FilmRPsychological Survival

The Watcher2000

Name: The Watcher
Genre: Psychological, Survival
Released: 2000-09-08
Rating: 4.8

“Don't go home alone.”

Directed by Joe Charbanic

4.8

Crypt Score

Blended from 4 sources

IMDb 5.3Rotten Tomatoes 11%Metacritic 22TMDB 5.1

✍ Review

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Year

2000

Runtime

96 min

Box Office

Budget

$33,000,000

Domestic

$28,946,615

🏆 3 nominations total

The premise

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.

Horror Vault's take

A weary FBI agent tries to leave his haunted past behind by relocating to Chicago, only to find that the city's newest killer is no stranger — and no coincidence. A charismatic and methodical predator turns the investigator's fresh start into a deadly game, sending chilling previews of his next victims before the authorities can act. With each taunting move, the line between hunter and hunted blurs in increasingly personal ways. This sleek thriller keeps the screws turning as the stakes climb closer and closer to home.

Content: Depictions Of Serial Murder, Threat And Menace Toward Women, Psychological Distress