Watchers Reborn (1998)

User Rating:

2.2/10   

Director:

John Carl Buechler

Writers:

Sean Dash (writer)
Dean R. Koontz (novel)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Driven by instinct...destined for murder.

Plot:

An extra-smart dog and detective team up to stop a DNA enhanced killer. |

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Dog | Mutant | Fourth Part | Trunk

Cast

Mark Hamill	...	Murphy
Lisa Wilcox	...	Grace
Stephen Macht	...	Lem Johnson
Gary Collins	...	Gus Brody
Lou Rawls	...	Doc Grimes
Bob Clendenin	...	Barnes (as Robert Clendenin)
Melissa Cross	...	Kristin
Shawn David Thompson	...	Researcher #1
Lucy Lin	...	Researcher #2
Milton Kahn	...	Agent
Tony Guma	...	Agent #1
Gary J. Wayton	...	Agent #2
Kane Hodder	...	Clerk
Floyd Levine	...	Captain Dekker
Larry Cedar	...	Driver #2
Deirdre Coleman Imus	...	Reporter (as Deirdre Coleman)
Lloyd Garroway	...	Officer
Robert Peters	...	Driver #1
Gerald Brodin	...	Cop

Directed by
John Carl Buechler

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sean Dash		writer
Dean R. Koontz		novel "Watchers"

Produced by
Roger Corman	....	executive producer
Mark Hamill	....	co-producer
Darin Spillman	....	producer

Original Music by
Terry Plumeri

Cinematography by
Mike Mickens		(as Michael Michniewicz)

Film Editing by
Daniel H. Holland

Production Design by
Mark Harper

Set Decoration by
Jennifer Fraser

Costume Design by
Jayme Bohn

Makeup Department
Erin Braus Guth	....	makeup artist (as Erin M. Braus)
Brad Hardin	....	creature effects supervisor (1998)

Production Management
Michael P. Flannigan	....	unit production manager

Art Department
Derek Crimmel	....	carpenter
Gregory Neuhaus	....	carpenter

Sound Department
Jeffrey D. German	....	sound effects editor
Jeffrey D. German	....	sound re-recording mixer
John R.F. Halaby	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
John Carl Buechler	....	special creature effects

Stunts
Mike Gunther	....	stunt performer
Pee Wee Piemonte	....	stunt coordinator
Paul E. Short	....	stunts
Monica Staggs	....	stunt performer: Lab Technician
Dean Wayton	....	stunt performer
Gary J. Wayton	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Brad Rushing	....	director of photography: second unit
Jose Zambrano Cassella	....	assistant camera: second unit

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Laura E. Little	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Brian J. Cavanaugh	....	first assistant editor
Matthew Klein	....	second assistant editor

Music Department
Paul Di Franco	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Mark E. Mobley	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Scott Baldyga	....	script supervisor
Joey O'Bryan	....	production assistant
Mike Tristano	....	weapons handler

Distributors

• Concorde Pictures
• Manga Films (Spain)

Also Known As:

Watchers 4 (USA) (working title)
Carnage (France) (DVD title) [fr]
D.N.A. IV (Japan) [ja]
Les proies - La résurrection (France) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated R for monster-related violence and gore.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15 | Iceland:16 | France:-16 | USA:R | Spain:18

Movie Connections:

Follows Watchers (1988)

Another failed attempt, huh?

A terrible movie here, folks. First of all, it's hard to review this film objectively. I REALLY enjoyed the book (one of my favourite Dean Koontz novels), and I'm way too much of a Mark Hamill fan (regardless of what everybody tells me). But this was a uniquely weak film. I've mentioned before that films with the potential for good/greatness are much more disappointing than those that were empty from the beginning. This is, what, the tenth attempt to make Koontz's "Watchers" into a movie, and again, somebody somewhere screwed up. I mean, what is the problem with this book? I can't tell you, except that even after several other tries, this one is particularly bad. The acting was sub-par, the violence hokey and unnecessary, the special effects laughable, and the editing was as bad as a sixth-grader with two VCRs. There were a couple of moments when I thought, "Wait a minute, maybe this won't suck," which made it all the worse when it did. "Nightmare on Elm Street 4 & 5"'s Lisa Wilcox wasn't spectacularly awful, just awful. The pathetic-but-didn't-have-to-be monster was never scary, and often so poorly done that I longed for another Ewok movie. I guess the once-great Mark Hamill should stick with cartoon voice-overs.