The Watcher in the Woods

I have a mild obsession with bad awesome films. The poor dialogue, the bad acting, horrible SFX, the cheesiness of a less than subpar story-- a perfect storm of film crapitude.  There's something to be said about movies that are so bad they're hilarious.

This film is in honor of Halloween: The Watcher in the Woods.  Take a look:

It's old school Disney, the kind that liked to scar children for life (Pinochio, Dumbo, BAMBI). It has the great (yet slightly horrifying) Bette Davis.  Kyle Richards is the younger daughter (Real Housewives of Bev Hills woot! woot!) and the mother is the woman who plays the awful, wanna-beat-her-over-the-head-with-a-baseball-bat grandmother from Kindergarten Cop. Plus, it was made in 1980 so you still get those great 70's hairstyles, clothes, and electronic music. Honestly, what's not to love?

To sort of explain the plot, it's about a family who needs to rent a home in the English countryside for reasons still unknown to me (especially since the musician father keeps traveling to the city for work).  Not surprisingly they come across a HUGE SECLUDED MANOR (the all-caps is my "it's so creepy it's obvious" meter) owned by a RECLUSE OLD WOMAN who LIVES IN THE COTTAGE OFF THE MAIN HOUSE.... and she had a daughter THE SAME AGE AS THE ELDEST GIRL who WENT MISSING DECADES AGO.  All of this you learn in the first 10 minutes of the film. Obviously the story goes into the mystery of what happened to the daughter but this isn't the time for spoilers.

It's actually based off this book:

So I definitely think the book is worth a read since so much is left unexplained in the film (what a surprise).  I remember this film from my childhood-- one that creeped me out as a kid even though I'm really a wuss brave-- along with Something Wicked This Way Comes (another creepy Disney adaptation). If you get a chance, rent both of them and tell me what you think; and if I get to see SWTWC, I'll write you about it! Happy watching!