The Watcher in the Woods is a 1980 horror film from Walt Disney Pictures, that has developed into something of a cult film over the years. It was based on the 1976 novel by Florence Engel Randall. It is a live action movie that, though predominantly a family oriented work, also contains elements of the mystery, thriller, horror, and science fiction genres. The Watcher in the Woods is also well-known for its notorious rewrites, re-shoots, and re-cuts (including the film's original opening credits and conclusion) after being pulled from theaters in 1980. It was re-released in 1981 after numerous cuts and a revised ending.
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The story concerns a teenage girl and her little sister who become encompassed in a supernatural mystery regarding a missing girl in the woods surrounding their new home. The movie was filmed at Pinewood Studios and the surrounding areas in Buckinghamshire, England.
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Synopsis:
Thirty years ago in an English village, a young girl named Karen Aylwood (Katherine Levy) mysteriously disappeared in a decrepit chapel during a solar eclipse. Thirty years later, an Anglo-American family - Helen and Paul Curtis (Carroll Baker and David McCallum) and their daughters Jan (Lynn-Holly Johnson) and Ellie (Kyle Richards) - move into a manor close to where the event occurred. Mrs. Aylwood (Bette Davis), the owner of the residence and Karen's mother, notices that Jan bears a striking resemblance to her missing daughter.
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The girls sense a strange presence lingering in the woods: Jan sees ghostly apparitions of Karen trapped within mirrors, blindfolded and calling for help, while Ellie channels the thoughts of an unseen ethereal being ("the Watcher") that may or may not be the missing girl. Jan assumes the presence is Karen and, in an attempt to help her, tries to unravel the events surrounding Karen's disappearance. However, a veil of fear silences the residents of the tiny village, including Karen's childhood friends, who seem determined to conceal the secrets that could unlock the thirty-year old mystery.
Jan realizes, via the Watcher's communications through Ellie, that Karen's disappearance is linked to the solar eclipse. In an attempt to save Karen she recreates the séance-like ceremony that occurred at the time of the disappearance, in which Karen's three best friends linked hands around her. In the chapel, the Watcher possesses Ellie and explains the accidental switch that took place thirty years ago. It then appears independently as a pillar of light, fueled by the "circle of friendship". It engulfs Jan and lifts her into the air, but Jan's friend Mike Fleming (Benedict Taylor) intercedes and pulls her away before the Watcher disappears. At the same time, the eclipse ends and Karen reappears – still blindfolded. She removes the blindfold as her mother enters the chapel.
Alternate Endings: The film had three different alternate endings, which are presented below:
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The "other world"
The "other world" sequence was an integral part of the intended ending for the film; it was never completed.
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The original ending featured an appearance by the growling Watcher, a skeletal, insectoid alien, which picks Jan up in the chapel and disappears. At this point, the two were supposed to fly across an alien landscape to the Watcher's crippled spacecraft. Inside, Karen was trapped in a pyramidal prism. According to Sam Nicholson, the visual effects supervisor, "For some reason, the girl who disappeared imbalanced this alien's craft when she went through this portal. Which in turn caused this alien to crash." Jan reached out to Karen, and when the two embraced they were teleported to the chapel. The girls then returned to the manor, where Mrs. Aylwood and her daughter were reunited. As they walked arm in arm, Jan explained everything to Ellie: the Watcher – who was switched with Karen by accident during the eclipse – needed Jan to free the girl.
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The visual effects for the "other world" scenes were not finished in time for the release because the film was rushed out to coincide with Bette Davis's 50th anniversary as a film actor in 1980 (Davis was first hired by Universal Studios in 1930). Rather than finish the existing effects shots, Disney opted to rewrite and re-shoot the ending to create a more benign Watcher and tone down references to the occult.
First theatrical release (1980)
The first theatrical ending featured only part of the intended ending, leaving out all of the "other world" sequence and replacing it with Helen's interrogation of Karen's friends (after Jan disappeared). The film relied on Jan's brief, cryptic explanation to provide closure. The conclusion to The Watcher in the Woods was nearly unintelligible as a result, thus giving the film the reputation of not having an ending. It also omitted Mrs. Aylwood's condemnation of recreating the séance on the basis that it was witchcraft. After a week-long run of sneak previews was poorly received by critics, the film was pulled from theatres and work on a new ending began.
Second theatrical release (1981)
The 1981 theatrical release is the "official" version of the movie and can be found on any VHS, laserdisc, or DVD release of The Watcher in the Woods. It is summarized above in the film's synopsis.
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In the new ending, the re-imagined Watcher (an ectoplasmic pillar of light) was less threatening and more supernatural. The nature of Karen and the Watcher's switch was clearly explained by Ellie in the chapel (whilst possessed by the Watcher). The new footage (including the forest scenes that replaced the original opening credits) was directed by Vincent McEveety, although he was not credited due to union rules which forbade a screen credit unless the director worked on the film for a certain number of hours.
Anchor Bay DVD release controversy Buy The Watcher In The Woods On DVD Now At Great Savings.
When Anchor Bay Entertainment obtained the rights to release The Watcher in the Woods on DVD, it spearheaded an effort to find the original film elements and enlist director John Hough's help in re-editing the film. They planned to release two versions of the film: the 1981 theatrical version as well as John Hough's director's cut, which would feature the censored opening credits (in which the Watcher scares a girl and incinerates her doll) and a finished version of the "other world" ending.
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However, Anchor Bay encountered considerable resistance from Disney. In the end, they were forced to drop the original credits and release the "other world" footage as an abbreviated (14 minute long) and unfinished alternate ending. The other alternate ending (6 minutes long) is an approximation of the first theatrical ending. Both of these alternate endings were later included in Disney's own DVD release of the film in 2004.
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Cast:
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* Uncredited for second theatrical release (1981), but credited for first theatrical release (1980).
Source novel and screenplay
The Watcher in the Woods is based on Florence Engel Randall's 1976 novel A Watcher in the Woods. Producer Tom Leetch pitched the project to Disney executive Ron Miller, stating that "This could be our Exorcist." Brian Clemens adapted the novel into a screenplay. However, Disney decided that Clemens' version was too dark and had Rosemary Anne Sisson revise it. This script was later revised again by Gerry Day in July of 1979. During filming, Ron Miller would often intervene to tone down intense scenes, leading to tension between himself and Leetch.
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When the film was pulled from theaters, several new endings were penned by various writers at Disney to substitute for the original. Harrison Ellenshaw, the visual effects designer, later stated that there were "roughly 152" possible endings. The Watcher in the Woods' visual effects designer, Harrison Ellenshaw, wrote the version of the ending that eventually accompanied the re-release of the film.
Promotional Taglines
- A masterpiece of suspense!
- It was just an innocent game until a young girl vanished... for thirty years.
- It is not a fairy tale.
- Something is watching. Something unknown.
- Walt Disney Pictures invites you to spend 90 minutes on the edge of your seat.
These Are Photo's we took from the original set we have for sale at www.DisneyExclusiveOnline.com. Here is the link to the Art section if you want to see more. We will also be posting more free wallpaper and screen savers to come. Disney Exclusive Online Art
Written By: Tollie Schmidt, who is a self proclaimed dreamer loves the dream and magic behind Walt Disney. Tollie a former WDW Cast member founded Disney Exclusive Online. A Disney Theme Park Exclusive store, Blog, news, tips.
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