‘Watcher’ is a slow but engaging movie, brimming with tension and suspense. I thought this was a great psychological thriller. There is an echo of Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” through the gloomy streets of the Bucharest apartment district. The film also pays tribute to Roman Polanski’s “apartment” films, most notably, “The Tenant”. What makes this film great is the great acting, visual elegance and throttling suspense.
Maika Monroe plays Julia with superb sensitivity, with a face that more eloquently reveals the trepidation than words can. Director Chloe Okuno uses Monroe’s face the way Hitchcock uses faces, as a canvas best suited to convey anxiety and dread. Julia barely knows how to speak Romanian and while her busy husband is away at work, she quickly falls into the realm of isolation and loneliness due to her inability to communicate. The lonely spouse and the over-worked husband are a breeding ground for paranoia. Watcher builds on this formula to create a sense of dislocation and chillingly leaves the audience thinking “It could be me.”
The cinematography is a visual delight, achieving artistic shots and lighting that increases the mysterious tone.
Overall, this slow burn thriller gives a paralyzing sense of paranoia and the end result is a compelling mystery. Give it a watch!
