Watchers (1988)

"There's a pack of hot dogs in the refrigerator, if you go get them you can have one." - Travis

Travis takes in a stray dog, which turns out being an ultra-intelligent runaway from a genetic research lab. But the dog is being stalked by deadly jerks and an even deadlier monster.
Starring: Corey Haim, Michael Ironside, Barbara Williams

Link to IMDB

Travis (left) and Fur Face.

The movie starts with an impressive explosion effectively destroying a government research lab, but we see two survivors emerge and quickly know that some sci-fi business is going on here. One is a super intelligent dog and the other is some sort of enraged monster known as OXCOM. The dog soon befriends Travis, in hopes of hiding from the government agents and the monster that are both trying to find him. The dog (eventually named Fur Face,) is cool enough and Haim is passable, but it's Michael Ironside that steals the show, playing the duplicitous Agent Lem. He will stop at nothing to get his experimental dog back, and when Travis and Fur Face discover he can't be trusted they have to go on the run to find some answers.

"That's the last time Corey makes
me watch Dream a Little Dream 2."

Most of the movie involves escaping the government agents, so the premise of a boy and his dog on the run overshadows most of the sci-fi elements. There's not really any slow moments though, and by the halfway point the stakes have been raised so high that the movie flies by quickly. There's an odd mix of family bonding in humorous scenes alongside violent scenes of murder as the monster runs around town, which really keeps you guessing what the hell is going to happen next. The gore looks cheap, but it's a lot more violent than I had expected before realizing the movie is actually rated R.

I did have to question the intelligence of the dog, if out of all the people in town he chooses Corey Haim as his friend. But then again, I've willingly sat through almost every Corey Haim movie, so what do I know? To be fair though, Haim isn't too bad here. This was before his drug-fueled straight-to-video era, and he does a decent job being a likeable teenager in the middle of a crazy situation, much like his work in Silver Bullet.




The story is based on a popular Dean Koontz novel, but apparently the movie gets a lot of criticism for not being faithful to the source material. I had no frame of reference about the book, so was left feeling satisfied enough with how it all plays out. I felt the final climax was actually a decent pay off, and I might even check out the sequel which is supposed to be even worse. Yes!

On the internet, no one knows you're a dog.

Be sure not to miss:
- Fur Face is such a dumb name.
- Aren't dogs not supposed to eat chocolate?
- The veterinarian is Don Davis, he was Scully's dad on The X-Files.

Internet review:
"The film is worth it for the sight of Haim getting stabbed in the leg and screaming like Demi Moore." - WaltC

Should I watch it?
A decent story, and you get a cool dog outsmarting Corey Haim.

Where can I find it?
On YouTube

Watchers gets...