ashleynphotographer The mystery was intriguing and suspenseful and the acting was well done. The plot was very mature. The child recalls her mother being raped and murdered and is forced to watch her father's girlfriend being touched (against her will) in a sexual manner. Lots of swearing. Several GD's, Sh--, and Bi---. The "F" word was used throughout (whispered, mumbled, and openly stated). Child endangerment throughout. Child trauma throughout. Not appropriate for young viewers.

merklekranz The script is way above average for a movie that is part exploitation, and part crime drama. My only complaint is that at times it seems a bit stretched, as in a few too many chases, and the acting varies from excellent,( Rip Torn), to very average,( Kate Mulgrew). The dark underground is used to great advantage, and there is genuine tension in several scenes. "A Stranger is Watching" is a must see for Rip Torn fans, as he is at his sleaziest. Obviously the "slasher" crowd has missed the whole point ,that this is a clever "suspenser", and the low IMDb rating reflects their misguided interpretation. Recommended for those who are looking for something different from the usual "slice and dice". - MERK

jimkis-1 This has the feel of a made-for-TV movie except it has enough profanity to give it an "R" rating. Kate Mulgrew has the acting skill of a wombat, to be kind. Rip Torn can act but he is saddled with a cliché-ridden script that is full of ridiculous turns and coincidences. This movie is totally predictable and tedious in the extreme. It's one yawn after another; the only reason to watch is in the hope that maybe something will actually happen that could be called suspense. But it never does. At least the little girl's cat is cute. I felt sorry for Rip Torn and the little girl, who probably thought she would have a career after this. Rip did, fortunately for him, as he was able to rise above being in this dreck. One final note -- the title is totally misleading. There is very little watching as the movie is about a kidnapping not stalking in the sense one normally thinks of it. Everyone says the book is better but if it is even half as contrived as this film, I have no desire to read it.

BillyBC (*** out of *****) Two years after directing the first "Friday the 13th" movie, Cunningham came back with this more serious (but only slightly less exploitative) thriller based on the novel by Mary Higgins Clark. "The Larry Sanders Show"'s Rip Torn (with that name, he was bound to play at least one role like this) plays a murderous psychopath who kidnaps a young girl(Shawn von Schreiber) and a TV news reporter (Kate Mulgrew, from "Star Trek: Voyager") three years after raping and killing the girl's mother. He keeps them in a smallroom deep in the subterranean bowels beneath Grand Central Station. There are several suspenseful attempted-escape and chase scenes throughout the last half of the movie before it ends in typical, bloody slasher fashion. James Naughton (from "The Paper Chase" and the "Planet of the Apes" television series) plays the girl's father and Mulgrew's boyfriend, and Barbara Baxley and James Russo also appear. Old, whiney character actor William Hickey pops up briefly as an ill-fated bum. There's kind of a weak twist towards the end of the movie, and, with the high body count, Cunningham was apparently still getting 'Friday the 13th ' out of his system, but, otherwise, this is pretty good.HIGHLIGHT: In an unexpected turn of events, Torn is attacked in a public restroom by a gang of thugs and beaten up. Even though he's the bad guy (and a nasty one at that), for a brief moment, you're tricked into thinking, `C'mon, Rip, kick their asses!'