Anyone who has travelled to a foreign city where English is not the first language and the signs are hard to understand will know of the otherworldly and creepy atmosphere you can feel, some things familiar, some not so much.
In Watcher American wife Julia (Maika Monroe) moves to Budapest in Romania with her half-Romanian husband after a recent promotion in his work. Almost immediately she feels isolated, with conversations going on that she does not understand and a new big apartment on a block that seems cold and unfriendly.
After a few nights, she notices a shadowy figure from the apartment opposite watching her, not just at day but at all hours, especially at night. She tells her husband who accuses her of being paranoid but when she goes about town, in a cinema or at a supermarket she senses and sees him following her.
After the police become involved and tales of a serial killer on the loose in the city she starts to think she may be losing her mind, after her one new friend suddenly goes missing she asks if is it all in her head or is she really the next target for the murderer?
The film is a very stylish thriller, a slow burner which builds the tension from the start as you feel for her and how she feels isolated, everything seems different from the tall gothic buildings to the empty metro system, (its a nice touch that all the conversations in Romanian are not subtitles, so you, like her, don’t know what is being said.).
Maika Monroe is excellent, showing the right sense of dread and trying to figure out if it is all just part of her trying to adapt to a new country and way of life. The film is a taunt 91 minutes and the ending I can guarantee you will not see coming.
A good Blu-ray release from MediumRare with a satisfying transfer showing the murky side of Budapest and its architecture. The Audio has a nice atmospheric 5.1 surround mix and adds to the dread and feelings of the story. Extras are an audio commentary by Director Chloe Okuno and Editor Michael Block and a trailer.
A good tense thriller and well worth checking out.
FILM – 8 PICTURE – 8 AUDIO – 7.5 EXTRAS – 6
