The Watcher in the Woods (1980)

Director:

John Hough

Writers:

Brian Clemens (screenplay)
Florence Engel Randall (novel)

Release Date:

7 April 1982 (France)

Genre:

Family | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Scared of going into the woods? You should be ...

Plot:

When a family moves to a country home, the young girls experience strange happenings that have a link to an occult event years past.

Plot Keywords:

Eclipse | Haunted House | Country Home | Occult | Past

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Mrs. Aylwood
Lynn-Holly Johnson	...	Jan Curtis
Kyle Richards	...	Ellie Curtis
Carroll Baker	...	Helen Curtis
David McCallum	...	Paul Curtis
Benedict Taylor	...	Mike Fleming
Frances Cuka	...	Mary Fleming
Richard Pasco	...	Tom Colley
Ian Bannen	...	John Keller
Katharine Levy	...	Karen Aylwood (uncredited in the shortened 1981 release)
Eleanor Summerfield	...	Mrs. Thayer
Georgina Hale	...	Young Mrs. Aylwood

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | Australia:G | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Director John Hough was not involved in the ending re-shoots.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jan and Mr. Keller are in the chapel waiting for the rest of the people to come she looks through a stained glass window. It is a big missing piece she looks through, but when they show the rest of the people coming it shows the lead in the glass minus the stained glass rather than one big missing piece.

Quotes:

Ellie Curtis: She had to! She had to push you down to get you loose from the branch, she saved your life

Movie Connections:

References The Haunting (1963/I)

The best disney film ever!

Beating other films such as "Candleshoe" and "Escape To Witch Mountain" by far, this is the best film Disney ever produced, and I am outraged that this film does NOT get the right justice it deserves! I have enjoyed this film for years, and years, and never would I have guessed that Disney is the real villian when it comes to this chiller! Disney used to make film for adults, as well as chilldren, and now, children are so spoiled and rotten, and Disney is the rat! All Disney ever does is make rediculous films and TV shows depicting miscreants and awful characters! Back in the day, when movies were made right, Disney knew how to pack a punch! Children are clueless as far as this film is concerned, they do not know how to enjoy it, at least, not like we adults can. This movie was the film that made music box music a vary creepy thing, as Stanly Meyers brilliant score opens the film, with a slight ringing, and strings bringing out the dead still of the woods. The rest of the film is followed by great acting, good cinematography, and terrific special effects! What else an I say about this ghost story about families, alike, and different, and haunted by the lost spirit of a girl, trying to find her way home, and the angry soul, who switched places with her years ago? I LOVE this film, I will always praise it to the highest, and I weep for those who dismiss it!