JP Nunez
Any time IFC Midnight puts out a new movie, I take notice. They’re my favorite indie horror studio, so naturally, when I heard there was a trailer for their upcoming movie Watcher, I just had to check it out.
The film is about a young woman named Julia who has just moved to Romania with her husband, and she notices that a mysterious stranger seems to be watching her from his apartment across the street. She soon begins to feel like this person is actually following her, and this all takes place while a serial killer is stalking the city.
That combination of an apparent stalker and a serial killer on the loose sounds terrifying already, and the trailer for Watcher brings that terror home and makes it tangible. For starters, the image of the guy staring at Julia from across the street is pretty creepy, and it single-handedly made me want to learn more about who he is and what he’s really up to.
On top of that, the whole trailer is saturated with a feeling of dread, so even apparently innocent shots, like Julia just walking down the street, seem like they’re warning us that something terrible is going to happen. It’s the kind of atmosphere that can get under your skin and allow you to feel everything the main characters are going through, and if the movie can replicate that feeling and maintain it from start to finish, this is almost guaranteed to be a real winner.
Then, about halfway through, the trailer changes gears, and it begins to show us just how horrific Watcher is going to get. Admittedly, it only gives us a glimpse of that horror, but if it’s any indication of what the film is really like, you can be sure it’s going to turn into a genuine nightmare.
All of these elements come together to make for an awesome trailer, so I absolutely can’t wait to see Watcher. The film hits theaters on June 3, and you can bet I’m going to buy my ticket as soon as I can.
