WATCHERS

A boy & his dog… and the savage creature chasing them

This was loosely based on Dean Koontz’ 1987 novel. As usual, readers complain about the changes and how the book is vastly superior. So, what else is new? How much more so if the book’s 512 pages and the movie runs only 1h 31m?

It’s an adventure/sci-fi/horror in the tradition of “Terminator” and “Predator,” just with a teenage boy protagonist, played by Corey Haim as Travis. Interestingly, Travis is a 36 years-old former Delta Force operator in the book; and Nora is his romantic interest. Here, Nora is his mother, played by Barbara Williams, with blonde Lala Sloatman as the teenage girlfriend. Lala is very beautiful and I wish her role was bigger. She and Corey dated for a year or two afterward. Michael Ironside is also on hand as a dubious govt agent, a mixture of two characters in the novel, Lem and Vince.

Disregarding the changes from the book, the movie worked for me. It’s creative late 80s’ entertainment. No, it’s not great like “Terminator,” or the later “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” but I’d watch it any day over “Predator.”

Three sequels followed in 1990, 1994 and 1998.

It was shot in May-June 1988 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

GRADE: B/B-