1980 Week: The Watcher in the Woods

          Elegantly made but too gentle to work as the supernatural horror show promised by its marketing materials, The Watcher in the Woods was one of many boundary-pushing pictures made by Walt Disney Productions during the experimental period that preceded the introduction of sister studios Hollywood and Touchstone. The folks at Disney were still feeling their way around the terrain of stories suited for grown-ups as well as children, so The Watcher in the Woods represents an admirable but half-hearted effort. It’s not in the least bit cute, and in fact the storyline is quite grim, but the climax feels neutered, leaving the impression that another studio might have made bolder choices with the same material.
          The picture beings with an average family seeking to rent the mansion of an English estate. The estate’s owner, aging widow Mrs. Aylwood (Bette Davis), resides in a cottage adjoining the mansion. She’s a mysterious lady who remains haunted by the loss, many years ago, of her beloved daughter. When Mrs. Aylwood spots Jan (Lynn Holly Johnson), the family’s oldest child, Mrs. Aylwood welcomes Jan’s clan to her estate and keeps a close eye on Jan. So does a supernatural figure residing in the woods surrounding the mansion, which Jan identifies as the ghost of Mrs. Aylwood’s daughter. Jan investigates the story of how Mrs. Aylwood’s daughter disappeared, eventually learning that the young woman participated in a strange ritual with several friends, only to be snatched into another dimension. Can Jan help the displaced young woman return to her despondent mother?

          Based on a novel by Florence Engel Randall, The Watcher in the Woods is constructed well enough, and Alan Hume’s photography is atmospheric. Similarly, Stanley Meyers’ understated score lends the desired level of eeriness. However, The Watcher in the Woods fails to impress on several important levels. The central mystery is solved rather easily, the fright scenes lack real bite, and leading lady Johnson (of Ice Castles fame) is terrible. Her flat Midwestern speech pattern renders each line of dialogue inert, and her catalog of facial expressions ranges from confused to uneasy, with little variance in between.
          Had the filmmakers utilized the capable supporting cast more effectively, Johnson’s shortcomings wouldn’t have been as prominent, but Davis has precious few scenes while costars Carroll Baker and David McCallum phone in their miniscule roles. (The British actors playing superstitious locals merely play to type, albeit quite professionally.) Once The Watcher in the Woods reaches its effects-laden finale, the hoped-for suspense has been supplanted by tedium. Nonetheless, it’s likely that some young viewers in 1980 were fascinated by this cinematic creepshow, and it’s fair to say that time has not completely diminished the picture’s modest charms.

The Watcher in the Woods: FUNKY

Dogs (1976)

          One could easily program an entire film festival comprising nothing but grade-B (and grade-Z) horror movies that were made to capitalize in the success of Jaws (1975). Yet amid the predictable foll0w-ups about aquatic menaces were a handful of pictures about animals gone bad on dry land, including not one but two features in which domesticated dogs become killers. The better of these pictures is most certainly The Pack (1977), with the inimitable Joe Don Baker, but Dogs has its pleasures, as well. To be clear, Dogs is quite horrid, thanks to repetitive attack scenes, stiff acting, and trite plotting. The movie even suffers a unique problem because costar George Wyner later became a familiar face in comedy films, notably Spaceballs (1987), so it’s nearly impossible to take any of his scenes seriously. Yet for many horror fans, sometimes a consistently silly movie can be just as enjoyable as a consistently scary one.
          Set on the campus of a university in the American Southwest, Dogs depicts the problems that emerge once household pets slip out of homes to run wild on suburban streets, forming a murderous pack. There’s some lip service given to the notion that the dogs are driven wild by creepy experiments at a government facility near the campus, but the explanation is so perfunctory it barely merits inclusion. Absent genuine logic and/or suspense, the “appeal” of Dogs stems from its campy approach to fright. David McCallum, formerly of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., hides behind a beard and a bowl cut to play Harlan Thompson, a sullen scientist at the university. As per the norm of such movies, he’s the one who figures out that canines are the culprits behind a series of mysterious deaths. Later, Harlan leads the inevitable race against time as citizens seek shelter during a savage rampage by the dogs. Meanwhile, stupid characters take reckless risks, ensuring a plentiful body count.
          The first half of Dogs is very slow going, because the film’s character development leaves much to be desired, but things pick up once critters start prowling. (The filmmakers wisely focus on shots of a German Shepherd pouncing on people, since the beagle and the sheepdog aren’t especially threatening.) The best scenes in the second half of Dogs are fun in an undemanding sort of way, and special mention should be made of the absurd scene in which dogs lay siege to future Dallas star Linda Gray while she’s in the shower. Yes, there is indeed a Psycho homage in a movie about killer dogs.

Dogs: FUNKY

The Kingfisher Caper (1975)

          Generic but watchable, this drama about siblings fighting for control of their family’s diamond empire was shot in South Africa, which is also the setting of the story. The location and subject give the picture a measure of novelty, although in most other ways The Kingfisher Caper—sometimes alternately titled Diamond Hunters—is quite pedestrian. The acting is competent but passionless, the direction (by Dirk de Villiers) is perfunctory, and the score is a silly mishmash of lounge-lizard slow numbers and vaguely discofied upbeat jams. In fact, excepting such impressive production values as the ship that’s used as a primary setting for the second half of the story, The Kingfisher Caper feels very much like a run-of-the-mill telefilm. Regarding the picture’s paper-thin characterizations, make what you will of the fact that one of the three leading actors is named Jon Cypher—because “cipher” just about covers each member of the story’s dramatis personae. Having said all that, the picture has just enough action and intrigue to hold the attention of casual viewers.

          Based on a novel by Wilbur Smith, The Kingfisher Caper begins when an aging patriarch receives a terminal diagnosis, causing him to divide his empire between dutiful daughter Tracy (Hayley Mills), ne’er-do-well son Benedict (David McCallum), and stalwart adopted son Johnny (Cypher). The title stems from Johnny’s pet project, a massive sea vessel called The Kingfisher, which he’s equipped with computers and industrial equipment for mining diamonds from the ocean floor via dredging. Johnny’s grasp on power is tenuous because he only gains control over the part of the empire related to the Kingfisher, which has yet to make its maiden voyage. Sensing an opportunity, the craven Benedict contrives to sabotage the Kingfisher in order to seize control of Jonny’s assets. (A deadline related to a bank loan provides the ticking-clock element necessary to make all of this plotting work.) The movie also features romantic elements, because Johnny and Tracy—who grew up together but are not related—realize they have feelings for each other once they’re faced with a common enemy in the scheming Benedict.

          The storyline of The Kingfisher Caper is serviceable (if a bit on the trite side), and it helps that darker textures including murder and suicide complicate the latter half of the film. Still, a potboiler only really connects if the performers add something special to the mix, and that doesn’t happen here. McCallum mostly sulks through his scenes, while former child star Mills (of The Parent Trap fame) contributes little except being attractive in a girl-next-door way. Thus it falls to Cypher to do most of the heavy lifting, dramatically speaking, and he’s never more than adequate. To their credit, however, the filmmakers up their game during the finale, a somewhat exciting action/thriller sequence set aboard the Kingfisher.

The Kingfisher Caper: FUNKY