A Stranger Is Watching (film)

A Stranger Is Watching
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	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Heron Communications
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	January 22, 1982 (1982-01-22)
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

1. Boyer, Peter; Pollock, Dale (28 March 1982). "MGM-UA AND THE BIG DEBT". Los Angeles Times. p. 11.
2. "A Stranger is Watching".
3. Maslin, Janet (January 22, 1982). "New York Times movie review". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012.
4. Guarisco, Donald. "A Stranger Is Watching - Review". Allmovie. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
5. 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

• A Stranger is Watching at IMDb
• A Stranger Is Watching at Rotten Tomatoes
• A Stranger Is Watching at Box Office Mojo