I can't freaking believe it. As I've grown older and wiser, I've come to understand and accept the fact that when a book is made into a film, not every detail or plot point is going to make it onto the screen. There's budget constraints, a resonable running time to keep track of, difficulty of visually achieving some scenes in the book, etc. Some characters, even if they're well-written and awesome, are ultimately not 100% vital to the plot and can be cut out.
Still, the fact that someone
desecrated Watchers in this way makes me both furious and sad at the same time.

The book this movie was based on is a true work of art, a "desert island" novel if there ever was one. How badly did this flick mutilate the book? I'll just say extremely, unforgivably badly, and leave it at that.
Andrew, I don't pretend to know if you're as much of a book person as you are a B-movie person, but I certainly hope this film doesn't dissuade you from picking up a copy of the novel. It's a true gem.
P.S. This is one of the few books I read where I actually felt awful for the main villian.