THE WATCHER (2000)
Starring Keanu Reeves, James Spader, Marisa Tomei, Ernie Hudson, Chris Ellis, Robert Cicchini, Yvonne Niami, Jennifer McShane, Gina Alexander, Rebekah Louise Smith and Joe Sikora.
Screenplay by David Elliot and Clay Ayers.
Directed by Joe Charbanic.
Distributed by Universal Pictures. 97 minutes. Rated R.
They say that at any given time, there are fewer than ten serial killers in the world. That will be news for Hollywood, where they are all over the place… there is a serial killer sighting at least weekly. The Watcher is yet another movie about a disturbed white loner who spends amazing amounts of time and effort, hatching insanely elaborate murders.
In an interesting switch of expected roles, professional good guy Keanu Reeves plays the mad killer while James Spader who has carved out a career niche of disturbed and heartless characters, is the determined FBI agent who tries to take him down. In another twist, Spader’s Fed seems much more disturbed than Reeve’s psychopath.
But, frankly, that’s about it as far as originality goes. The rest is pretty much paint-by-numbers horror, with some genuinely spooky scenes eventually overwhelmed by the strict adherence to the formula. Marisa Tomei is particularly hung out to dry here… she won an Oscar, for chrissake… give her something to do other than be a screaming victim.
The Watcher is far from the worst serial killer movie out there, but it’s far from the best either. It’s just there… (9/00)
Jay S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2000 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted October 19, 2000.
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