Friday again, so here’s this week’s film: a bit odd, a bit wrong, and free to watch. Tonight it’s Watchers (1988), the one where Corey Haim adopts a super-smart dog and something from the same lab comes looking for it.
Tonight on Talking Pictures
Talking Pictures TV, Freeview 82, tonight (Friday 23 October). Caroline Munro opens the Cellar Club at 9pm and Watchers starts at 9:05pm, running until about 10:55pm. The channel is also on Freesat 306, Sky 324, Virgin 445, Freely 36 and YouView 82.
What it's about
A secret research lab goes up in flames and two things get out: a golden retriever with a tattoo in its ear, and the creature built to hunt it. Teenager Travis (Corey Haim) finds the dog in the back of his truck and works out fast that it’s far cleverer than any dog should be. Then a government agent (Michael Ironside) starts asking questions, and people around town start dying. That’s all you need going in.
Why it's worth staying in for
It’s loosely based on Dean Koontz’s 1987 novel, and critics were not kind: Leonard Maltin called it "awful" and the monster "ludicrous". Which is exactly why it belongs on a Friday night. It’s peak late-80s video shop horror, a boy-and-his-dog film and a creature feature glued together, with Michael Ironside doing what Michael Ironside does best. Keep an eye out for a young Jason Priestley as the boy on the bike. Joel Goldsmith did the music, and it barely made a dent at the box office, which only adds to the charm.
If you get hooked, Roger Corman went on to make three sequels with no further Koontz books to base them on.
Where to watch free
- Watchers: tonight on Talking Pictures TV at 9:05pm.
Content note
Creature attacks with gore, a dog in peril (it’s the hero), and gun violence.
Over to you
If you’ve seen Watchers before, is the monster as daft as Maltin said, or does it still work? And if you’re watching because of this post, come back and tell me how it went.
Odd, a bit wrong, very watchable, nothing to pay. See you next Friday for Halloween.
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