The Watcher: What We Learnt About This Netflix Horror

I’m starting to get goosebumps just thinking about it!

Once again, Netflix has provided us with a new series that will keep us in a state of excellent suspense. If you ask me, I won’t miss this for anything in the world.

In addition to their newest release, First Kill, which is yet another Epic, and down to The School of Good and Evil, they have brought to our screen yet another horror series that will make your day, and it is called The Watcher.

As a result, in this piece, we will be providing you with only the tip of the iceberg, or what I like to refer to as a step out of the cave, in order to reveal everything there is to know about the film The Watcher.

Table of Contents

About The Watcher

The Watcher is a Netflix original mystery thriller series produced by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. It is based on a piece that was published in 2018 for “The Cut” in New York and was written by Reeves Wiedeman. It was made available on October 13th, 2022.

The Watcher Premise

Based on a true story, this sequel follows a married couple as they settle into their dream home in Westfield, New Jersey, only to become the targets of letters from a stalker using the alias “The Watcher.”

The Watcher Cast

Naomi Watts as Nora Brannock
Isabel Gravitt as Ellie Brannock
Bobby Cannavale as Dean Brannock
Jenifer Coolidge as Karen Calhoun
Luke David Blumn as Carter Brannock
Mia Farrow as Pearl Winslow
Margo Martindale a Maureen
Richard Kind as Mitch
Terry Kinney as Jasper Winslow
Henry Hall as Dakota
Christopher McDonald as Det. Rourke Chamberland
Noma Dumezweni as Theodora Birch

The Watcher Recurring Cast

Danny Garcia as Steve
Michael Nouri as Roger Kaplan
Seth Gabel as Andrew Pierce
Susan Merson as Tammy
Seth Barrish as Jack
Micheal Devine as Christopher
Stephanie Kurtzuba as Helen Graff
Jeffrey Brooks as Police Officer
Mathew Del Negro as Darren Dunn
Kate Skinner as Trish
Patricia Black as Marjorie
Anthony Bowden as Young Roger
Jeff Hiller as Therapist
Brittany Bradford as Nina
Pamela Dunlap as Carol Flanagan

The Watcher Summary

Nora and Dean Brannock, together with their children Ellie and Carter, visit 657 Boulevard for an open house. Nora runs into an old friend, Karen, who works as a real estate agent. The family opted to purchase the home after they had a number of peculiar encounters. Despite this, Dean is going to have to spend practically all of the family’s funds in order to provide them a roof over their heads. After waiting for six weeks, the family finally moved in. After receiving a threatening letter from “The Watcher,” who threatens to abduct Nora and Dean’s children, Ellie starts hearing music coming from an empty room. Once the family realized it wasn’t a joke and reported it to the police, he revealed that he had sent the letter in order to initiate a probe.

Carter, who lives next door, encounters their neighbor Jasper in the dumbwaiter of their house the following day. Cater is informed by Jasper’s sister that their old neighbors did not mind his using the dumbwaiter. Dean and Nora decided to employ a 19-year-old entrepreneur named Dakota to set up security cameras and alarms at their home. Late that same evening, Carter discovers his pet had died.

Dean receives another letter from “The Watcher” after a few mornings have passed. Dean hires Theodora Birch after bringing the second letter to Chamberland, who recommended it. Dean’s wife and kids check into a motel while he stays home with the rest of the family. The first night in Dean’s new house, the doorbell rings, but no one is there. Instead, he hears soft music coming from his room upstairs. Meanwhile, down at the motel, Nora gets a phone call and hears a heavy breath; when she returns the call, she learns that the number is actually from inside the house.

The previous owner, Andrew Pierce, is later contacted by Dean after receiving his information from Theodora. In their meeting, Dean learns that the man’s kid, Caleb, visited their neighbor’s house and observed guys in cloaks consuming blood. He received another Watcher’s letter not long after their conversation, and he immediately suspected Mitch and Mo of being responsible. The victims were discovered the following morning, still and lifeless on the floor. The identity of the mysterious Watcher remained a mystery.

However, Nora opens up to her friend Karen about the problems in her marriage. Her husband later meets John, who introduces himself as the inspector. Upon learning that no building inspector by that name exists, Dean’s chat with the man takes a strange turn. Later, Theodora called Chamberland in and asked to peruse some old home records. After hearing Theodora’s account of how she discovered a family slaughter performed by John Graff while going through the files, Dean begins to suspect the construction inspector, John Graff.

During the opening moments of Season 4, Dean’s wife starts crying and confronts him. When they confronted the director of the real estate agency about the killings, he could do nothing. Theodora and Nora listen as Dean describes his encounter with John, but Theodora doesn’t see the connection and instead suspects Dakota of being The Watcher.

Dean first confronts Ellie, then confronts Dakota, and Ellie calls the police in retaliation because they know that Dakota and Ellie are dating. She informs the police that her father is a racist and describes her experiences in the dating world.

After discovering a hidden camera in his room, Dean watches as a girl walks around his bed and lays down next to him while he sleeps. This young lady could have been Pat Graff, John Graff’s daughter. Later, the Watcher brought Nora another letter, which she opened to see a video of herself crying. This explains why she was crying at the beginning of the scene. She wants Dean to leave, but he keeps protecting them. The Watcher might be Dean, right?

The Watcher Production

The movie series is based on an article that was published in 2018 in New York’s “The Cut” and written by Reeves Wiedeman. The article chronicled the experience of Derek and Maria Broaddus after they got horrific letters when they moved into their new house at 657 Boulevard in Westfield, New Jersey in 2014, and the letters did not stop until they sold the house in 2019. The movie series is based on the experience of Derek and Maria Broaddus.

The inspiration for John Graff came from a real-life serial killer named John List, who murdered his own family in their Westfield, New Jersey, home in 1971. Similarities between the actual and the acted include the fact that he went to Lutheran church, worked as an accountant, and murdered his wife, two daughters, and live-in mother before hiding their bodies for weeks in the basement.

A private property in Rye, New York, that was constructed in 2016 served as the setting for the movie. The scenes that took place at the hotel were filmed in the hamlet of Locust Valley, which is located on Long Island, New York. Although no sequences were shot at the actual area, the police had to be stationed there to prevent anyone from trespassing because the spot was already attracting a lot of interest from tourists and fans after the film was released.

The Watcher Reception

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes recorded a rating of fifty-two percent acceptance, with an average rating of 5.3 out of 10 based on the opinions of thirty-nine critics.

Daniel D’Addario summed up the show by describing it as a fantasy that was ultimately uninteresting.