Synopsis
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.
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Cast
- James SpaderFBI Special Agent Joel Campbell
- Keanu ReevesDavid Allen Griffin
- Marisa TomeiDr. Polly Beilman
- Ernie HudsonFBI Special Agent in Charge Mike Ibby
- Chris EllisHollis
- Robert CicchiniMitch
- Yvonne NiamiLisa
- Jenny McShaneDiana
- Gina AlexanderSharon
- Joseph SikoraSkater
Recommendations
- 50
TNT RoughCut
What distinguishes The Watcher from all the films it consciously or unconsciously emulates is the intermittently witty, offbeat writing of debuting screenwriter David Elliot. - 50
Chicago Sun-Times
The actors cannot be faulted. They bring more to the story than it really deserves. - 50
Chicago Reader
This thriller largely succeeds in putting quotation marks around its use of genre conventions, mixing subtlety and overkill to create a pensive mood that transcends the plot. - 42
Entertainment Weekly
Reeves is a stiff dancer and he delivers his lines in a full leather jacket monotone. - 40
TV Guide Magazine
If Reeves weren't onboard this picture would have gone straight to video. - 30
Dallas Observer
Once the terror ends and the credits roll, we finally get to the best part: a merciful escape. - 25
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
It's lively but fails to disguise the fact that his (Charbanic) script is a dud and his career in videos has taught him little about the art of narrative storytelling. - 25
Christian Science Monitor
The picture's real interest lies in detailing the villain's sadistic crimes, though, and this is rarely fun or edifying to watch.
