Watchers

"It started as a secret experiment... It ended up as a new breed of terror."

1988 1h 31m EN

😐

5.3

MID

★5.3TMDB · 109

HorrorScience FictionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A boy takes in a stray dog, later finding out that it's an ultra-intelligent runaway from a genetic research lab. Unbeknownst to him, the dog is being stalked by another escaped creature that's not quite so friendly.

“It started as a secret experiment... It ended up as a new breed of terror.”

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Cast

Corey Haim
Travis Cornell
Michael Ironside
Lem Johnson
Barbara Williams
Nora Cornell
Lala Sloatman
Tracey
Dale Wilson
Bill Keeshan
Blu Mankuma
Cliff
Duncan Fraser
Sheriff Walt Gaines
Colleen Winton
Deputy Porter

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jon Hess
Writers: Damian Lee, Bill Freed
Languages: English
Countries: Canada, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Watchers Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jon Hess, shot by Richard Leiterman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Joel Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bill Freda shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Corey Haim and Michael Ironside and Barbara Williams carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It started as a secret experiment... It ended up as a new breed of terror.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jon Hess directs. Richard Leiterman behind the camera. Joel Goldsmith scores. Bill Freda cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

138 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
3Part of the "Watchers Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Jon Hess, shot by Richard Leiterman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Joel Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Bill Freda shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Corey Haim and Michael Ironside and Barbara Williams carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "It started as a secret experiment... It ended up as a new breed of terror.".
9IMDB entry: tt0096425 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "experiment", "secret lab", "creature", "dog".
11Released under 21 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Richard Leiterman
Original score: Joel Goldsmith
Editing: Bill Freda
Production design: Richard Wilcox
Costume design: Monique Prudhomme
Makeup / hair: Linda A. Brown
Sound: Don White
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $940,173
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Watchers (1988)

Part of

Watchers Collection

These Roger Corman films revolve around a spirited golden retriever named Einstein with an IQ of 175 from a secret government lab and the genetically engineered killing machine called "The Outsider" he was created to track.

Also by

Jon Hess

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2026-05-21
★ 7/10
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-

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