Scott LeBrun Film director Sean S. Cunningham moved on from his great success with "Friday the 13th" to this more mainstream Hollywood thriller. It's nothing special, but it's not without its moments and pluses. It's a pretty sordid story, to be sure (adapted from a novel by Mary Higgins Clark), and some viewers may find it repellent at times. Others should have some fun with it, although it's never all that credible.Kate Mulgrew stars as Sharon Martin, a glamorous, big shot news reporter romantically involved with Steve Peterson (James Naughton), who's also in the news business. Two years previous, Steves' wife Nina (Joanne Dorian) had been raped and murdered in front of their horrified daughter Julie (Shawn von Schreiber). At the time, Julie had pointed the finger of guilt at a delivery guy, Ronald Thompson (James Russo), but the REAL culprit, Artie Taggart (Rip Torn), returns to extend his crime by kidnapping the two females and holding them for ransom in the vast and dingy areas beneath Grand Central Station.Cunningham brought along some of his F13 collaborators for this show, like casting directors Julie Hughes & Barry Moss, production designer Virginia Field, and cinematographer Barry Abrams. They do their best when capturing the sinister, overwhelming atmosphere of the underground settings. Suspense is minimal, but there is some violence here and there without much in the way of gore (for which, I'm sure, "Friday the 13th" detractors were grateful). One interesting moment has us manipulated into rooting for Rip when a gang of punks attack him in a public washroom, despite the fact that he's a VERY bad bad guy. The effective music score is courtesy of reliable veteran Lalo Schifrin.Rip is typically amusing in the villain role, and Mulgrew and young von Schreiber are appealing enough to maintain rooting interest. Much of the supporting cast is rather nondescript, but Naughton is good as the father, as is Barbara Baxley as a homeless woman. William Hickey and Vincent Spano can be seen in small parts.Screenplay credited to Earl Mac Rauch and "Friday the 13th" scribe Victor Miller.Six out of 10.

dtucker86 Like that character that Peter Finch played in Network, when I saw this movie I was mad as hell. First of all I think Mary Higgins Clark is one of our greatest living writers, I wrote to Ms. Clark several years ago and she was kind enough to reply. I love her books and A Stranger Is Watching was my all time favorite. The thing about this remarkable woman is that she is so good at creating lovable, courageous heroines that you can look up to. I think of Kate Demoio in The Cradle Will Fall or Pat Traymore in Stillwatch, but in my humble viewpoint, Sharon Martin in ASIW is her best heroine. I remember reading her book when I was in high school and I just fell in love with Sharon. In her book it is a six year old boy Neil Peterson who is kidnapped with her, not an 11 year old girl as they show in this film. One of the things about a thriller where people are in danger is that you have to care about them to feel the fright or suspense. The people who make these cheap slasher films create cookie cutter characters that you don't care about. Mary Higgins Clark is one of the few who did it right. When she wrote ASIW she created two of the most lovable characters you could possibly imagine. I LOVED Sharon and Neil! I was horrified at what Arthur Taggart did to them, gagging them, tieing them up and leaving them in a room with a ticking bomb! I remember there was a scene in the book where he fondled and kissed Sharon that just made me ill. WHAT WERE THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THIS STUPID MOVIE THINKING! Watching this film after reading her wonderful book is like watching someone throw a bucket of sewage over a lovely rose. They made Sharon so unlikeable I could not believe it. As I previously said, they just loosely followed her book. They should have stuck to it line by line and page by page. They had an opportunity to create one of the best thrillers of all time and they failed miserably. If I were the producer, I would have just had Mary Higgins Clark do the screenplay. Also, Sean S. Cunningham could not have been a worse choice to direct this. He is the one who directed Friday The 13th! Once again WHAT WERE THEY THINKING. This movie was downright painful to watch and an insult to Mary Higgins Clark. I think they should try to remake it and this time stick to her book.

dx4lifexpac A Stranger Is Watching is a half way decent horror/thriller movie. directed by Sean Cunningham director of the first Friday The 13th movie. when the psycho guy pops up its a little creepy, and the suspense is good to, but at times the movie is kind of slow, Sean Cunningham shows he has some skills, but i feel he did way better in Friday The 13th, in that the directing was real good, A Stranger Is Watching is an average film from an Average director, i give it 5/10

Denny Like watching any movie after reading the book, I felt expectedly disappointed. The plot was altered in many ways from the novel, which I deem to be much better than this mediocre adaptation of yet another Clark masterpiece. All of the movies based on Clark's books have been disappointing, because no movie can capture the intricacy and suspense designed by Clark, one of America's top mystery/suspense writers. I'm 16 years old and have never idolized an author's talent more than Clarks, and it is disappointing to see her novel made into a movie of this quality. Thoroughly disappointing.