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The Watcher

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The Watcher (2000)

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11 %
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Reviews Counted: 83

Fresh: 9

Rotten:74

Average Rating: 3.4/10

Consensus: The Watcher has Keanu Reeves cast against type, but the movie is short on thrills, suspense, and believability.

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Box Office: $9,062,295

Synopsis: FBI agent Joel Campbell (James Spader) has gone into hiding. Traumatized and beaten down after years of pursuing psychotic killers in Los Angeles, he is trying to carve a new, less stressful, life... FBI agent Joel Campbell (James Spader) has gone into hiding. Traumatized and beaten down after years of pursuing psychotic killers in Los Angeles, he is trying to carve a new, less stressful, life for himself in Chicago. But his guilty past follows him. He has only been in Chicago for a few months when there is a rash of gruesome murders, all of which follow a sickeningly familiar pattern: They are undoubtedly the work of one man -- David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves).

The cunning and tormenting Griffin prodded and eluded Campbell for years in Los Angeles. And now he has pursued his tracker to Chicago. For Griffin, the vicious, merciless killing of lonely young women has merely become a pretext for a sadistic game of cat and mouse game between himself and Campbell. Before each murder he sends the FBI agent a photograph of his intended victim and dares him to find her before he strikes again.

Each successive killing reminds Campbell of his past failures, dredging up feelings of helplessness and loss that he has been trying to suppress. And for his nemesis Griffin, Campell's exquisite torture becomes his entire reason for killing.

He meticulously stages one final murder, designed to destroy Campbell by confronting him with his guilt-plagued past. And unless Campbell can stop him, he will become the killer's ultimate victim. [More]

Starring: Keanu Reeves, James Spader, Marisa Tomei, Robert Cicchini

Starring: Keanu Reeves, James Spader, Marisa Tomei, Robert Cicchini, Chris Ellis, Ernie Hudson, Jenny McShane

Director: Joe Charbanic

Director: Joe Charbanic
Screenwriter: Clay Ayers, Joe Charbanic, David Elliott, Darcy Meyers
Producer: Nile Niami, Patrick Choi

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 20, 2001

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Reviews for The Watcher

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/06/08
Joe Leydon
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If I never see another scene in which a woman is bound and gagged, while her killer struts around the room basking in his own psychotic cleverness, I won't mind a bit.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/23/07
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Not half bad as a rental.

Full Review Source: Supercala.com | comment Comment
09/23/06
John Venable
Supercala.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/10/05
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/10/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Nasty, sadistic, ugly and pointless.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
12/10/05
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

One of the lamest serial killer thrillers of the post-Silence of the Lambs era.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
05/04/05
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Critical Eye | comment Comment
01/24/04
Mark Freeman
Critical Eye
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Jim Shelby
Palo Alto Weekly

You can't buy Keanu as a sadist, but you do worry about the guys who wrote the screenplay.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/25/03
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online

Dreadful performances, scanty motivation and excruciating dialogue.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
12/16/02
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

The script sucks, the directing sucks, and, as much as I do like him, Keanu sucks.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Ron Wells
Film Threat

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
08/02/02
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/10/01
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Peters out like a late-night drunk when its threadbare plot and poorly drawn supporting characters start to stand out like a row of empty shot glasses.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
07/24/01
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide
 
 
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