England becomes home for an American family whose beautiful forested manor is haunted by the ghost of a missing young woman.

During the 70s and 80s, Disney released a collection of live action films that targeted young adult audiences with darker, more daring storytelling. New leadership meant they could cash in on the sci-fi/fantasy craze sweeping the industry by getting more experimental in their filmmaking, though not all results were commercially successful. Based on a 1976 horror novel and pitched by a producer as “Disney’s Exorcist”, WATCHER IN THE WOODS (1980) is a good example of this trend, depicting a complex supernatural story including seances, possessed children, inter-dimensional beings, and look it’s Bette Davis! After the film’s premiere, negative reactions from critics and audiences swirled, and the film was subsequently snatched out of theaters after only a week to be re-worked to soften the scares.

Story goes, an American family moves into an aging manor set in the forested English countryside. Must be nice! The owner, a strange, gawking old woman, lives onsite and recognizes her missing daughter in the face of the eldest of the family’s daughters. Mysterious blue lights appear, apparitions, eclipses, yada yada.What really drew me to this was learning it starred the legendary Bette and equally legendary Real Housewife of Beverly Hills, Kyle motherfucking Richards, although her performance reminds me why I despise child actors.

I wish I would have seen this earlier in my life, although it creates some actually terrifying moments that would’ve sent me into a coma as a kid. Great gateway horror for softies with cozy autumnal vibes, shiny Disney tinge, and an incomprehensible ending that reminds me to lighten up and just respect the classics.