Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19746 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-02-18
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 93 minutes

Special Features
16:9 Wide Screen
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Menu
English

Synopsis
A stylish thriller that recalls David Fincher's SEVEN, THE WATCHER is set in the urban landscape of modern Chicago. The story follows Los Angeles transplant Joel Campbell (James Spader), an ex-police detective who has relocated to Chicago in order to escape his past. It appears that a dangerous serial killer, David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves), has formed a special emotional attachment to Campbell, luring him to Chicago in order to continue their deadly game of cat-and-mouse. Each game commences when Griffin sends Campbell a picture of a young girl, giving Campbell 24 hours to track her down before she's murdered. After three tragic failures, the stakes are upped when Griffin kidnaps Campbell's beautiful psychiatrist, Polly (Marisa Tomei), mimicking an earlier event that drove Campbell to Chicago in the first place.
THE WATCHER is a commentary on modern society's effect on people: making them crudely unable to notice the peripheral people in their daily lives. First-time director Joe Charbanic shoots his film like a music video, using elliptical editing, slow motion, and a postindustrial soundtrack that greatly reflects the Chicago music scene. As the tortured detective, Spader possesses an internal fire that gradually builds in intensity as the film progresses.

Customer Reviews

What a fantastic film!
I always like films where a typecast actor breaks free of their stereotyped roles!!

Well, this is one of the best!!!

Keanu Reeves is brilliant as the psychotic woman killer, who watches his intended victims, getting to know their routine so he knows when they are most vunrable. Then he photo's the woman and sends it to the police telling them they have 24 hours to find the woman before he kills her with piano wire!! (nice!!) The cop in charge of the case (James Spader) has been trying to catch this killer for a long time (he killed his g/friend in the past) so there is a lot of personal anger and revenge boiling inside him!

The cool thing about this film is that the "bad guy" is a major character who you get to meet fairly early on and see him quite a lot (unlike seven where the "bad guy" isn't seen at all until right near the end of the film. The murders in this film are obvious without being graphic (hence the reason it is only a 15 rated film) but it plays more on the suspense and build-up to each murder to get its fear factor!

This is an intelligent film, although the ending is fairly predictable (e.g. the bad guy loses) but the way it ends was very exciting!!!

Another good thing about this film is the relationship between the character played Keanu and James. It is intense and believable and you really start to wonder who really has the upper hand and who really is in charge! they have some electrifing scenes together!

Overall this is a brilliant film, superbly acted (great casting!) and masterfully directed to keep your attention!

A real "sit up and take notice" type of film!

A must see!

Excellent wee thriller!!
This has got to be the best thriller in quite some time and a great excuse to order a pizza and kick back and forget about the world for a couple of hours. Keanu Reeves is at once chilling and devilishly charming (the scene where he persuades his next victim, the young homeless girl to dance with him is a case in point... that smile is amazing). Mr Reeves has his critics but I honestly think that this movie should make them re think their views. His performance is very difficult to shake off and stays with you long, long after the movie has finished. James Spader is also excellent as the cop faced with catching a serial killer who has made the case very personal. In short then, excellent wee film and excellent cast who all play off each other so well you forget you're watching a movie. As I said, grab a pizza, switch the lights off and settle back to enjoy what has to be one of the best thrillers in recent years.

Watching...the chemistry
"The Watcher" is a highly stylised, slickly directed film, which, at an hour and a half seems rather short. However, what you get in that ninety minutes more than justifies the cost of the DVD. Spader and Reeves both give electrifying performances, and it is their onscreen chemistry that carries the movie.

Spader's migraine suffering, burned out, vulnerable ex FBI man Joel Campbell plays wonderfully; he gives the part a depth that would be all too easy to miss had another actor been cast. He is the basket case to Reeves' in-control killer.

Reeves, as serial killer David Allen Griffin shows he can act in this film - it's a radical departure from the Neo/Ted Logan characters, and I haven't seen him in anything this good since "Permanent Record". He is the ice cold killer with an amiable side, and it works.

To be honest, the murders in this film are secondary to the intriguing relationship between killer and cop, and that's what really drives this film. Spader's brilliantly enigmatic "Yeah, I notice you," halfway through the film, in response to Reeves' leading question speak volumes about where your attention should lie. This is essentially a film about the relationship between these two characters, and it is well worth watching for the sheer screen presence of the two Hollywood heavyweights. Excellent stuff.