SnoopyStyle There is an explosion in a classified research laboratory. Lem (Michael Ironside) is called in to clean up the mess. A super smart dog escapes followed by an OXCOM (Outside Experimental Combat Mammal). The OXCOM is linked to the dog killing anyone in its way. Travis Cornell (Corey Haim) is sneaking around with Tracey. They are almost caught by Tracey's dad so Travis leaves. The dog sneaks into Tracey's barn. The OXCOM attacks Tracey and kills her father. Then the dog hitches a ride from Travis. Sheriff Gaines thinks it's a bear but Deputy Porter thinks it's Sasquatch. Lem takes over the case waving his NSO credentials.The clueless parent is one of my least favorite cinematic tropes. The mom is literally talking to a dog and she stubbornly refuses to accept it. Barbara Williams does her best especially later on. It's not the worst thing in the world but this movie has so little going for it. Corey Haim has always been a better nerd struggling to get the hot girl's attention. There is something lost when he starts off with the hot girl. The special effects are pretty tame and a bit lame. The bloody violence looks cheesy with the creature mostly off screen. Again it's not the worst but the film doesn't have the skills to make lemonade out of lemons. There are no Steven Spielberg and John Williams when the shark isn't working. It is fascinating to see a young Jason Priestley. With Lem hiding Tracey, it seems obvious that Travis should contact the doctors or the cops. There are massacres but these two NSO agents continue to dominate. Even if the movie forces the conspiracy to continue, the whole area should be saturated with cops or military or both. The final twist isn't much of a surprise and comes off again rather cheesy.

movieman_kev Lem (Michael Ironside) is tasked with finding an experimental dog that escaped from a government facility, not knowing that a teenager, Travis (the late Corey Haim) has since, reluctantly, 'adopted' the dog for his own. However, a second escapee, this one much less benevolent, is also on the loose.Hollywood has had a history of screwing up Dean Koontz's source material. The later more abysmal "Hidaway" would further prove that sad fact. So coming at this film as a bastardized adaptation of his novel would be like shooting fish in a barrel. As such, I won't and shall try to take this movie on its own merits (or more appropriately, lack there of) Starting with the main gripe against this movie, simple and trite dialog (specifically, the banter between Travis, his mom and the dog is cringe-worthy and borders sitcom-level awfulness) quite frankly, the only actor that even attempts to not embarrass himself in this movie is Ironside himself, yet sadly he finds that goal foiled at every turn. One could only imagine what would have been if the writers strike didn't adversely affect the quality of this movie. But what is is and what is, isn't good.

Michael_Elliott Watchers (1988) ** (out of 4) Apparently we shouldn't trust any government agencies. Out in the middle of nowhere the government is trying to create superhuman creatures that they can use for war. Two creatures are created one being a Golden Retriever who has been taught pretty much everything a human can do. This includes answering questions, being able to type and best of all he can retrieve his own food. The second creature is a Bigfoot type creature known as an Oxcom. The secret is that the dog would go into the enemy's camp to find targets then the Oxcom would follow and kill whatever is by the dog.However another government agencies tries to destroy this project and blows up the building where the two are being held but neither are killed and they both head off into the woods. The dog has the advantage but the Oxcom is close behind and ready to kill whoever the dog goes near. The dog eventually ends up with 16-year-old Travis (Corey Haim) who takes a liking to the animal and also understands how smart it is. While all of this is going on the Oxcom is stalking and killing people all over the county. Meanwhile the government agents, head by Michael Ironside, shows up to track the creatures down.Watchers is based on the novel by Dean Koontz but I haven't read it so I'm not sure how close the movie follows things. The executive producer was Roger Corman so that there should tell you what type of film this is going to be. If you've seen any of the low-budget drive-in shockers from the 1950's then you've pretty much seen this film. This film plays out exactly like all the others, although this here does have a few good aspects but there isn't enough to make the film worth watching.The biggest problem is that the film is simply too cute to really be a horror film. The dog in the film is so darn lovable that you really can't take your eyes off of him and the scenes between him and Haim seem like something you'd see in a Disney film and not a gory horror movie. I'm actually a fan of Haim but he's also a problem here due to the rather silly performance. Most of the time he's trying to act tough but it comes off laughable especially the silly ending, which seems like something Rambo should be doing.As I mentioned earlier this film plays out just like the monster movies from the 1950's and this is a problem. The director uses Corman's trick of not showing the monster too much throughout the film, which is fine if the movie runs a little over an hour but coming in at 92-minutes the film simply runs out of steam very early making the rest of the film drag along without anything interesting happening. The story is laughable and not too believable but this could have been overlooked had the viewer ever feared the actual creature. That's not the case so there's very little here except for the cute dog.

dave2104 I couldn't agree more. The book is one of Dean Koontz's best novels and this film is a total travesty. I watched about half of it then threw the tape in the bin in disgust! I have NO idea what the idiotic director was thinking making this piece of crap but I would rather poke my eyes out with a sharp stick than watch this useless movie again! Everything about this film is just wrong. First the main character is changed from an ex marine to a high school KID. WHY??? Second the love of his life in the book becomes his mother in the movie! hem I bet Freud would have something to say about that! LOL. The dog is cute enough and the best thing in the movie and completely outcast everyone else! Also a main character who helps them in the book betrays them in the movie. There really is nothing good to say about the film except that at least it's relatively short at an hour and a half or so. If anyone hasn't seen the film yet do yourselves a favour! READ THE BOOK! It is so much better than this worthless waste of time!