User reviews

This sequel to "Watchers" is just a reworking of the original. Or, more accurately, it uses Dean Koontz's original story as the basis for yet another "Predator" knock-off. Pretty lame, with some terribly unconvincing effects (check out that severed head), but an amazingly well-trained dog yet again saves the day (i.e., at least makes the movie bearable). (*1/2)

Oh yeah,"Watchers 2" is really bad,but certainly more enjoyable than "Grim" or "Haunted Sea".The acting is passable and the dog is smarter than every person in this movie.The monster is lame looking,the gore is almost non-existent and there's also no suspense at all.I still think that this one is slightly better than "Watchers"(1988)with its extremely laughable "monster",but not as good as "Watchers 3"(1994)-very stupid,but gory and fun to watch monster flick set in the jungle.Recommended,if you like this sort of stuff.

Watchers II (1990) is a movie I recently watched on YouTube. The storyline follows a genetically engineered monster that escapes a laboratory and begins hunting down a unique dog. A laboratory assistant and a man who found the dog, and the dog will work together to bring down the monster.

This movie was directed by Thierry Notz (The Terror Within) and stars Marc Singer (The Beastmaster), Tracy Scoggins (Lois & Clark), Mary Woronov (Death Race 2000) and Irene Miracle (Inferno).

This is a wild movie. It takes awhile to actually get to see the monster so you need to enjoy Singer and the dog for the most part. You do get to watch the dog type on a key board and hack into systems and discover what's going on for the humans, all while typing with a pencil. That was pretty cool. Once the monster arrives the special effects on the creature is well done. The Predator night vision was okay too. The entire grocery store scene is awesome. The fights between the monster and dog are good and the final few scenes are entertaining.

Overall this is a huge step down from the original with Corey Haim. I would score this a 3.5-4/10 and only watch if you can't find something better on.

I still remember how I was curious to know how they could do a sequel to WATCHERS when I saw this movie on a shelf of the video-store. The curiosity grown when I looked at the back of the cover and saw a gore scene not included in the cassette (which has no real bloody shots). Plus, the movie was forbidden for people under 18 - where the first one (here in Italy) was for all audiences. But what I saw wasn't that good I thought. This is not a remake of the original directed by Hess, but a second adaptation of the novel by Koontz (a quiet good horror novel, btw), more close to it (except for the character's names) than the previous. But it's still very far from the book. Besides some changes (this time there's only a scientist who tracks the beast), the main problem is that the monster's look is very far from being scary and the director had the bad idea to show it completely and very early in the story. In Hess' version, instead, we don't clearly see it and even if this is obtained through simple methods (POVs. shaky camera works, long shots in the fog), it works quiet well. Here Notz tries a little bit to create suspense (the creature's shadow on a wall wasn't that bad), but stops quiet early, preferring to show a guy in a cheesy suit who moves like an idiot. As the previous, the most incredible performance is delivered by the dog - and I mean it in a good way.

I still wonder where that gore shot was supposed to be inserted in..

This movie begins in a top-secret laboratory where a private corporation named is conducting genetic experiments on animals. However, when two agents for the NSA infiltrate the lab and get killed by one of the animals, management makes the decision to destroy all of the evidence as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the lead scientist named "Steve Malceno" (Jonathan Farwell) doesn't agree with this decision and allows the most dangerous specimen to escape. This decision has disastrous consequences for everybody in its path. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, rather than being a true sequel, this film is essentially a remake of the original movie. Although not quite as good, in my opinion, as its predecessor it is compensated to a certain degree by the presence of Marc Singer (as "Paul Ferguson"), Tracy Scoggins ("Barbara White") and to a limited extent Irene Miracle ("Sarah Ferguson"). There was also some humor here and there which certainly didn't hurt either. But even so, the predictable plot and lack of suspense definitely affected this film and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

When I sat down here in 2022 to watch the 1990 sci-fi horror movie "Watchers II", I had never even heard about the movie. I happened to stumble upon it by random chance, and seeing that the movie was starring Marc Singer, of course I had to watch it. And also since it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, I would give director Thierry Notz's 1990 movie a chance.

The storyline in "Watchers II" is pretty straight forward, simplistic actually. This is an archetypical creature feature about a man-made creature that escapes captivity and goes on a murderous rampage. So writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris managed to put together a somewhat stereotypical and generic script and storyline here. Sure, it was watchable, but this wasn't exactly a gemstone in cinema history. If you enjoy these cheesy and campy creature features, then grab the snack, lean comfortably back and watch the screen.

The acting in the movie was adequate. I mean, you know you're not in for an award-winning performance with a movie such as "Watchers II", but the actors and actresses did actually put on fair enough performances with their roles and characters.

Now, a creature feature movie is usually rather dependent on having proper special effects to bring the creature to life on the screen. And while I am sure that back in 1990s then the effects in "Watchers II" were somewhat adequate, they haven't aged well. The creature design is somewhat strange, and it is blatantly obvious to see it is just a man wearing a full-body latex costume, especially with the lack of articulation in the creature's face.

All in all, "Watchers II" is a watchable enough movie, though you should not count on being in for a great cinematic experience. And while I managed to sit through this movie, I can't claim to want to return to watch it a second time. Nor am I particularly interested in tracking down the 1988 movie ""Watchers", nor the 1994 "Watchers III" movie.

My rating of director Thierry Notz's 1990 "Watchers II" movie lands on a four out of ten stars.

The film is pretty bad in all fairness, they stole the lou ferrigno hulk growl but the monster ain't no hulk.

Two years after the Corey Haim starring vehicle "Watchers", Roger Corman would produce another adaptation of Dean R. Kootnz's best-selling novel. This b-grade sequel is a sober retread changing or adding plot devices and losing the suburban setting for something urban, but probably being a little more faithful to the book as this screenplay would try to delve a bit more deeper in to this top secret experiment of genetic engineering. Here we even get an explanation (nothing special, but it is a reason) to why this creature takes out the eyes of its victim. The hybrid creature known as the Outsider is given human like instincts, but it just can't control what it was engineered to do… track down the super-intelligent dog it shares a physic link with and eliminated all who have been in contact with it. Quite slow-burn and carefully structured, but still providing the grisly shocks throughout this fugitive-on-the-run / creature-on-the-rampage theme. Instead of trying for cheap jolts, it tends to rely on its shady atmospherics (as its spends a lot time in darkly lit areas), edgy suspense (like the sewer sequence) and moody storytelling, where in doing so it doesn't feel quite as silly and dumb-down as its predecessor. Although the man in an unconvincing rubber freak of nature suit, does get a fair bit of screen time. The director doesn't really try to hide the creation either. Technically sound direction with a steady tempo if somewhat a dragged out climax. This time we have Marc Singer and Tracy Scoggins in the leads and they are quite likable. Jonathan Farwell is adequate as the unstable scientist who led the project. Also showing up in a minor turn is Mary Woronov.

"Can't teach an old dog new tricks. Cant ya?"

The first Watchers movie, which got a limited Stateside theatrical release, found whatever minor success it attained on home video in the rental utopia that was the late 1980s. It apparently made enough money to tempt Roger Corman into a Direct To Video follow up 2 years later.

Interestingly, well ok, not really, but unusually, Watchers II is actually not a sequel, but essentially a remake of the original. Apparently it's more faithful to the Dean Koontz source material, not being a Corey Haim vehicle, but not having read it I couldn't say for sure.

A top secret government experiment to create the perfect killing machine leads to a hyper intelligent golden retriever, designed to infiltrate enemy bases, and 'the outsider' a genetically modified, humanoid monster psychically linked to the dog that will follow him and kill everyone he's been in contact with in his quest to destroy him. Via shenanigans both escape in a lab accident and the dog is taken in by a helpful stranger who teams up with a helpful and sexy scientist who worked on the project to try and defeat the Outsider and save the dog

I've left that a bit vague because I'm gonna copy and paste it for review in future sequels. The helpful stranger in this case Paul Ferguson (Marc Singer) a soldier on his way to trial by military police whose transport is derailed by the outsider during its escape and the deaths of his fellow soldiers being blamed on him. This beautiful scientist in this entry is Tracy Scoggins.

This is very much DTV material, in terms of acting, direction and effects. Hell, even the cover art is a lame photo that I get the feeling was shot on the last day of filming. Singer and Scoggins are solid enough leads at this level, albeit it makes you wonder if the dog's ability to communicate with Singer is less because it's super intelligent and more because he's the Beastmaster. The dog is the star of the show, which is something of a series staple.

The monster suit is far from the best I've ever seen, though also not even in the bottom 10 rubber monsters you'll find in a Corman movie. Unfortunately the design, particularly of its head, it's awful, and I'm not even sure what they were going for. I've seen others say it's the same suit from The Terror Within (a film also directed by Thierry Notz) which I'm not convinced is the case. It's definitely similar but to be honest I remember that looking better.

Watchers II really isn't very good, but also isn't terrible either. Before watching it, or even reading this I'm sure you'll be well aware if there's any chance of you enjoying a DTV sequel to a Roger Corman movie based on a Dean Koontz novel, and as such view accordingly. It's a watchable (harhar) cheesy horror flick you're unlikely to have any inclination to see a second time.

More like the novel than the original, but still unsatisfying. Had its parts that where fun, but still kinda corny. Quality was dark and couldn't see what was going 80% of the time. But still I liked it.

Original seemed to be more satisfying, but if your looking for a more novel like movie of Watchers - Watch it. 6/10 Because it wasn't boring, and I enjoyed a few more scenes. Yeah, watch it. Hey, it was better than the Koontz adaptation of Phantoms and Hideaway.

IMDb won't let me place this unless its longer.

Fine. I do own this on DVD, so it's not too bad. But if you want a REALLY GOOD Koontz adaptation see DEMON SEED. Now thats excellent. WATCH IT!!!!!

The stage curtains open ...

"The smarter you are, the worse everything looks." "The world must be a beautiful place for you, Melvin."

In the Watchers Franchise, I've only ever seen the very first movie, starring Corey Haim. I found a copy of this one, and watched it for the first time tonight. I was pleasantly surprised! It was better than I anticipated, especially considering it was a sequel that went straight to video upon its release. I've always been a fan of Marc Singer having watched the Beastmaster films, and though I'm not familiar with the work of Tracy Scoggins, I thought she did very well in her role.

This 2nd film follows a very familiar formula, with both a dog and a monster escaping from a genetic engineering facility. The dog is named Einstein, and for good reason - he is extremely intelligent. Whereas, the counterpart is a gruesome killing machine, hell-bent on finding Einstein. Einstein makes his way to a soldier named, Paul (Singer), and helps to save his life from the monster that followed. Together, they are able to locate the dog's former trainer and keeper, a psychologist named, Barbara (Scoggins). Though there are other forces at work behind the scenes, they learn to rely on each other for the inevitable conflict that lays ahead.

In the first movie, I thought the interaction between Haim and the dog was amusing and it made me smile. The dog communicating with Singer in this film was just as good. I loved this dynamic in both movies, as it really made it so much fun to watch. The dog can't speak? No problem! Just give it a pencil, and it will type out its messages on the computer. Awesome stuff! We see more of the creature in this movie, and it is pretty gruesome. A lot of grunting and roaring as it commits its savage acts. But, a creature with a soft spot too - just be careful that you don't mess with its teddy bear!

I really liked Watchers II. Not quite as much as the first one, but almost. I am recommending it at a solid 7 stars out of 10. It is a worthy sequel and perfect for a late night creature double feature. I'm going to have to buy this one to add to my own collection now. Great film with decent performances, decent special effects, and a fun story.

Give this movie a break. I been a fan of Marc Singer since beastmaster and the V series really like this guy.

For some odd reason like many good actors he chose a path in the direct to video movies instead of going big time.

Tracy Scoggins is always a very beautiful women i guess no matter how she looks.

The dog is really cuit too if you are an animal lover he will get to you.

Its basically the same as THE WATCHER the first movie except i guess they had less of a budget for this one, but still the creature looks pretty good.

No sure why this movie is getting such a low score its a really good way to pass time.

My review was written in June 1990 after watching the movie on IVE video cassette.

Roger Corman's second try at adapting Dean R. Koontz' bestseller is a marked improvement, yielding a suspenseful thriller. The first pic, Canadian-made, got a spotty release by Universal while the remake is headed straight for video.

Once again a government project developing weaponry for the next war has created two genetically linked superbeings: AE74, a Gill-man type of monster known as the Outsider, and AE73, a beautiful golden retriever named Einstein with amazing intelligence.

The National Security Agency orders this Aesop project terminated, but good-bad guy Jonathan Farwell in charge feels sorry for his critters so he has animal rights advocates st3eal away the lab animals. Outsider kills a few of the do-gooders and escapes as well.

Unlike the 1988 film which cornily emphasized youngster Corey Haim in the lead role, this version is blissfully free of pandering to kids/teens. Marc Singer plays a marine on the way to the stockade for punching a superior officer. Einstein helps him escape from custody. In a clever scene reminiscent of charades, the dog communicates to Singer that he must phone Barbara White (played by Tracy Scoggins), who was his animal psychologist during the project.

Scoggins, Singer and Einstein team up to foil the government heavies, leading to a nice moment of pathos at the climax when Outsider meets his destiny.

Scoggins and Singer make an attractive, personable team. They've already made another video together, "The Raven Red Kiss-Off". Though the Outsdier's bodysuit is a bit fake looking, pic's effects are adequate. Director Thierry Notz keeps the pace crackling and there are several fun scenes of Einstein demonstrating his intelligence.

As Singer's sympathetic ex-wife, Irene Miracle delivers an alluring bubble bath scene that brings back fond memories of her initial exposure in "Midnight Express". Further pulchritude is provided by buxom Raquel Rios, better know as porn star Keisha.

Watchers II isn't so much a sequel as it is a retelling, following the same story as the 1988 Corey Haim original (which was based on the Dean Koontz novel of the same name). This time, instead of a genetically-modified, super-intelligent dog falling into the hands of a teenager, it winds up in the company of marine Paul Ferguson (Marc 'the Beastmaster' Singer), who finds himself wrongly accused of murder. The real culprit is a hideous mutant that is tracking the dog and killing anyone who crosses its path. Tracy Scoggins co-stars as lab assistant Barbara White, who is also looking for the missing pooch and who consequently finds herself in mortal danger

As straight-to-video 'sequels' featuring man-in-rubber-suit monsters go, Watchers II isn't as bad as you might think: Singer, one of the more charismatic B-movie stars of the era, makes for a likeable hero; Scoggins is adequate as the babe in peril; and even though the creature is laughably bad, the carnage that it leaves in its wake is suitably gruesome (I particularly liked the severed head in the toilet!). Like the original, this one has its fair share of sillier moments, including the dog helping Paul find Barbara's phone number and tapping out messages on a computer (but sadly not playing Scrabble). Irene Miracle, as Paul's estranged wife Sarah, provides the obligatory nudity, taking a bath shortly before being mutilated by the monster.

A lot of people will understandably consider this film to be garbage, but one man's trash is another man's treasure, and if you're a fan of cheezy low budget horror nonsense, this one should keep you entertained for the duration.

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

Watchers 2 (1990)

* (out of 4)

When you've got nothing original to do with a sequel you simply make it a remake and that's the case with Watchers 2, which isn't worth reading about let alone watching. Another government agency has created a new golden retriever, which is just as smart as the one in the first film. Of course, they also get the idea to create another creature and so the movie can continue, the creature and dog escape (again) and bodies begin to pile up while the government runs all over the place trying to track them down. Paul Ferguson (Marc Singer) is the lucky fellow who finds the dog, falls in love with it and must try and fight off the baboon looking monster.

Watchers 2 is pretty much the same movie as the first one, although this time Roger Corman was the actual producer. Apparently he didn't want to spend too much money on a script because there's certainly not one to be found here. While the first movie's monster was silly looking it at least was interesting but that's not the case here. From what I can remember the monster here appears to be the same one as in The Terror Within, another Corman production. Gore hounds might find a few interesting kills but that's not enough to keep your attention through the slow pace that makes this film a real pain to get through.

WATCHERS 2 is a pretty lame sequel. The first cheap WATCHERS was mostly watchable, but this is garbage. The creature is from THE TERROR WITHIN, and the cast includes Marc Singer.

Avoid this rank imitation of Dean Koontz's original novel.