PLOT SUMMARY: When Julia moves to a new country with her husband Francis, she finds herself a target of a stalker who just may be a serial killer
We may not know our neighbors, and maybe not want to know them at all. But we may be curious about them.
If we had a view of our neighbor's apartment through the window, how long would it take before we find ourselves taking a peek every now and then? Of course, our morals would remind us to respect a person's privacy but isn't it that neighbor's fault for not putting up curtains?
On a very serious note, stalking can be terrifying and problematic. It can be difficult to conduct daily activities knowing that someone is following you, and keeping an eye on you at all times because the thing is, the victim always has to wonder what is it that the stalker wants. To kill or to execute a heinous deed?
And perhaps the stalker finds the victim's nervousness amusing and so plays this cat and mouse game to the very end.
WATCHER Movie Plot
The movie begins with Julia and Francis moving to Bucharest. While Julia finds the views fascinating, she can't help but feel a little left out because she doesn't understand the language and her husband is pretty much showing off with his fluency.
She still tries to settle in and not let her husband know that she is uncomfortable.
One night, they are returning home and walking when they find police around their apartment building. Turns out a murder had been taken place in a building adjacent to theirs and Julia spots a guy in an ambulance who looks like he is in shock.
Later Julia learns that a serial killer, dubbed The Spider, has been decapitating women. This unnerves her, even more so when she realizes that someone from the building across from her has been watching her.
Then one day, bored of having nothing to do the whole day, she goes to watch a movie and feels like a man has been following her and taking his place right behind her in the theatre.
She leaves the theatre in panic, realizing that the movie hasn't brought in that many audience members that could discourage from a probably killer from doing the deed.
After all, she has seen the Scream movies and knows what could happen. She gets up and goes to a nearby supermarket but again, there's barely a crowd and she is certain that a creepy looking man is following her. She goes to hide in the back room but misses seeing the employees only sign and is then reprimanded by a staff.
Julia has seen the creepy man look around for her but he's gone now and so she too comes out of safe spot. At this point she should have told the employee that she was being followed but doesn't because she thinks she won't be able to explain herself because of the language barrier.
She leaves and is clearly rattled during dinner, enough for Francis to finally notice that his wife has been distracted. She reveals about her potential stalker and at first Francis dismisses it as a misunderstanding but then when she sulks he decides to take her back to the supermarket so that they can check the tapes.
At the supermarket, the staff member who had scolded her is still working his shift. He sees Julia makes a comment in his native tongue that only Francis understands. During the exchange, Julie feels like she may be taken lightly. The staff agrees to show them the tapes. They don't need any more permission. Francis is able to talk the local language and that is enough to show him security tapes.
Julia is initially disappointed when she doesn't see the man following her about just as she had described. Her stalker is clearly clever enough to know where the cameras are.
When she finally catches him the other two men feel like she may have misunderstood his attentions after all as he doesn't appear to be following her. And it looks like she may be watching him instead.
Julia frowns at that but Francis takes her away rather than drag the incident further.
However Julia decides to learn the language without her husband's knowledge.
Later that night, she looks across the street and thinks she sees the man standing across and watching her. She waves and then is horrified when he waves back. I suppose she must have thought that the man wasn't watching her. Or else why was she shocked that the man she waved to was polite enough to wave back? Did she think everyone in the city was rude?
She then meets with Irina, her neighbour with whom she develops an instant friendship, instant enough for Irina to show Julia where she keeps her gun for protection. Of course the gun is going to come into play later in the movie or why just add this tidbit here?
Julia gets flustered with the man waving at her from the next building and complains to Francis who still doesn’t believe her but still asks a policeman to accompany him so that they can go meet the guy.
The guy turns out to be a very meek looking man, Daniel. Francis is now convinced Julia is being paranoid. There is no way this timid looking man could even say boo to anyone.
Julia has decided that enough is enough and begins to follow Daniel around the city. She ends up at a strip club where she sees Daniel works as a janitor and that Irina works there.
Quite a coincidence that all the people Julia has come into contact with end up at a strip club. Irina has no idea about who works as a sweeper in the club. She's just interested in doing her job.
Unfortunately, she should have paid more attention to the people around her because later that night, Julia hears glass breaking from Irina's apartment.
Imagine how thin the walls of the building her that Julia could hear glass shatter.
She gets concerned and knocks on her door to receive no reply. She has someone open the door and finds a cat inside. Julia could hear the glass but not a cat meowing?
Julia obviously talks about her fears with Francis who again doesn't believe her. He tells her that the serial killer has been caught and that it was the man who was playing a shocked bystander and sitting inside the ambulance.
Julia feels a little relieved but still has niggling doubts.
The next day Irina's boyfriend comes looking for her and tells Julia he finds it odd that Irina hasn't contacted him.
She then asks Irina's boyfriend to accompany her to the next building because she still thinks that the man living there may have something to do with it.
He accompanies her but when no one answers the door he just leaves. Julia tries again and is surprised when an older man opens the door. Believing she has got the wrong apartment or that her husband was right about her paranoia, she leaves.
But Daniel is not going to take her interference lying down.
WATCHER Ending Explained with spoilers!
Daniel brings the police to her apartment and accuses Julia of stalking him!
How the tables have turned.
He gives a sob story about taking care of his sick father and trying to live a normal life but has noticed Julia following him around the city.
Julia accuses him of lying. He acts the meek guy who can't even make eye contact. The police claim there has been a misunderstanding and to let this whole incident pass.
Later, at a party, Francis is talking to his friends in the local language not realizing that Julia has begun to understand what he is saying. We've never actually seen Julia learn the language except for pick up a few curse words from Irina. But somehow she has managed to understand conversations and that she is the butt of the joke.
Tired of being ridiculed, she speaks up and everyone looks at each awkwardly. She storms off, sick of Francis treating her so shabbily.
At the metro station, she feels eyes on her. It is only when she gets in and seated that Daniel comes to sit across from her. He's carrying a trash bag in his hand.
He confronts Julia and tells her how he was trying to do the best for his father but that he was lonely sometimes and so what if he waved at her once. He demands an apology and Julia gives it to him and then quickly gets off at the next stop but not before realizing that Daniel may be carrying a severed head in the trash bag. Or is it all in her head?
The shape does seem like a head.
Julia decides to leave immediately and is packing her bags when she hears music coming from Irina's apartment. She quickly heads over there, finds the door open, walks in and finds Irina sitting on a chair...without her head.
Before she can scream, a trash bag is put over her head.
She wakes up in a different dress and sees Daniel nearby. He pretty much confesses that he has been beheading women for fun.
Francis returns, and again the walls are thin enough for Julia to hear him. She tries to call for help but Daniel has a knife ready and he immediately slits her throat.
Is this the end of Julia? Has she become the serial killer's next victim?
The movie is still going on so there seems to be a chance that she will survive miraculously.
Francis finds Julia's bags but not her and so he calls her. Thin walls play spoilsport to Daniel's plans. Francis can hear the ringtone next door and heads towards it.
Julia has been trying to crawl towards the door but leaves behind a pool of blood. Eventually she collapses and Daniel checks to make sure she is not moving. He heads out of the apartment just as Francis is coming out.
He looks at him, hears the ringtone still playing and is perplexed.
In the next instant, Daniel is shot repeatedly and he collapses.
It is Julia. Not only has she recovered from massive blood loss and is able to stand, but she also retrieved the gun and was able to aim perfectly.
Francis comes over to see his wife covered in blood as she glares at him. See? She was right. She was being stalked.
The movie ends.
Hopefully someone calls for the ambulance soon because considering the amount of blood we see Julia lose it is a wonder she is still standing.
The movie starts off a bit slow but the twist in the middle, which makes the viewers also wonder if perhaps the watcher was Julia all along, was executed well.
SCARE SCALE: 3/5
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