The Review

On Oct. 13, 2022, Netflix released a new series called: “The Watcher” which is based on a true-story that occurred in Westfield, N.J.

The Netflix series did a wonderful job recreating the story. The Torch rates this series a solid 8/10. It depicted the real story in an accurate, yet thrilling way.

The family in the series was referred to as the Brannock family. There was quite the thrill factor as Netflix incorporated paranormal activity into the story. It combinesa mysterious plot with classic horror elements, making it perfect to binge.

However, some things that we disliked was how the series glorified a teenager dating an adult (the daughter of the Brannock family thought “it was thrilling.”) Additionally, some parts of the original story were altered to be scarier, giving the feeling that the series was over exaggerated and dragged on. 

Personally, it’s still a must-watch. There’s seven episodes with each being 50 minutes long. With Christmas break coming up, you might as well set aside six hours to watch “The Watcher” like they watched the Brannock family.

The Real Story

The real story centers around the Broaddus family and how they bought their dream house for approximately $1.4 million in 2014. A few days after they moved in, they started receiving mysterious letters from someone who went by the name, “The Watcher.” 

The letters contained personal information about the family. The Watcher frightened them by saying that they were going to keep track of their every movement at all times.

Some of the letters wrote: “You don’t want to make 657 Boulevard unhappy” and “The windows and doors allow me to track you as you move through the house.” 

If you want to check out The Watcher House, it’s located on 657 Boulevard in Westfield, N.J.