you The Shining. Creepy man in the woods with caged birds and dead animals nailed up, hiya Texas Chainsaw - so at least Disney was trying all it could!

This movie terrified me as a child. So I ran across it and had to buy it. I was expecting it to be horrible and cheesy as an adult, but I was wrong.

This movie has some scary parts, even to adults, and I've watched hundreds of horror movies. This one still creates a few chills.

The basic plot is that a family moves to a new house next to some spooky old lady. One of the daughters starts seeing weird things, like a blind-folded girl in the mirror. She also learns the spooky old-lady neighbor had a daughter that disappeared about 20 or 30 years ago. She investigates this mystery despite the scary things that happen.

I promise this movie will at least give you a few chills. The creepy girl in the mirror still freaks me out. It's hard to believe this was a Disney film.

When I was younger I saw this film for the first time and it made an impact, although with age of course the memories faded. However, when I spotted the recent release DVD of this title I had to get it. I felt compelled, and so I snatched it up. When I sat down to watch it, I was instantly drawn into a world of eerie mystery that's surprisingly well-done, especially for a film that bears the name of Disney, notorious for their sanitized, 'family-friendly' fare. This certainly wasn't anything like most of their films, and it was a welcome change. I found myself putting together the mystery a bit faster than the characters, although I was indeed thrown a curve by the ending, which was still quite impacting. The thing about it is, even the alternate endings included on the DVD are still just as impacting, each in its own way. Each one makes quite an impression, and each one resolves the story without tying up each loose end in an impossibly pat way. The 'default' ending is abrupt but poignant, whereas the others are more drawn-out and overtly horrific. But the buildup makes it so, and the buildup is absolutely faultless, especially with the inclusion of the understated and brilliant Bette Davis.

I was absolutely floored by it. Watcher in the Woods is every bit as brilliant a horror film as any other much-discussed title, if not better. It's reminiscent of Lovecraft in many ways and yet gives a distinct impression of a dark, dark fairy tale. The acting is very good, the cast excellent, and the settings simple and isolated yet stunning and evocative. Every fan of film, horror fans in particular, must see The Watcher in the Woods. The DVD release is something that collectors too will enjoy, with the trailers and alternate endings cleaned and clarified for their magnificent DVD presentation. This is a film that should, and will, live in history as one of the hidden gems of film.

Ok, it might not be the greatest movie out there, but I really enjoyed it when I was a kid. And because of that the few times since then that I have watched it, I have held a kind of fascination with it. But alas, my opinion is tainted by childhood. That scary (oh so scary) scene in the fun house haunted me for a long time. And Bette Davis, she is awesome.

I have very little interest in movies about the supernatural. Subjects like ESP and other psychic powers just don't interest me. You should keep that in mind, as I am sure this had an impact on my enjoyment of the movie. So why did I watch it? Bette Davis. It's one of the only films she made that I have never seen--this one and "Return to Witch Mountain"--both of which are considered kids' films. However, I noticed that at least in the case of "Watcher in the Woods", it has appeal for all ages and isn't just another Disney family film. No, it has a bit more of an edge and apparently was a deliberate attempt by the studio to branch into PG-rated films for the first time--with this film and "The Black Hole" (a film I really disliked). Apparently, pre-screenings for "Watcher" were not good, so the studio decided to release "The Black Hole" first--though in hindsight, I think "Watcher" was a much better and less 'kiddie' oriented.

The story begins with a family moving to a home in England. Almost immediately, weird things start happening involving the oldest daughter. She starts having what appear to be spooky visions--and they are quite frightening and also sometimes warn her of impending disasters (more than once saving her life). Soon, her little sister starts hearing things--and all this is too coincidental not to mean something is seriously wrong. See the film to find out what happens next.

All in all, a mildly diverting film but one that didn't have a huge impact on me. It's not bad--but lacks scary qualities that might have made it better--like the film sometimes pulled its punches. Still, it's worth seeing.