Watcher

Writer-director Chloe Okuno overdelivers on the promise of her movie's title but, in doing so, underwhelms in creating suspense. On her first night in Romania, Julia looks out the large picture windows of her apartment and sees other people in the building across from her who haven't pulled their curtains. A shadowy figure seems to be looking at her -- but is he? Julia thinks she's being followed, but is she? Viewers doubt Julia. News stories of a serial killer are swirling, and her paranoia is doubled by the fact that she doesn't know the language in her new country. When she feels that a man at the grocery store must be the same one that she sensed was staring at her from across the street, she starts following him, trying to validate her feelings.

Who is the "watcher"? Is it the creep across the street -- and is he even "watching" her? Or is it Julia, who is now stalking him? Or is it the viewer? We're looking at Julia, judging and evaluating whether we believe her feelings of being hunted. But in making us a watcher of Julia rather than showing us her experiences through her eyes (a subtle difference, but it's there), our own senses are muted. Unlike The Invisible Man, which deals with similar subject matter, we don't feel the hair raise on our necks when Julia feels she's being watched, and we aren't holding our breath when Julia feels she's in danger. Still, Okuno has created a piece of work that has merit as a feminist discussion piece.