As a serial killer stalks the city, a young actress who has just moved to town with her boyfriend notices a mysterious stranger watching her from across the street. A film by Chloe Okuno, starring Maika Monroe, Karl Glusman, Daniel Nuţă, Aida Economu, and Burn Gorman.

After her boyfriend Francis (Karl Glusman), an American with Romanian ancestry, receives a promotion to work at his company’s branch in Bucharest, Julia (Maika Monroe), a former American actress, relocates with him to an apartment building in the city. Upon her arrival at their new home, Julia is unsettled by the sight of a shadowy elderly woman watching her intently from an upstairs window

Unable to sleep on their first night, Julia listens to the rain pouring down outside. Restless, she slips out of bed and peers through the bedroom window at the unfamiliar neighborhood. As her gaze wanders upward, she’s startled to see a man standing at his window, seemingly staring right at her. Before she can dwell on it, Francis stirs and calls her back to bed. Julia brushes off the odd encounter and asks Francis to wake her before he leaves for work in the morning.

Julia wakes to the chime of her iMessage. Instead of waking her as promised, Francis has sent a photo of her sleeping, with a message saying he couldn’t bear to wake her when she looked so peaceful. Determined to adapt to life in Romania, Julia spends the morning listening to audio lessons, practicing common Romanian phrases and conversations.

While Francis is still at the office, Julia ventures out to explore the city. Returning to the apartment, her curiosity about the man she saw last night gets the better of her. She glances up at his window, only to find the curtains drawn shut. That evening, as she gazes out of their bedroom window, she can make out the silhouette of a man standing behind his curtains, seemingly watching her again.

The next day, Julia ventures out alone to explore the city again. She picks up a kitschy souvenir – a miniature Dracula sculpture – before heading home. As she approaches their apartment, she finds the apartment door open. Warily, Julia inches closer, peering inside and spotting a shadowy male figure. Suddenly, the apartment manager Flavia (Gabriela Butuc) appears, speaking rapid Romanian. Julia doesn’t understand, but Flavia keeps pointing at the ceiling, repeating “Lumina.” Julia realizes Flavia is there to fix the lights, and the man is likely a maintenance worker.

That evening, Francis returns from work, and the couple decides to stretch their legs with a stroll around the neighborhood. Their walk is interrupted by the wail of nearby police sirens. Curiosity piqued, they follow the sound to a nearby building where a police car is parked, its lights flashing. A small crowd has already gathered. As they edge closer, Julia spots an ambulance van and feels a twinge of concern. Francis asks a bystander what’s happening, but no one seems to know.

Julia later catches a news report about a woman murdered in their neighborhood, likely in the building they passed the other night. Unsettled, she tells Francis about the man across the street who seems to be always watching.

Over dinner with Francis’ colleague Cristian (Daniel Nuţă) and his girlfriend Lucia (Aida Economu), they learn more gruesome details: the victim was decapitated. Cristian connects it to a similar attack a month ago, where a woman of the same age was found in her apartment with her throat slit. The media has dubbed the serial killer “The Spider.”

Written and directed by American filmmaker Chloe Okuno in her directorial debut, WATCHER is a compelling psychological thriller. I really enjoyed the storytelling atmosphere. The film brilliantly conveys an eerie feeling through its visuals and music, further blurring the line between reality and imagination. At first, I even thought it might be about vampires, perhaps a story of Dracula.

This psychological thriller keeps us engaged throughout. While the premise isn’t entirely new, the director skillfully creates uncertainty in the audience. We’re left wondering whether the protagonist’s experiences are real or merely products of her paranoid imagination. Special mention must go to Maika Monroe’s excellent performance as the lead. Her portrayal truly brings the character to life and adds depth to the story.

Personally, I found the ending a bit disappointing. It felt like Okuno was afraid of leaving the film on too dark a note, so she opted for a “good triumphs over evil” conclusion. This choice somewhat undermined the intense atmosphere that had been building throughout the movie.

While the finale did offer an unexpected twist, it came across as rather conventional compared to the emotional tension carefully crafted up to that point. The resolution, though surprising, didn’t quite deliver the memorable climax I was anticipating. It’s as if all the suspense and psychological pressure suddenly deflated, leaving me with a sense of unfulfilled potential.

This ending, although unpredictable, seemed to clash with the overall tone of the film. It didn’t quite match the depth and complexity of emotions the story had been exploring. In a way, it felt like a safer, more mainstream choice that didn’t fully capitalize on the psychological thriller elements that made the rest of the movie so engaging.

WATCHER premiered at Sundance Film Festival on 22 January 2022. The film was theatrically released in the United States on 3 June by IFC Midnight.

Maika Monroe Discusses How Her Youth Prepared Her for ‘Watcher’
Maika Monroe admittedly had concerns about Watcher’s similarities to her 2014 genre classic, It Follows, but as soon as she met filmmaker Chloe Okuno, those doubts immediately evaporated.