The Watcher
The Watcher
R | 08 September 2000 (USA)
The Watcher Trailers

FBI agent Joel Campbell, burnt-out and shell-shocked after years spent chasing serial killers, flees L.A. to begin a new life for himself in Chicago. But five months later, Joel's best laid plans are abruptly cut short when his new hometown becomes the setting for some particularly gruesome murders--murders that could only have been committed by one man: David Allen Griffin. One of Joel's most elusive and cunning nemeses, Griffin has followed his former pursuer to Chicago in order to play a sadistic game of cat and mouse. Taunting Joel with photographs of his intended victims and leaving his crime scenes meticulously free of clues in order to keep the police at bay, Griffin derives as much pleasure out of watching Joel react to every movement as watching his victims die. But when Griffin moves into Joel's inner circle, Joel must quickly find some way to stop him before someone close to him becomes the next one to die.

Reviews
Karry

Best movie of this year hands down!

... View More
NekoHomey

Purely Joyful Movie!

... View More
Pacionsbo

Absolutely Fantastic

... View More
ChanFamous

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

... View More
Python Hyena

The Watcher (2000): Dir: Joe Charloanic / Cast: Keanu Reeves, James Spader, Marisa Tomei, Ernie Hudson, Chris Ellis: Horror misfire about an evil presence prevailing over innocent victims. James Spader plays a cop who is haunted by the memory of his girlfriend's burning death. Analyzing the situation he finds her tied to a chair. He removes the tape from her mouth then pursues the suspect. While she burns to death I got to wondering why he didn't untie her while the going was good? He moves away and seeks therapy from Marisa Tomei whom we can guess will be his next rescue mission. Keanu Reeves is sighted as the killer so that viewers can avoid any surprises. He sends photos of his victims to Spader and allows him until nine-o-clock to locate them. One girl has her picture posted everywhere yet nobody notices her even when she walks amongst them. Lackluster directing by Joe Charloanic with drab production. Reeves is miscast and downright laughable as the villain. He is one of the most boring villains ever conjured up for a film. Spader is just as bad in a cardboard role of hero. Tomei spends her biggest scenes bound to a chair in a lame reference to the film's opening. Ernie Hudson also appears as well as Chris Ellis as a detective whose first clue should have been to find a better script than this. An exercise in exploitation and stupidity at its worst. Score: 1 / 10

... View More
rps-2

This dreadful film is one of the best examples available of Hollywood crap! In place of an intriguing plot, there is gee-whiz camera work. Instead of crisp dialogue, there are pointless shifts from positive images to negative colour. Instead of catchy drama, there is mindless and sensational violence and a head thumping soundtrack. Technically, it is well done. But then impressive high technology is not unique to movies. It's also used effectively in the processing of garbage, where this DVD most certainly will find its deserved fate. I bought the DVD at a garage sale. Better had I spent my one (Canadian) dollar on the leaky ballpoint pen or the scratched up Mitch Miller LP.

... View More
HelenMary

The first thing to note, importantly, is that the victims are not sexually assaulted in any way ("no touchy no feely"). This film doesn't rely on gratuitous uncomfortable and horrific ordeals to notch up the fear-factor despite Griffin (Reeves) being a prolific serial killer - unusually the murdered girls are more or less incidental and his particular interest in what he does is never disclosed. You do feel the tension, and it is a gripping and tense thriller, where less is more for the nasty bits. The plot centres around the sadomasochistic reliance between the serial killer and the cop Campbell (Spader). For Campbell, the fallout from chasing Griffin, and giving up and moving away, has ruined his life so completely that rather than Griffin being his raison d'etre, he is all he has been left with; his hatred, guilt, insomnia, night terrors and prescription drug dependency for debilitating migraines keep Griffin in the centre of his world albeit unwelcome and from which he is unable to escape. Conversely, Griffin's psychopathology for some reason has evolved to require Campbell as an addition to his efficient killing theatre; he doesn't seem afraid of being caught, and takes increasing risks for proximity with Campbell. The psychology here would be interesting, but it is glossed over other than brief mentions of past events (ie the involvement of Campbell's girlfriend) and Campbell's Psychiatrist Polly (Marisa Tomei) falls into the Hollywood trap of limiting "psychology/psychiatry" to clichéd questions which shed little light. Despite her implausibility but predictable involvement, it is she who voices that they need each other – Griffin describes Campbell as his best friend and brother, and alludes to deeper significance between them and it is a lack of a clear explanation that I feel is the gaping hole in the plot but the film works well without it, it's just ME who's interested in forensic psychology and wants to know why. Marisa Tomei's performance is good but the screenplay limits her potential, and Spader and Reeves overshadow her. Spader is one of my favourite actors, he is terribly underrated and, like Reeves, his screen presence and acting method lies in the minutiae of a performance and Spader shines as broken, exhausted and desperate and it is unusual for him to be in an action role. Reeves is charming, friendly, a little flirtatious to be beguiling as Griffin, and as dangerous as a smiling crocodile. Unlike most cop dramas roles are reversed, Reeves is both beautiful and hideous in his portrayal, remarkably well adjusted and secure and Spader is the addled victim in free-fall. The clock is constantly ticking, and it's tense watching the police desperate to win, and always they are so agonisingly close - which the audience sees but the characters can't, which is clever. The cinematography is a melange of styles and devices to narrate the story - dream-sequences that tell back-story that are repeated with increasing revelation, blurred images, romantic bright montages, slow-motion, staccato frames, and grainy black and white and heavy breathing heard over the soundtrack – none are original but are used here in abundance and confusing. The music too is controversial and sometimes incongruous, yet again, and as the viewer you are very aware that all these are being used deliberately and they seem too contrived but I'm not sure whether they are successful – I quite liked them but some saw them as amateurish. The film sets up its predictability, but then in a cop vs killer film there is little that can be truly original. It is a rather satisfying film, but perhaps the Director was trying too hard by over-reaching with a mediocre screenplay or by overuse of too many styles and not having the gumption to know whether they were doing drama, thriller, chiller, action film or even a dark comedy as there was some humour (especially Chris Ellis as other cop Hollis) in there. It seems to flail a bit, and reaches too far and misses to be excellent. It's a good film but the performances of Spader and Reeves hold its head above water.

... View More
secondtake

The Watcher (2000)Wow is this a terrible movie. It uses every worn out cliché in the psycho serial killer book. 1) It abuses women. 2) The cop in pursuit is a psychological wreck. 3) There is a taunting relationship between cop and killer. 4) There are deadlines and timetables. 5) There are car chases and explosions. And, to top it off:Keanu Reeves is still a bad actor.Luckily the leading male is not Reeves, but James Spader, who is decent (hence more than one star rating). The other billed actor is Marisa Tomei, who has a small and actually pretty dull role (she gets duller with every movie for some reason). Spader is not intense or psychologically tormented enough to make his role successful on its own, however. He's fine, but there isn't much to work with here.Maybe the filmmakers knew they had a weak movie (though that does give them a lot of credit) because there are some face-saving gestures that also painfully fail, like inserts of jerky footage, or other footage in a digitally processed excess that ends up each time being one of Spader's dreams. There is no love interest romance thing going on here. Just a cop chasing a wacko killer.Do not, I repeat, do not watch this movie. Almost anything is more interesting, better filmed, better written, better acted.

... View More