Mike Flanagan recommended Watcher in a post on Twitter, and seeing as how much I enjoy his work, I knew I had to take a look at it.

Watcher is an unnerving horror film, and a terrifying look at reality, the lead character, Julia (Maika Monroe) is constantly right about everything that happens, but because she’s a woman, no one believes her.

Julia and her husband Francis (Karl Glusman) have moved to Bucharest, he’s been offered a business opportunity, and the couple leaps at the chance. Julia, however, does not know the language (yet), and is lonely, and makes few connections even as she tries to settle in to her new life.

She is bothered from the night they arrive when it appears that someone, a Watcher (Burn Gorman) is looking in on them from the apartment across the way. Whenever she looks out the window, he seems to be looking back at her.

Things are augmented by the news reports of a serial killer on the loose, tallying up a fourth victim at a crime scene Julia and Francis come across.

Julia is isolated, alone, and maybe she’s just letting her imagination get the better of her, or maybe everyone should just believe her.

As things escalate, including a frightening encounter in the local supermarket, Julia begins to believe that the Watcher poses a real threat. What if he’s the killer? Julia becomes increasingly convinced that she’s right, while the rest of the world, including Francis begins to ignore her.

And by the time they realize the truth it may be too late.

But Julia is determined to control her own narrative, not only with the Watcher but in all aspects of her life as she works to learn the language and prove that she’s not the crazy person everyone seems to think she is.

Okuno who adapted the screenplay and directed it makes sure there is a sense of extreme discomfort throughout the film, from the framing of her images to her choices of angles, everything is done to make the viewer as uncomfortable as Julia, letting everyone relate to her journey, and perhaps forces some of us to examine how we perceive the narratives around us.

Burn Gorman, who has minimum dialogue in the film, is nonetheless imposing and terrifying, representing the unknown. He’s almost ordinary-looking, which is the point, as Julia tries to convince others of her fears and suspicions.

Check this one out. It’s creepy, has some solid performances and feels all too real, and the last few minutes of this one is just so well-executed. If you have Shudder, this one is definitely worth checking out.