Search - The Watcher in the Woods on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Mild Violence, Violence, Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1981 DVD Release: 04/02/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 23 mins Studio: Anchor Bay Members Wishing: 17 Genres: Fantasy, Thriller, Haunted House Film See Also: Watcher in the Woods

This Disney Studios attempt at entering the horror genre is a British production based on the chilling novel by Florence Engel Randall. An American family, headed by composer Paul Curtis (David McCallum) and his wife Helen (Carroll Baker), is renting an old mansion in England. The mansion's owner is Mrs. Aylwood (Bette Davis), who lives in a small guest house on the property. The mansion is surrounded by dense, forbidding woods. The Curtis children, Jan (Lynn-Holly Johnson) and Ellie (Kyle Richards), explore the forest. Mrs. Aylwood is continually searching the woods for her daughter -- whom she lost there 30 years ago. Over time, the children come to be haunted by the spirit of the daughter, Karen (Katherine Levy). The film was originally released in 1980 with an ending that included a huge alien from another planet. The studio pulled back the film after test audiences laughed at the special effects, and re-released the movie in 1982 with a new ending that circumvented the alien. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Bette Davis - Mrs. Aylwood
Carroll Baker - Helen Curtis
David McCallum - Paul Curtis
Ian Bannen - John Keller
Lynn-Holly Johnson - Jan Curtis

Starring screen legend Bette Davis, Watcher in the Woods will scare viewers silly. Anchor Bay has done a very good job on this 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer (which is also THX certified). The print is clean of any excessive blemishes or grain, and colors look bright and clear of any bleeding or softness. Overall, this is a very nice looking picture that should please fans. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX in English as well as DTS 6.1 Matrixed ES. For a film of such age and low-budget origins, it's surprising to see Anchor Bay putting this much effort into the soundtrack. However, fans won't complain when they hear both of these soundtracks; each mix includes some fun directional sounds in both the front and rear speakers, and the bulk of the soundtrack has a very warm and ear-pleasing quality to it. While neither of these mixes will blow away a home theater system, they do sound better than expected. Also included on this disc is the original Dolby 2.0 soundtrack, as well as English captions. =Watcher in the Woods really shines when it comes to the extra features department. Starting off the disc is a commentary track by director John Hough. This is a somewhat entertaining and informative commentary, though the director is a bit dry and there are many gaps of silence. Two alternate endings are available in anamorphic widescreen that should shed some light as to why the film was cut down to a measly 83 minutes. Finally, there are three theatrical trailers for the film, a TV spot, a biography on director John Hough, and a collectable booklet with 20 pages of production notes, interviews, and images from the film. All in all, this is a great DVD edition for a film that was hardly a blockbuster success. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide