Based off of the Mary Higgins Clark novel, A Stranger is Watching is gritty early 80's crime thriller about a man who kidnaps a child and a woman and keeps them captive in the tunnels of New York City's subway lines.
The movie starts with an eight year girl witnessing her mother being murdered and raped by a man. Flash forward three years later and we see that a person (Ronnie Thompson) who young Julie claimed was the killer is being sentenced to death for the crime. Our female heroine is Sharon Martin who is dating Julie's father and covering the story of the accused man as a lead TV reporter. Viewers are led to believe that Ronnie is the killer, however when a different strange man starts hanging around and stalking Julie at her school we learn that she made a mistake with in identifying the murderer she thought she saw that terrible night.
While home alone one evening, the same man who killed Julie's mother breaks in and kidnaps her and Sharon. He takes both of them to some sort of makeshift underground bunker in the bellows and depths of Grand Central Station and threatens that If he doesn't receive a large sum of money, he'll kill them. It's up to Julie and Sharon to somehow escape captivity and also find their way out of a maze known as NYC's underground subway system.
I enjoyed this movie a bit more than I thought I would. The Higgins Clark story is a good one, and is presented well on film. I felt bad for young Julie having to go through such trauma not once but twice, and by the same man. There were some very well done cat and mouse chase scenes throughout the tunnels and tracks. Director Sean Cunningham of Friday the 13th fame did good with those parts. Also enjoyable are the filming locations of the dark subway tunnels.
Kate Mulgrew is incredible as the female lead Sharon Martin. The character is a strong woman who is the middle of trying to get her and Julie out alive while also trying to build a relationship with her as a step parent. Rip Torn as the main villain does a fine job as well, but that character isn't given much of anything in respect to dialogue. Just a lot of grumbling and yelling. The character might be the weakest part of the movie, and I do like Rip Torn.
Overall, this is a watchable crime/thriller that has fallen into obscurity over the years. It completely bombed at the box office but I can't see why. Good acting, a well told story, and a little twist as well. It can get a little tiresome towards the end because you just want the two ladies to escape already, but all worth it with the satisfying ending we get. Check it out!
6/10
The movie starts with an eight year girl witnessing her mother being murdered and raped by a man. Flash forward three years later and we see that a person (Ronnie Thompson) who young Julie claimed was the killer is being sentenced to death for the crime. Our female heroine is Sharon Martin who is dating Julie's father and covering the story of the accused man as a lead TV reporter. Viewers are led to believe that Ronnie is the killer, however when a different strange man starts hanging around and stalking Julie at her school we learn that she made a mistake with in identifying the murderer she thought she saw that terrible night.
While home alone one evening, the same man who killed Julie's mother breaks in and kidnaps her and Sharon. He takes both of them to some sort of makeshift underground bunker in the bellows and depths of Grand Central Station and threatens that If he doesn't receive a large sum of money, he'll kill them. It's up to Julie and Sharon to somehow escape captivity and also find their way out of a maze known as NYC's underground subway system.
I enjoyed this movie a bit more than I thought I would. The Higgins Clark story is a good one, and is presented well on film. I felt bad for young Julie having to go through such trauma not once but twice, and by the same man. There were some very well done cat and mouse chase scenes throughout the tunnels and tracks. Director Sean Cunningham of Friday the 13th fame did good with those parts. Also enjoyable are the filming locations of the dark subway tunnels.
Kate Mulgrew is incredible as the female lead Sharon Martin. The character is a strong woman who is the middle of trying to get her and Julie out alive while also trying to build a relationship with her as a step parent. Rip Torn as the main villain does a fine job as well, but that character isn't given much of anything in respect to dialogue. Just a lot of grumbling and yelling. The character might be the weakest part of the movie, and I do like Rip Torn.
Overall, this is a watchable crime/thriller that has fallen into obscurity over the years. It completely bombed at the box office but I can't see why. Good acting, a well told story, and a little twist as well. It can get a little tiresome towards the end because you just want the two ladies to escape already, but all worth it with the satisfying ending we get. Check it out!
6/10