Horror movies about “obsession” are all the rage these days, ever since actress Inde Navarrette and director Curry Barker crafted their mega-hit cautionary tale on the subject. That was lightning in a bottle, but the stalker genre is a different subset of the subject matter that is still rife for exploration, no matter how many times it’s been done. Stalkers are fascinating creeps, because they love so much that it blinds them to their sickness.
Who’s Watching is an indie horror movie by filmmaker Tim Kasher, co-written by Travis Stevens, that takes a literal approach to the title by offering mostly a first-person perspective of the socially inept, creepy stalker metal head of Caleb played convincingly by Zachary Ray Sherman.
Caleb plays bass in a metal band called “Toxic Cock Syndrome,” lives with his grandmother, swears like a sailor, and is absolutely obsessed with his new co-worker Krista, played by the charming Gracie Gillam. He follows her around everywhere and conducts interviews under the guise that he’s filming a documentary. Quickly the obsession devolves into Caleb stalking Krista outside of work, going through her personal belongings, surveillance, and kidnapping.
We get brief explanations for the madness when Caleb talks about the father he never knew and we see a flashback scene where he sexualizes his own mother (played by Dawn Bower), and then she scolds him, thus creating a monster (or at least that seems to be the excuse from his point of view).
“… a first-person perspective of the socially inept creepy stalker …”
Many horror classics use mother or sex as inspiration for insanity, from Psycho to Friday the 13th to Halloween, so Who’s Watching is a mashup of the origin stories horror fans know well.
Olivia Luccardi plays Tawnia, who is framed at first as a groupie of the band, but her role grows into something much juicier, and she delivers in it. The third act of the film gives the audience an entirely new perspective, and injects the movie with some much needed fun (besides some moments here and there). I won’t give it away, but the twist is what gives this flick a satisfying finale.
I also enjoyed the cinematography because POV movies are often done through a “shaky cam” lens, but this one didn’t feel disorienting in that way, even when Caleb was running in a scene shown through his perspective. The wilderness scenes also gave a bit of a familiar “Crystal Lake” type of vibe, in a calming way (as much as horror can be ironically calming).
Ultimately, Who’s Watching hinges on director Tim Kasher and the leads Zachary Ray Sherman, Olivia Luccardi, Gracie Gillam, and they all nailed it. I also got a kick out of the subtle humor, like Caleb telling Krista that she had the same sucky taste in movies because they both loved The Sound of Music, or the multiple references to Michael Moore. There’s also some not-so-subtle phallic images/cartoons and male full-frontal nudity, which may put off some viewers. In the end, Who’s Watching delivers a creepy, good mishmash to help satisfy horror fans’ obsession.
"… a creepy, good mishmash to satisfy horror fans' obsession"
