You didn’t think we were done with the eclipse yet, did you? For years the writers here at borg have included the 1981 The Watcher in the Woods as a favorite recommendation of a ghost story. It’s a Disney film unlike any other Disney film–the rare instance of a movie being stronger than its source material (the novel by Florence Engel Randall), a Gothic ghost story (or is it?) that may be the creepiest and scariest story the studio released, certainly the spookiest of the 1980s. The best Disney movies of all time? The list needs to include The Watcher in the Woods.
But did you know it’s also a celebration of the mystic vibes of the total solar eclipse? The fact a solar eclipse “hardly ever happens”–it’s rare, but also not that rare in the scheme of Earth science–makes eclipses a great story element for the movie. borg writer Elizabeth C. Bunce loves the movie so much she included a key element of the movie as a subplot in her Edgar Award finalist novel, Cold-Blooded Myrtle. And it’s a perfect horror with a light touch that will please watchers of all ages.
Here’s what Elizabeth had to say about the movie in her retro review in 2011:
For me this film is the archetype of everything I want in a ghost story (erm, absent the actual ghost, I mean). This 1980 Disney offering was based on a young adult novel by Florence Engel Randall, but this is a rare case of the film eclipsing (no pun intended!) its source novel. It follows a pair of young American sisters who are renting a haunted English manor house for the summer, and who awaken the property’s chilling secret—and its chilling landlady, Mrs. Ayelsworth (Bette Davis). Many years ago, Ayelsworth’s daughter disappeared from the estate, in a secret ritual her now-grown friends have sworn to keep silent. But the past won’t be buried, and the apparent ghost of Karen Ayelsworth tries desperately to communicate with our heroines. The setting here is pitch perfect, from the foreboding house to a murky lake, to the chapel ruins with ravens stirring through the dead leaves. I loved this movie as a child, and it’s lost almost none of its wonder, atmosphere, and suspense.
For young audiences the film is exciting enough to get you to jump out of your seat without all the hallmarks of an adult horror movie. We have recommended The Watcher in the Woods to friends for children’s Halloween parties, and it’s proven still to be a hit for kids into their pre-teens. The story elements make for an engaging mystery for adults, too. Melissa Joan Hart, known best for her Sabrina, the Teenage Witch series, made a remake with Anjelica Huston for 2017, the year of the last eclipse. But it paled by comparison to the original. A 2023 launch of a musical based on the movie and novel was expected to arrive late this year.
Just watch.
The original stars “Bond girl” actress Lynn-Holly Johnson (For Your Eyes Only, Ice Castles) and Kyle Richards as the sisters with Richards at the height of her child-actor career between Halloween and Little House on the Prairie. The gravitas of the movie comes from the brilliant Oscar winning actress Bette Davis as the mother of a missing teen–a memorable performance toward the end of the actress’s long and storied career. The supporting cast isn’t too shabby, too, including Oscar nominated actress Carroll Baker (How the West was Won, Giant, Kindergarten Cop) and David McCallum (The Man from U.N.C.L.E, The Great Escape).
2001: A Space Odyssey, Avatar, Little Shop of Horrors, Pitch Black, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Dragonslayer, Dune, Hellboy, Ladyhawke–all have eclipses one way or another, but none do service to the celestial event as you’ll find in The Watcher in the Woods. You may think such a landmark, game-changing movie for Disney would make it a shoo-in to be included on Disney+. But for whatever reason it still has not made it to the streaming service. You can find a TV version on YouTube, but a better choice is the DVD (no, it’s not been released on BluRay yet, but the DVD version is very good for a 1981 release). An alternate ending found on the DVD would have turned the film into science fiction. It was a fun idea, but the final cut was better.
When I was in junior high, as a treat to students, the school would play movies on Friday afternoons, each movie split over two Fridays. I saw this movie on a full size screen in our huge auditorium, which roughly looked like the Ford Theater where Lincoln was shot. My friend Jeff lived literally next door to the woods… you could see them out his window. Jeff held his hands over his eyes for the first hour of the show and didn’t come back the next Friday for the rest. Is there a better recommendation than that?
The film had two fantastic movie trailers. They really hold up. Check them out here:
So… save the cheerleader-looking teen and save the world? (Yes, Heroes had an eclipse theme, too). Two recent total solar eclipses down and it will be obvious how well director John Hough nailed the eerie cold of an impending eclipse.
This is the movie you are looking for.
Watch The Watcher any way you can. Via DVD or YouTube until Disney gets its act together and recognizes the enduring value of this movie. And extend your excitement with this year’s total solar eclipse with your own screening of The Watcher in the Woods.
