"It's curious to observe how Watcher edges towards genuine terror before retreating back into Disney's comfort zone. Some blame studio executive Ron Miller for this inconsistency of tone, his reluctance to allow the film its darker elements resulting in a series of unhappy compromises... It's all too tempting to consider what could have been, or indeed what briefly was, given that the original 1980 cut remains similarly out of reach. Nevertheless, even in its most widely viewed form The Watcher in the Woods is a haunting, unusual film, steeped in a strange magic that's only enhanced by the dense thicket of rumour and myth that surrounds it." - Joseph Stannard, Sight & Sound