The Watch

2008
Dir. Jim Donovan

In a bid to finish her thesis, psych student Cassie accepts a job at an isolated fire watch tower. The solitude and stress of finishing her thesis – on post-traumatic stress, no less – take their toll on Cassie, who begins to suspect the area may be haunted… Could she be suffering from a nervous breakdown? Or is she really being targeted by a tragic spectre? Or, is something equally sinister but much less supernatural afoot? So many possibilities...

As mentioned in the previous review, I enjoy catching random horror films on late night TV. If said random horror flick features Clea Duvall, even better. Boasting a rather similar story to Deadline, The Watch also tells of a troubled young woman attempting to get her life back on track after a traumatic incident in her past. What better way to do that than head out into the middle of fucking nowhere to finish your thesis on childhood psychology and have a few ghostly encounters that push you to the brink of your sanity while you’re there? While it has a much lower budget than Deadline, The Watch is a much more effective spookfest. With a well-rounded, well written character to anchor the story – and a typically understated performance from Duvall – The Watch is an intriguing made for TV thriller with a few surprises to offer.

As it was made for TV, it is all fairly tame stuff, but – as demonstrated by Val Lewton in the 1940s, less is more - there are a couple of subtly creepy, atmospheric moments, and the setting itself is highly effective, aptly conveying just how remote and cut off Cassie is. Rather beautiful by day, with stunning views over an autumnal forest valley, by night, when the wind howls and shrieks through the draughty cabin, it becomes somewhere only a horror film fan would want to stay. The use of sound really enhances the eerie atmosphere. Verging on dilapidated, the cabin creaks and moans as much as the ancient trees surrounding it, and when the sun goes down, the wind moaning through the cracks and the sudden bursts of static from the radio serve to make it a highly unnerving place indeed. Cassie’s interaction with a couple of other characters detracts a little from the doomful solitude and loneliness she encounters, but elsewhere the hushed moments - particularly those concerning a water-pump and a moved chair - are quietly chilling.

Via radio, Cassie strikes up a friendship with another young woman in a lookout cabin across the valley. As we're such vigilant viewers, we remember that the woman's name - Polly - was carved into the wall of the food locker and is glimpsed scrawled inside the books Cassie reads. The way in which Polly's ambiguous nature is suggested is still quite subtle though. A lonely ghost who simply wants a companion – but doesn’t take rejection well – she has an interesting back-story and a penchant for ripping the last pages out of books (she’s a ghost therefore her story has no ending and she’s doomed to go on and on without ever finding peace or resolution) when she finally reveals herself, it’s also obvious she’s a fan of J-Horror.

When the denouement comes and all is revealed (shades of Clive Barker’s Dread and, believe it or not, Sliver abound), the matter-of-fact and surprisingly lo-fi manner in which it’s all handled may leave some viewers feeling a little let down; it’s all very ‘oh, I see. Okay then.’ Someone is even scolded. As a character study and rumination on the effects of isolation though, The Watch is pretty solid. While some of the reveals may seem far fetched, as a statement on the cold, callous nature of mankind, it’s as dark as a made for TV thriller can be.

If you happen to catch it on TV late at night like I did, it’s worth checking out.