A Stranger Is Watching (film)
A Stranger Is Watching | |
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![]() Film poster | |
Directed by | Sean S. Cunningham |
Screenplay by | Earl Mac Rauch Victor Miller |
Based on | A Stranger is Watching by Mary Higgins Clark |
Produced by | Sidney Beckerman |
Starring | Kate Mulgrew Rip Torn James Naughton Shawn von Schreiber Barbara Baxley |
Cinematography | Barry Abrams |
Edited by | Susan E. Cunningham |
Music by | Lalo Schifrin |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $3.2 million[1] |
Box office | $2,519,559[2] |
A Stranger is Watching is a 1982 American horror film directed by Sean S. Cunningham.[3] The screenplay was written by Earl Mac Rauch and Victor Miller, based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Mary Higgins Clark.
Plot[]
Steve Peterson's wife, Nina is murdered in front of their young daughter Julie. Three years later, Julie and Peterson's new girlfriend Sharon Martin are kidnapped by the same killer, the psychotic Artie Taggart. Taggart imprisons them in a bunker below Grand Central Station, throwing the police into a race against time to save the girl.
Cast[]
- Kate Mulgrew as Sharon Martin
- Rip Torn as Artie Taggart
- James Naughton as Steve Peterson
- Shawn von Schreiber as Julie Peterson
- Barbara Baxley as Lally
- Stephen Joyce as Detective Taylor
- James Russo as Ronald Thompson
- Frank Hamilton as Bill Lufts
- Maggie Task as Mrs. Lufts
- Roy Poole as Walter Kurner
- Maurice Copeland as Roger Perry
- Eleanor Phelps as Glenda Perry
- Joanne Dorian as Nina Peterson
- Stephen Strimpell as Detective Marlowe
- David Allen Brooks as Big Bum
- William Hickey as Maxi
- Jennie Ventriss as Kathy Green
Critical reception[]
Allmovie gave the film a mildly favorable review, writing "Sean Cunningham's first post-Friday the 13th film was shrugged off by most critics, but it is better than its reputation might lead one to believe."[4] Janet Maslin of The New York Times thought the film is "a lot better" than Friday the 13th, and noted: "The story offers a few surprises, and the bowels of the railway station are scenic, in their grubby way."[5]
References[]
- ^ Boyer, Peter; Pollock, Dale (28 March 1982). "MGM-UA AND THE BIG DEBT". Los Angeles Times. p. 11.
- ^ "A Stranger is Watching".
- ^ Maslin, Janet (January 22, 1982). "New York Times movie review". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012.
- ^ Guarisco, Donald. "A Stranger Is Watching - Review". Allmovie. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (January 22, 1982). "Movie Review: A Stranger Is Watching (1982)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
External links[]
- 1982 films
- English-language films
- American films
- Films based on American novels
- Films based on mystery novels
- American serial killer films
- Films directed by Sean S. Cunningham
- 1980s serial killer films
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
- United Artists films
- Films scored by Lalo Schifrin
- 1982 horror films
- Films with screenplays by Victor Miller (writer)
- Films set on the New York City Subway
- 1980s English-language films
- 1980s horror film stubs