Without a doubt, unknown things attract people, and they cannot resist them. Especially those that no one can solve. And it is in such a strange and frightening atmosphere that the creators of this new hit – Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan – immerse the audience. Just recently their project about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was released on Netflix, from which viewers will take a long time to recover. And their new project is already available to us for viewing on the same platform. The title alone – The Watcher – will make the audience shiver, and their blood run cold in their veins. And when such professionals like Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan get down to business, the audience is even more interested in this project. But this story is also interesting because it is based on real events. So what’s the story about? You’ll find out soon…
WHAT IS THIS STORY ABOUT?
This show tells the real story of a family (of course, their last name is changed in the series) who receives a series of letters from a “mysterious stranger” after they move into their dream house in Westfield, New Jersey. Dean (Bobby Cannavale) and Nora Brannock (Naomi Watts) have spent most of their lives in the city. In search of a quieter life, Dean spends all his savings on buying a beautiful house built in the early 20th century. After they move into their dream house with their two children, strange and very frightening events begin to happen. You might wonder what can happen in a nice quiet neighborhood like this? At first glance, this place seems to this family like a real paradise on earth.
Courtesy of Netflix
But, unfortunately, it’s just a beautiful cover. As soon as the Brannock family tries to fit into this beautiful life, terrifying events begin to happen in their house. And nothing seems so sweet and innocent anymore. The neighbors who surround them begin to frighten them with their unpredictable behavior. And it seems that everyone is against their family. It seems as if it can’t get any worse. But no, it will! In their mail box the Brannocks discover strange letters from an unknown person who calls themself “the Watcher”. At first, these letters do not portend anything bad. But is it so? Over time, they become so creepy and threatening that the Brannocks fear for their lives.
But things get even worse when the mysterious “Watcher” and protector of this house demands that Dean and Nora give the house “what it wants”. Throughout the episodes, the creators of the show are trying to answer many questions and entice viewers into this mystical world. But, of course, the most important questions are – who is this “Watcher” and what is this person trying to obtain from the Brannock family? But we are not given a specific answer to these questions. Because in the real story, this mysterious “Watcher” was never found and revealed. Naturally, in the series, they can’t reveal this to us either. But creators of this show are so good at what they do that they give viewers the opportunity “to solve this case” themselves.
WHO IS “THE WATCHER”?
When watching this series, viewers will constantly ask this question – who is this mysterious person “the Watcher”? As soon as all these horrific events begin, the Brannocks (and, no doubt, the audience too) begin to suspect literally everyone. Moreover, the frightening music and a rather gloomy atmosphere scare the audience even more. The directors always use this technique to make it interesting for the audience to solve this riddle. But, nevertheless, what scares us, always draws us in even more. But why is everyone under suspicion? Because that’s the way it is.
Courtesy of Netflix
Nora and Dean’s neighbors are a community of people who have their own rules and laws. And they are definitely not thrilled about the arrival of a new family in this “beautiful house”. But why?! The answer to this question is simple. The house doesn’t belong to them, but they all want to own it. In other words, these people are just “obsessed” with this house. And each of them shows their obsession in their own way. It seems that this family is in some kind of sinister trap where everything is against them.
Their neighbors Maureen (Margo Martindale) and Mitch (Richard Kind) watch the Brannocks closely through binoculars and are not friendly with them. Others – Pearl (Mia Farrow) and her emotionally unstable brother Jasper (Terry Kinney) – meddle in their own business and constantly wonder what the Brannocks will do with this house. And all this, of course, confuses the Brannocks. They literally do everything in their power to protect their family from the attacks of “the Watcher” and at the same time from their strange neighbors. But can’t anyone in this city help them?
Courtesy of Netflix
It seems that only Nora’s old friend Karen Calhoun (Jennifer Coolidge) is on their side. She helped them buy this “dream house”. But was she really helping? Over time, Karen also begins to behave very suspiciously. What about the police? Detective Rourke Chamberland (Christopher McDonald), at first glance, seems very suspicious. Perhaps he knows something about the mysterious “Watcher” and sometimes does not even hide it. The only one who agrees to help the Brannock family is a private investigator (former singer) Theodora Birch (Noma Dumezweni). At first glance, it seems that she is also in cahoots with the locals, but this is far from the case. She turns out to be the only person who really helps this family.
Every time the next episode ends, the audience has even more questions, and it all grows like a snowball. Towards the end of the season, each of the characters and even the Brannock family itself come under suspicion. The audience’s head is spinning from the number of mysteries and riddles that come out with each new episode of this show. Among other things, this series shows the ideal Brannock family (as it seems), but over time it disintegrates right before our eyes. Was it so perfect after all? Or was it also a “beautiful cover”? Undoubtedly, all these terrible events affected the development of relationships in this family, but they were already broken.
WHY ‘THE WATCHER‘ IS WORTH WATCHING?
Of course, we must pay tribute to the creators of this project – Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. This series is very unusual and interesting for its emotional intensity and abundance of plot twists. The viewer thinks that nothing terrible will happen for sure. But as soon as the audience relaxes, the creators of the series again add new and unpredictable moments to the plot. Without a doubt, this series wouldn’t be so interesting to watch if it weren’t for the perfectly matched cast. Everyone reveals new sides of themselves to the viewer and even the minor roles are played at the highest level.
Courtesy of Netflix
But especially, of course, it is especially worth noting the amazing performance of the following actors. Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale really complement each other well. On the one hand, Cannavale shows us a storm of emotions and feelings that control him throughout the series. Sometimes he reacts very sharply to situations, but the viewer empathizes with him. On the other hand, Watts shows her vulnerability and fragility but, at certain moments, she shows resilience to everything that happens to her family. It’s a really rare mixture. And each of them adds a piece of their signature styles to their roles.
Jennifer Coolidge is just beautiful in her role. It seems that she is not acting, and once she was a real estate agent herself. But this is the goal of a brilliant actor – to show it so that we believe. And the combination of oozing sexuality and excellent humor surpasses all the audience’s expectations. After all, it is so important to be able to joke (and at the same time look stunning) and do it so that even in such a gloomy film, the audience could laugh out loud. And Coolidge does it amazingly and in her inimitable manner.
Courtesy of Netflix
Another amazing and phenomenal actor is Noma Dumezweni. She plays a very interesting and mystical character. You might wonder what could be mysterious about a private investigator? But as soon as the Noma’s character appears on the screen, all questions immediately disappear. Her motives and goals will become clear to the viewer only by the end of the season. It is very interesting to watch her amazing investigation and the information she learns along the way. This character so immerses the audience in this investigation that it seems that they also want to solve this mystery.
And of course, this series is also different due to the fact that in addition to a wonderful narrative and quite fascinating plot twists, a recurring note of black humor is added here. Is it really appropriate to do this in this kind of series? Yes, when the creators of this show do it unobtrusively and at the most appropriate plot moments.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Courtesy of Netflix
The Watcher is a stunningly mystical and gloomy story that has been masterfully adapted to the TV screen. This is a perfect example of how an amazing script, cast and the main idea of the creators of the series can turn a real story into a great TV show that millions of viewers will follow.
Of course, the Watcher’s mystery will remain unsolved forever. But that shouldn’t stop viewers from watching this show. Start watching the first episode, and you definitely won’t be able to tear yourself away from the screen.
Check out the official trailer below:
The TV series is currently streaming now on Netflix.
Polina graduated from State University of Management in 2011 with a qualification of Publicity Specialist majoring in "Advertising" and has a diploma of professional training at the Academy of Communications "Wordshop" specializing in Digital-specialist. She has completed courses in copywriting and creative writing in 2019 and continues to develop these skills every day.
Polina is always ready to learn something new and challenging and expand her talents. She is obsessed with watching TV shows and movies and loves to discuss this topic on social networks with like-minded people.
