…also known as High Rise, was written & directed by John Carpenter in 1978, right before the production of Halloween. It has a somewhat lost but important history. I feel the film is deeply rooted & spiritually identical in many aspects to Halloween. Much of what became the latter film can be attributed directly to this earlier work of Carpenter’s.
Briefly spoken, Someone’s Watching Me! is a ‘must-watch’ for any of those who admire & appreciate Carpenter’s subtleties, style & signature suspense witnessed in Halloween, along with similar craft-learning imperfections. Everything from camera techniques e.g. panning, perspective, etc, characterization e.g. strong & resilient female, mysterious & unrelenting antagonist, etc, and of course, tension, will seem all-too-familiar. The title alone rings close enough to home. You will also recognize a few familiar faces, whom John previously utilized, would utilize again or even date in the then-near future.
With enough demand, Warner Bros. eventually released the made-for-TV movie on DVD in 2007, so there’s no excuse not to give it a shot! Included on the DVD is a fantastic interview titled “John Carpenter: Director Rising”, briefly chronicling John’s early experiences & the efforts surrounding the production. If you don’t mind possible spoilers before watching the film, you can find the interview on YouTube.
I won’t guarantee everyone would enjoy it, but I’m personally glad I pursued researching it. The influence from Hitchcock is readily apparent just as it was in Carpenter’s followup production. Partially responsible from being produced within the same year, Someone’s Watching Me! delivers a more-than-comparable experience I came to admire in Halloween. You might even consider the two as companion films, but perhaps that might be a stretch. Had this project not existed, the style & execution of Halloween might have been very different. I’d be interested to hear opinions & thoughts.