If you just so happened to watch any of the filmsWalt Disney Studiosreleased in the 1980s (or the ’70s, for that matter), you could see that the subject matter and themes were, more often than not, a bit dark for the younger audience. This was because movies like George Lucas’Star Warsand Steven Spielberg’sJawsdominated the box office and shifted audience dynamics. The days of good-natured, joyful characters that danced and sang their way to the finale were out, and high-stakes suspense with emotional arcs was in (due to amore teenage audiencedominating the box office). Understanding this notion (and hoping to carve out a niche of their own in the process),Disney took a dive into the horror genre.
1983’sSomething Wicked This Way Comesdepicted death marches led by tortured adults who were cursed for wanting their youth back. Another example is 1985’sReturn to Oz, which starts with a young Dorothy being escorted straight into a mental hospital for wanting to return to Oz. While there are a few other titles to mention, this trend didn’t have a lasting appeal, and the House of Mouse, once again, found success with some lighthearted titles in 1989. But before all this occurred, the first movie in Disney’s scary lineup had a very rocky backstory — and one that must be told.
Disney Once Tried Capturing the Horror Market
The Watcher in the Woods
First released on June 15, 2025,The Watcher in the Woodswasa supernatural horror film(sounds promising, right?) that was adapted from a novel of the same name that came out four years earlier by author Florence Engel Randall. Starring Bette Davis, Lynn-Holly Johnson, and a young Kyle Richards,this first theatrical step in a new direction for Disney carried all the trademarks of a slow-building, suspenseful story.
Even though it’s aged poorly, a family decides to move into a big mansion in the remote countryside because of the cheap price. The owner of the property is a strange, older woman who harbors some heavy secrets, and, as the title clearly states, there’s something or someone watching from the woods. The mystery behind who is haunting/possessing our two young female co-starsslowly and cautiously unravels, leading viewers into a unique adventure that surprisingly tries to tie together horror and science fiction. This fusion is, unfortunately, what seemed to curseThe Watcher in the Woods.
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Called one of the best actresses in Hollywood history,the late Bette Davis delivers an excellent performance as Mrs. Alywood. This is one of the few reasons you are pulled into this'80s Disney film. She keeps pulling the mystery forward with every spoken word and mysterious mannerism. While Johnson and Richards are quite new to mainstream acting at this point in time, the duo have believable enough performances that you care for their characters when any danger presents itself.The problem here was rushing to meet a deadline(Disney wanted the film to align with Bette Davis’ 50th acting anniversary), which not only harmed the visual effects but also the already complicated climax of the movie.
The Watcher in the Woods Has Aliens, Ghosts, and the Occult?
Deciding to take the short route and trim the ending instead of cleaning up some of the visuals associated with the outer space finale, viewers were left with a frustrating tell-don’t-show sequence. Originally being taken by a huge,skeletal alien into a spacecraftwhere she would rescue Alywood’s daughter (which is quite terrifying),most of this sequence is removed(primarily the starcraft sequence), and instead, an odd beam of light brings both girls back with no explanation.
Then, at the end of the movie, Jan explains what the Watcher is and what happened up there to Elie.This dialogue-driven exposition was not nearly enough for criticswho aimed right atthis crooked ending. The Hackensack Record noted the misconstrued ending as having more “absurdities rather than answers," and Vincent Canby ofThe New York Timeschallenged readers “to give a coherent translation of what passes for an explanation at the end."
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Thrown into a panic by this overwhelmingly negative response,Disney pulled the film after only one week. While distracting moviegoers with a special re-release ofMary Poppins(of all films),numerous reshoots and a lot of reconstructing took place. Not only was the starcraft interior scene cut and the alien character altogether deleted, but alsoa very creepy introwas removed where the “watcher” stalks a little girl through the forest and then proceeds to attack her doll with a laser beam, causing it to slowly melt and disfigure. This was an unnecessary creepy shot to start the movie off with. Maybe it’s best they left this one out.
The Watcher in the Woods Is Now a Cult Classic
Instead of a very forced conversation between Jan and her little sister in the closing moments, Elie (who is being possessed by the Watcher) explains where Jan went after disappearing duringthe alien kidnapping. This seems a lot more natural as the adults in this scene very much want an explanation about what just happened. In conclusion,this version came out 11 months later, on July 24, 2025, and was also the copy that was released on VHS tapes, laserdiscs, and DVD copies. The Blu-ray (which is quite expensive these days) has the first “uncut” version.
Disney’s quick thinking has seemed to work out for the most part, asThe Hollywood Reporter,The New York Times, and theAssociated Presshave all said in various ways thatThe Watcher in the Woodsis much more eerie and suspenseful thanks tothe revised ending. The film even had some award nominations in 1982, not to mention a Lifetime Channel adaptation 36 years later in 2017. If you want to see Bette Davis’ entrancing performance, are curious about the various alternate endings, or just want to see the insectoid alien in action,The Watcher in the Woodshas several versions available on YouTube. This kind of easy availability, unfortunately, shows that Disney would rather forget about their fumble than try promoting it tomodern-day audiences.
