The Watcher

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Product Description ------------------- Keanu Reeves ignites this action-packed, "superbly crafted thriller that zooms along like a sinister video game of hunter and prey!" (Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper and the Movies) After years of pursuing psychotic killers in Los Angeles, FBI agent Joel Campbell (James Spader) wants out. And now his nemesis, serial killer David Allen Griffin (Reeves), has tracked him all the way to Chicago just to torment him. Before each murder, Griffin sends Campbell a photograph of his intended victim and dares him to find her before he strikes again. Now, with every tick of the clock, and amidst pulse-pounding action, this stone-cold killer turns up the heat. Co-starring O-winner Marisa Tomei, this game of cat and mouse will have you ping for breath from its first terrifying frame until its final explosive conclusion! Bonus Content: * Theatrical Trailer * Production Notes * Cast and Filmmakers * DVD-ROM Features * Recommendations ]]> .com ---- James Spader stars as Joel Campbell, a former detective traumatized by the death of his lover at the hands of a serial killer he'd been hunting--a psychopath who has taken their combative relationship a little too personally, and has now tracked the retired Campbell down in Chicago. The killer, who methodically studies his victims before killing them, starts sending Campbell photographs of prospective victims and gives him a day to find them before they're killed. Campbell rises to the challenge, returns to his role as detective, and launches a comprehensive manhunt for the killer and the women in the photographs. The Watcher is surprisingly watchable--though it does suffer from an excessive use of arty cinematography. But while the psychological interpretation of the killer's behavior is a little too schematic to be convincing, the portrayal of Campbell is quite strong, particularly due to Spader's performance. A much-underrated actor, Spader is lean and efficient in his portrayal, rarely given to flashy histrionics, but compelling and emotionally complex. Unfortunately, the killer is played by Keanu Reeves; and though Reeves isn't as terrible an actor as some critics may say, he's out of his depth here. Still, Spader carries most of the movie, and the sequences in which the are trying to track down the victims are nicely suspenseful--in fact, the movie is overall more interested in suspense than gore, making it a pleasant change from most contemporary thrillers. Also starring Marisa Tomei as Campbell's psychiatrist and budding romantic interest. --Bret Fetzer