{"id":49904,"date":"2026-10-21T01:54:56","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T01:54:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=49904"},"modified":"2026-10-21T01:54:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T01:54:56","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-watchers-1988","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=49904","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: WATCHERS (1988)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Blu-ray release from Toy Robot Video will be available for purchase on October 20th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By my memory, the late 1980s were a period when the big horror boom was starting to end. There were so many titles (many of which released straight-to-video) that it was becoming difficult even for horror movie enthusiasts to keep up with them all. Naturally, this also resulted in many films slipping under the radar. One of those was Watchers<\/em>, a chiller based on a book by hugely popular author Dean Koontz (Odd Thomas, Whispers, Phantoms<\/em>), starring teen heartthrob Corey Haim and Michael Ironside. Despite having some pedigree, distributor Universal Pictures only gave the film a limited release before delivering it on VHS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, VHS was the way that most of us first saw the movie. Admittedly, it\u2019s not a great movie and has plenty of plot holes and rushed story elements. But, if you were of a certain age, this was the type of film that ended up in heavy rotation on your VCR. The picture on those old tapes never looked particularly strong. Large chunks of the movie were set at night, and the less-than-stellar transfer made it difficult to see some of the details. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now, Toy Robot Video are bringing the title back to life on Blu-ray. They have found a high-quality HD master. Additional restoration and color work has been done on the picture, so that it now looks almost like a new movie. All of the problems with the production are still evident, but it is generally a zippy movie with several amusing moments. The cinematography is much slicker than this reviewer remembers, and all the practical effects (particularly with the live explosions) are impressive to behold. Those who are fond of the picture will be impressed with the presentation and this release\u2019s interesting extra features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Travis Cornell (Haim) is a troublemaking teen who frequently sneaks out of his house and steals his mother\u2019s car to spend time with his girlfriend Tracey (Lala) at her family\u2019s farm. The pair have no idea that a secret research laboratory on the other side of the woods has just exploded, and that two test subjects have escaped. One is a super-intelligent Golden Retriever, while the other is a monstrous OXCOM (Outside Experimental Combat Mammal), which is in pursuit of the dog. Travis finds the animal while leaving the farm, takes it in, and renames it \u201cFurface\u201d. The beast then attacks Tracey and her family, drawing attention from secret government agents Lemuel \u201cLem\u201d Johnson (Michael Ironside) and Cliff (Blu Mankuma). Travis and his mother Nora (Barbara Williams) soon realize that the dog is intelligent. They attempt to figure out how this happened, and try to protect it from the nasty agents and a violent monster that leaves more and more bodies in its wake while chasing them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s all very silly and doesn\u2019t make much sense, but still provides a good time for cheesy movie enthusiasts. Furface is the smartest character in the movie, and it raises a smile whenever the story involves conversations between our protagonist and the dog (who barks in a particular manner for \u201cyes\u201d and \u201cno\u201d and can even spell out messages). Whenever there is a cutaway or reaction shot of Furface after a comment from Travis, you can imagine some pretty funny responses or things that the pooch might be thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The dog is charming and Haim is certainly trying his best, while co-stars Lala and Williams try to add some emotion to the story. But it\u2019s really Ironside who steals the movie with his enjoyably maniacal and intimidating villain. The actors are a lot of fun to watch, which makes up for the thin plot. The film is fast-paced, and there are some impressive chases and explosions. And there are decent make-up effects on a couple of the murder scenes (in particular, a hotel owner with a dislike of dogs). Viewers will also witness a brief but entertaining appearance from a young Jason Priestly (Beverly Hills, 90210<\/em> and many more TV series), who plays a friend of Travis and is targeted by the creature. Another minus that might actually be a plus is the odd design for the monster itself. It\u2019s wisely hidden for a good chunk of the picture, but when it does appear, it just looks like a mutant gorilla with extended fingernails. And, of course, the OXCOM appears unkillable until it squres off against the leads, who dispose of it a little too easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Still, it\u2019s a good time for those who appreciate cheesy horror pictures. As noted, the image quality is great, meaning there are some set-ups and angles that are quite impressive, particularly during action scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, the Blu-ray\u2019s bonuses are a big plus. There are four new interviews that help detail what was going on behind the scenes and add a lot of insight into the production. The first is with director Jon Hess. He explains that he got his start with Roger Corman and was receiving good press for his debut, a science-fiction\/action flick called The Lawless Land<\/em> (1988). Corman bought the rights to the Watchers book immediately upon its release, and Hess expressed interest in directing it. Canadian genre film producer Damian Lee (Food of the Gods II, Ski School, Death Wish: The Face of Death<\/em>) also took on a role in the project, which ended up being shot in Vancouver, British Columbia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It seems that all the producers had different ideas about adapting the story. The original source material was changed because one executive wanted Haim, and that elements of the story were softened to make the movie more palatable to young horror enthusiasts. Hess goes over the challenges of shooting on a limited budget and making the most of it. After watching the new transfer, he notes that it looks better than he remembers and also thinks that the fact that every effect, from explosions to make-up, were practical, really helped the film find a following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is an excellent interview with Michael Ironside, who talks about his time on the film. He describes what inspired his performance, and notes some of the problems with the story (he read the book beforehand and calls the movie a case of \u201ctoo many cooks\u201d fiddling with the end product). There is a compelling story about a stunt involving the dog jumping out of a window and onto him that went sideways\u2026 mostly because the animal was trained to expect a platform when it performed the jump. The trainer and crew removed it for filming, and when it hurtled out of the window, the frightened dog attacked Ironside. He noted it resulted in a scar (also saying he completely understood the dog\u2019s reaction). He also talks about Haim acting up, surmising there were personal problems, and also discusses other aspects of the production in an entertaining and candid manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Barbara Williams, who plays the lead\u2019s mother in the film, talks about her experiences and working with Haim. She also interacted with his co-star and girlfriend Lala Sloatman (credited as Lala in the movie) and details doing her best with the material given.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lala Sloatman also gives her thoughts on the production, and the tension between herself and Haim during the shoot. Apparently, without her knowledge, Haim insisted to producers that she be cast as his girlfriend, making her feel like she hadn\u2019t won the role because of her own talent. It created conflict, and the two broke up. She recalls taking advantage of Canada\u2019s drinking age of 18 and spending time in a local bar with friends when things were rough. She also goes into Haim\u2019s continuing issues later in life and how she overcame similar problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All of the speakers also note that Hess was a fine director who was kind and had to deal with a lot during the production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The disc also contains a theatrical trailer, TV spot and a lengthy image gallery of promo materials. There is a particularly funny image from the German poster (featuring the heroic Golden Retriever snarling like a monster that makes an impression).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watchers<\/em> will never be mistaken for a horror classic, but it does deliver a few B-movie thrills and has a surprisingly strong cast who help make the picture enjoyable to genre enthusiasts. Toy Robot Video has done an excellent job with the transfer, and have provided some wonderful bonuses that really give one a better idea of the hectic and, at times, chaotic production. If you appreciate the movie, you won\u2019t be disappointed with this release.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Blu-ray release from Toy Robot Video will be available for purchase on October 20th. By my memory, the late 1980s were a period when the big horror boom was starting to end. There were so many titles (many of which released straight-to-video) that it was becoming difficult even for horror movie enthusiasts to keep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[121,2124,2933,24939,5999,24942,9319,24938,13792,17271,24941,19420,24832,24937,23574,24940,24945,24944,24946,24943],"class_list":["post-49904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-121","tag-b-movie","tag-blasts-from-the-past-2","tag-corey-haim","tag-dog","tag-genre-flick","tag-horror","tag-lala","tag-michael-ironside","tag-roger-corman","tag-super-intelligent","tag-suspense","tag-toy-robot","tag-toy-robot-video","tag-universal-studios","tag-watchers","tag-watchers-blu-ray-review","tag-watchers-review","tag-watchers-toy-robot","tag-watchers-toy-robot-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49904"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49914,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49904\/revisions\/49914"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/49913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}