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Parents have a great responsibility to their children—not just to meet their basic needs but also to help shape the people they’ll become. And in the chilling indie thriller Who’s Watching Oliver, one mother’s influence turns her son into a killer.
Who’s Watching Oliver follows awkward loner Oliver (Russell Geoffrey Banks) through the days and nights in Bangkok. By day, he wanders through the markets and watches the crowds at a colorful theme park. But the nights are very different. That’s when he checks in with Mama (Margaret Roche), his cruel, abusive mother, who forces him to go on a brutal killing spree while she watches online and enjoys a cocktail. But when Oliver meets Sophia (Sara Malakul Lane) at the park one day, it makes him want to fight back against Mama’s control.
Who’s Watching Oliver is a truly disturbing and often stomach-turning film—the kind that will make you want to hide your eyes and cover your ears to block it all out.
Mama is pure evil—a sick and vile woman who gets dressed up to watch the terrible acts that she orchestrates. She screeches orders at her son as she spews all kinds of crude and hateful language at his victims. She’s so completely over-the-top, yet she’s absolutely terrifying, too.
Oliver, meanwhile, may do some horrible things, but he’s a sympathetic character—a troubled young man with a heartbreaking story. Raised in violence and instructed by his heartless mother, he has no choice but to commit gruesome crimes against women—because he simply can’t escape her control. Everything he’s forced to do, he does reluctantly—and sometimes almost mechanically—and as he wrestles with each act, or as he rehearses the lines that he’ll speak to his mother to tell her that he won’t do her bidding anymore, your heart will break for this poor, awkward, deadly man.
At the same time, though, while the story is often incredibly ugly, it’s beautifully filmed, the color palettes and musical choices showing the different sides of Oliver’s world—from the cheerful, vibrant colors of his afternoons wandering the streets to the dark, harsh tones of those terrifying nights. And the filming choices make it all the more unsettling.
Who’s Watching Oliver is a difficult movie to watch. It isn’t just a gruesome movie; it’s completely disconcerting. But while it certainly isn’t for everyone, it’s a worthwhile choice for fans of dark and disturbing horror.
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