John Carpenter has been behind several defining films. Halloween is one of the greatest genre pictures not only of the ‘70s but of all time. The Thing is one of the most effective body-horror films of the past four decades. Big Trouble in Little China, for my money, might just be the single-greatest B-movie ever made. With so many landmark features to his name, it’s no great surprise that some of his films get lost in the shuffle. Prince of Darkness is a jarring, yet unsung, effort that reliably sends a chill down my spine. And In the Mouth of Madness is one of the greatest meta-horrors of the ‘90s, but it rarely gets the acclaim it deserves. No Carpenter film is more underrated by my precise estimation, though, than Someone’s Watching Me!
If you’ve slept on the 1978 made-for-TV featureSomeone’s Watching Me!, I implore you to seek it out just as soon as humanly possible. Lucky for you, dear reader, the film is currently available to stream via Tubi!
Someone’s Watching Me! follows Leigh Michaels (Lauren Hutton), a television producer who relocates to Los Angeles and moves into a swanky high-rise. Not long after she moves in, Leigh begins to receive unwanted gifts, harassing phone calls, and she cannot seem to shake the sensation that … she’s being watched!
A Made-for-Television Gem
I am such a big fan of the film that I covered it via my Dread Central column, The Overlooked Motel, a few years back. I gave the picture props for creating sustained tension and for quality queer representation (via a supporting turn from Adrienne Barbeau as lesbian character Sophie). Because I think it’s only appropriate to put my money where my mouth is, I’ve included an excerpt from my musings below:
“…Carpenter displays expertise at creating tension. It makes it easy to see how he earned his reputation as a master of horror. The laundry room sequence is something of a master class in building and maintaining suspense. Carpenter’s long takes allow the audience to see through Leigh’s perspective. The camera fixates on the antagonist for long periods of time. This instills a profound sense of dread in the audience.”
I wish I could go back and see this one for the first time. I was so surprised to see such filmmaking prowess in a made-for-TV feature, but with Carpenter at the helm, I should have expected as much.
Watch the Trailer Below:
Someone’s Watching Me! is now available to stream on Tubi!
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