View source for Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story


{{Infobox film
| name           = Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story
| image          = Always_Watching_poster.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = James Moran
| producer       = Jimmy Miller<br />M. Riley
| screenplay     = Ian Shorr
| based_on       = ''[[Marble Hornets]]''<br />by Joseph DeLage<br>Troy Wagner<br>Tim Sutton
| starring       = [[Alexandra Breckenridge]]<br />[[Alexandra Holden]]<br />[[Chris Marquette]]<br />[[Jake McDorman]]<br>[[Doug Jones (actor)|Doug Jones]]
| music          = 
| cinematography = Ulf Soderqvist
| editing        = Wendy Nomiyama
| studio         = [[Allen Shapiro|Mosaic]]<br>[[Good Universe]]<br />GraceSam LLC
| distributor    = [[Gravitas Ventures]]
| released       = {{Film date|2015|04|07|[[Video on demand]]|2015|05|15|[[Limited release]]}}
| runtime        = 92 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = 
| gross          = $714,058<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2737926/?ref_=bo_se_r_1|title=Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story (2015)}}</ref>
}}

'''''Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story''''' is a 2015 American [[Found footage (film technique)|found footage]] [[horror film]] directed by James Moran and starring [[Chris Marquette]], [[Jake McDorman]], [[Doug Jones (actor)|Doug Jones]], [[Alexandra Breckenridge]] and [[Alexandra Holden]]. The film was released on [[video on demand]] on April 7, 2015, and opened in select theaters on May 15, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Clow|first1=Mitchel|title='Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story' movie review: Tell, don't show|date=April 8, 2015|url=http://www.hypable.com/marble-hornets-movie-review/|publisher=Hypable|accessdate=September 26, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=HOYLE|first1=BLAIR|title="Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story" Review|url=http://cinemaslasher.com/2015/04/08/always-watching-a-marble-hornets-story-review/|website=Cinema Slasher|publisher=cinemaslasher.com|accessdate=October 9, 2015|date=April 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008054521/http://cinemaslasher.com/2015/04/08/always-watching-a-marble-hornets-story-review/|archive-date=October 8, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The movie is a film adaptation of the well received YouTube [[web series]] ''[[Marble Hornets]]'' inspired by the [[Slender Man]] online mythos.<ref>{{cite web |last=Venable |first=Nick |date=February 26, 2013 |title=YouTube Horror Series Marble Hornets Will Bring Slenderman To Theaters |url=https://cinemablend.com/new/YouTube-Horror-Series-Marble-Hornets-Bring-Slenderman-Theaters-36004.html |accessdate=December 18, 2013 |publisher=Cinema Blend}}</ref> Critical reception for the film was predominantly negative.

==Plot==
Eli (Brendon Huor) is fleeing through the woods with Jamie ([[Mickey Facchinello]]), who is recording. Jamie suddenly disappears, and Eli searches for him, but instead finds the [[Slender Man|Operator]] ([[Doug Jones (actor)|Doug Jones]]), a tall, faceless creature in a suit. The Operator attacks Jamie before the footage ends.

Milo ([[Chris Marquette]]), Sara ([[Alexandra Breckenridge]]), and Charlie ([[Jake McDorman]]), are the members of a news reporting team. The three are tasked with investigating the disappearance of a man named Dan ([[Michael Bunin]]). Milo analyzes a series of [[Digital video recorder|Mini-DVR]] tapes filmed by Dan, discovering the presence of the Operator within them. A power outage occurs, and Milo discovers the [[Slender Man#Description|Operator Symbol]] (⦻) engraved into his neck when the power returns. The Operator follows Milo home, and he goes to Sara's house but is forced to leave by her and Charlie. Milo decides to sleep in his car.

The following day, Milo returns home and finds Charlie in an upstairs bedroom. Charlie angrily confronts Milo about filmed footage that he has of Sara. Sara comes in and is disgusted by what she sees, and Milo begins to panic. Charlie refuses to let him touch a camera, and Milo then tells him to grab the camera and look around. Through the camera, Charlie sees the closet door flying open, and the Operator rushing towards him. Charlie drops the camera, and all three flee from the house.

The three go on the run, trying to escape the Operator and find out what happened to Dan and his family. Eventually, they learn that Dan used his money to purchase a new home, which had been burned down. They locate a [[storm shelter]] with a working camera feed, which reveals that Dan killed his daughter Tara (Morgan Bastin) before being killed himself by his wife Rose ([[Alexandra Holden]]), who then burned the house down.

They contact Rose, now locked up in an asylum, who informs them that she believes the Operator came into their life because Dan became interested in it. When she sees the Operator Symbol on Sara's arm, she attacks her. The crew are forced to leave while medical staff restrain Rose. They decide to make a last stand against the Operator in a cabin. After setting the whole place up with cameras, Milo notices that the camera picked up a detail he missed at the hospital: Rose's mark was gone.

The crew is then attacked by the Operator. Milo hangs himself, believing that if he dies, Charlie and Sara will be safe. The Operator seemingly leaves after Milo dies, but Milo's dead body suddenly rises from the ground like a zombie. It grabs a pipe and beats Charlie to death before catching and killing Sara. Milo then falls to the floor with pale eyes. Moments later, the Operator appears, and his movements seemingly loop. He then vanishes, and Milo's eyes return to normal.

The film ends with Dan and Rose leaving a sale, where Dan has purchased a camera with a "college project tape" inside, presumably a tape from the student film-within-a-film of the original ''Marble Hornets'' [[webseries]].

==Cast==
*[[Chris Marquette]] as Milo Burns<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story |url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/always-watching-a-marble-hornets-story/cast/2030222727/ |access-date=2025-11-05 |website=TVGuide.com |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Jake McDorman]] as Charlie MacNeel<ref name=":0" />
*[[Doug Jones (actor)|Doug Jones]] as the [[Slender Man|Operator]]<ref name=":0" />
*[[Michael Bunin]] as Dan Wittlocke<ref name=":0" />
*[[Alexandra Breckenridge]] as Sara<ref name=":0" />
*[[Alexandra Holden]] as Rose Wittlocke<ref name=":0" />
*[[Damon Gupton]] as Leonard Herring<ref name=":0" />
*[[Mark Christopher Lawrence]] as Gary Rockwell<ref name=":0" />
*[[Angus Scrimm]] as Percy<ref name=":0" />
*[[Mickey Facchinello]] as Jamie<ref name=":0" />
==Reception==
Critical reception for ''Always Watching'' was predominantly negative.<ref>{{cite web|title=ALWAYS WATCHING: A MARBLE HORNETS STORY (2015)|url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/771418058/|publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|accessdate=October 9, 2015|archive-date=October 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007003541/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/771418058|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Dread Central]] gave the movie a mixed review, writing, "For fans, it will be a fun little bonus story that lets you down in the substance department. For people looking for a fun horror movie, it won’t be super memorable, but will give you a good time. If you don’t think about it too much and just experience it, it is quite fun. As a film/horror nerd, I was let down, but general audiences will like this a whole lot. It did enough interesting to earn my respect, but too much wrong for my adoration. A solid good time, but not a masterpiece."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hentschke|first1=Ted|title=Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story (DVD)|date=August 9, 2015|url=https://dreadcentral.com/reviews/118065/118065/|publisher=[[Dread Central]]|accessdate=October 9, 2015}}</ref> One of the most common complaints about the film was that it failed to live up to the original web series, despite having a much higher budget.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Espino |first=Jon |date=2015-05-17 |title=Review - Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story |url=https://www.theyoungfolks.com/review/55483/jons-movie-review-always-watching-a-marble-hornets-story/ |access-date=2025-09-01 |website=The Young Folks |language=en-US}}</ref>

Noah Dominguez of [[Comic Book Resources|CBR]] spoke rather highly of ''Always Watching'' in a retrospective piece published in 2022, seven years after the film's initial release. Dominguez's article described ''Always Watching'' as a superior alternative to other feature films based on the Slender Man mythos, such as the 2018 Sony release ''[[Slender Man (film)|Slender Man]]'': "As a standalone film set in the same universe, ''Always Watching'' enriches the world of ''Marble Hornets'', giving established fans new lore to chew on by showing that The Operator's horrifying machinations went well beyond what [series protagonist Jay Merrick] and the gang experienced. At the same time, though, you don't ''have'' to have seen ''Marble Hornets'' to understand ''Always Watching'', meaning there's no barrier to entry for newcomers who just want to watch a Slender Man movie."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dominguez |first=Noah |date=November 15, 2022 |title=Always Watching Is a Slender Man Movie That's Actually Worth Your Time |url=https://www.cbr.com/always-watching-slender-man-movie-explained/ |website=CBR}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Slender Man (film)|Slender Man]]'' (film)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{youTube|7V632s1VOBY|Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story Official Trailer}}
*{{Metacritic film}}
*{{IMDb title|2737926}}

{{Slender Man}}

[[Category:2015 films]]
[[Category:2010s supernatural horror films]]
[[Category:American supernatural horror films]]
[[Category:2015 horror films]]
[[Category:Found footage horror films]]
[[Category:Films based on web series]]
[[Category:Slender Man]]
[[Category:2015 English-language films]]
[[Category:2015 American films]]
[[Category:English-language horror films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story|access_date=2026-02-25}}