Must See Movie...

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

"Eyes of a Stranger" is a decent, overlooked slasher that takes place in sunny Miami. A depraved sex murderer is hard at work eliminating the female population, and a hard- driving TV news anchor, Jane Harris (Lauren Tewes of 'The Love Boat' fame) is determined to do something about it, especially when she comes to believe that the killer is actually one of her own neighbours, the bespectacled, corpulent Stanley Herbert (John DiSanti). He's been phoning his victims as a prelude to his crimes, but he soon has the tables turned on him as *she* harasses him with calls. But Stanley soon has another victim in mind, Janes' own sister Tracy (Jennifer Jason Leigh, making her film debut), who's deaf, dumb, and blind because she's *already* had a traumatic past encounter with a predator. Admittedly, this *is* trashy stuff, but should prove to be adequate entertainment for slasher aficionados. Not that it stands out in the genre in terms of style or content, because it doesn't, but it's still reasonably well done. Director Ken Wiederhorn establishes a respectably creepy atmosphere and gets some great use out of the various locations. In one twist, Stanley dumps a victim at the beach, where he promptly gets his car stuck, and when an annoyed lovebird who happens to be nearby shows up to give the car a push, it provides Stanley with another handy two victims. An early scene is also amusing for containing a "severed head in the fishtank" gag, just as "He Knows You're Alone", another slasher from the same period, did. Late in the movie, there's one very sinister sequence when Stanley is in the Harris apartment and toys with Tracy by moving objects in and out of her reach. Tom Savini supplies the makeup effects, which are good but for the most part not among his best work (the final blood soaked sequence is pretty nice, though). For the voyeurs, there are some choice breast shots. One very effective element is the excellent music score by the under-rated composer Richard Einhorn; it's quite scary. The acting is fine from the principals: Tewes is convincing as the impassioned older sister, Leigh is appealing as the younger one, DiSanti is incredibly effective as the murdering cretin, and Peter DuPre does a decent job as Janes' attorney boyfriend. Look for 'Flipper' star Luke Halpin in a bit as a tape editor, and watch out for scenes from Wiederhorns' spooky low budget flick "Shock Waves" (which had co-starred Halpin) playing on TV. This was one of only three productions for the short lived company Georgetown, whose other credits were the first two "Friday the 13th" pictures. Seven out of 10.

Eyes of a Stranger is set in Miami where a wildlife photographer finds the dead, naked body of a young women submerged in shallow water. The latest victim of a brutal serial killer the woman's murder sends the city into panic, news-reporter Jane Harris (Lauren Tewes) is particularly shocked by the crimes. While parking her car Janes sees one of her neighbours change in the parking garage & throw a blood stained shirt away, Jane becomes convinced that one of her apartment block neighbour's is the killer & finds out that the car belongs to a Stanley Herbert (John DiSanti) & she becomes determined to prove he is the killer terrorising the city. However Jane's interest in Herbert attracts his attention & she might be the next victim of the killer...Directed by Ken Wiederhorn this early 80's psycho slasher film has a little bit more going for it than the average teen slasher of the period but feels like a bit of a patchwork that can't quite decide what it wants to be. The script takes it's basic premise & set-up from the classic murder mystery Rear Window (1954) with someone convincing themselves that someone in their apartment block is a killer & sets out to prove it, unfortunately the mystery angle isn't played to it's maximum potential with th killer's identity revealed too early & next to no motivation for the killer's actions either, one suspects that Eyes of a Stranger (what that title has to do with the actual film is a mystery) originally started out as a standard thriller but ended up riding on the success of the teen slasher by adding a few gory murder's & some sleazy nudity. To be fair Eyes of a Stranger is a watchable enough film, it has some good gore, some good suspense, a solid plot & tries to add a little mystery but it never quite worked for me as it can't seem to decide whether it's a slasher or a thriller & ends up not really satisfying in either aspect. At 85 minutes in length it does get a little repetitive after a great opening twenty or so minutes as it settles down & features lots of dull exposition. Character's are alright if clichéd & it's fairly predictable with no real plot twist's or revelations or surprises but overall I'd say Eyes of a Stranger is worth watching for the plot which tries to be different & one or two good gore effects.The Miami locations look nice enough & it's well made if a little bland, director Wiederhorn does a reasonable job at creating suspense & tension with large amounts of time spent trying to set the mood & atmosphere. There's some good gore here including a brief decapitation by meat cleaver, a head in a fish-tank, a knife in the throat, a slit throat & someone gets their brains blown out at the end. There's also some nudity with various strippers seen & the killer likes to rip his female victims tops off & expose their breasts before strangling them. The film Debbie is watching at the start on television is director Ken Wiederhorn's first foray into horror the watchable & unusual Nazi zombie film Shock Waves (1977).Filmed in Miami in Florida this is competently made but a little bland, the gore effects by Tom Savini are good & the music is quite stirring too. The acting is alright, Lauren Tewes is apparently best known for her role on The Love Boat (1977 - 1986) while this marked the acting debut of Jennifer Jason Leigh who gets her top ripped-off.Eyes of a Stranger is a watchable enough cross between a sleazy teen slasher & psycho thriller that is a little predictable & ultimately comes up a bit short in both aspects but is still a decent time waster with some good gore, some good suspense & a fair bit of nudity.

1981 was a big year for Slasher fans. The Friday the 13th and Halloween franchises both released a sequel, My Bloody Valentine hailed from our northerly neighbors in Canada, and a young Jason Alexander starred in The Burning. Movie-goers that year also experienced the likes of The Prowler, Happy Birthday to Me, Just Before Dawn, Graduation Day, and Final Exam. With the release of so many films with a similar premise, the question of "who came first" barely applies. One thing is for certain however; the early 1980's encapsulated some of the best films within the sub-genre and Eyes of a Stranger existed with the rest of the pack all the while.The film opens with a young woman who receives several disturbing phone calls by a threatening yet psychic-sounding stranger. She files a claim with the police department but due to a high volume of similar calls, her concerns are taken lightly. This negligent act leads to a most heinous crime; the woman, in addition to her boyfriend, are intruded upon and slain by a masked marauder. Female news anchor Jane Harris, all-too-familiar with the crimes, suspects that the unknown assailant resides in her high-rise apartment complex. Jane must find a way to produce enough evidence to substantiate her claims, compelling enough to captivate the interest of her boyfriend David; a defense lawyer who approaches the situation with reluctance. Are her theories outlandish? Or will her curiosity result in her demise?Current retiree from the world of special effects makeup, Tom Savini, was a big name in the industry back in the 1980's. Not only was he a regular in George Romero's crew but he lent a skilled hand and a keen eye to various Slasher films of the era – most prominent would be his work in Friday the 13th, followed up by Maniac which was also released in the same year. The year of 1981 was particularly successful for Savini as Eyes of a Stranger, The Burning, and The Prowler would all benefit from his artistic touch. Originally, Eyes of a Stranger received an R rating which rendered many of the gory effects absent from the final release. This exercise of taming a film to abide by society's sense of morality was a standard practice in the industry during this time. Now that audiences have experienced the likes of Saw and Hostel it seems as though censorship boards are more lenient on certain forms of brutality.Eyes of a Stranger would be director Ken Wiederhorn's second horror movie, as later endeavors materialized with the likes of Return of the Living Dead Part II from '88 and 7 episodes of Freddy's Nightmares. This short tenure was the extent of Ken's foray into horror. In comparison to other no-names in the Slasher game, Ken managed to string together a nice little story with Eyes of a Stranger – everything works out by-the-numbers and stays within the guidelines of mystery and suspense. I'd be speaking untruthfully if I were to say that it's an entertaining entry; no twists or turns or freakish elements to speak of, it merely sits complacently and unwinds to a rather dull finish. Thankfully the screenplay carries itself strongly and frivolous details with laughably bad dialog won't be found for miles.Lauren Tewes, the actress who played Jane Harris, led a semi-successful career before and after her involvement in Eyes of a Stranger. Quite possibly her most prominent role was her involvement with the late 70's television show The Love Boat. After an intense struggle with cocaine abuse she was replaced by another actress in 1984. She began the withdrawal process in 1980 with the help of a counselor but due to her poor performance at the work place she was let go. She managed to recover after a highly publicized affair and continued onward as a successful TV actress. Eyes of a Stranger is what I'd like to categorize as a safe movie. It offers the viewing audience the facts, laid out on the table, and runs straight to the finish line without any hesitation. Some might say that such a description sounds appealing and while they may be partially right it doesn't allow itself to plateau into stardom. If I could draw a likeness to this film I'd say that it could be a distant relative of Maniac. In comparison, Maniac offered a more sinister and dark approach into the killer's psyche and played upon nightmarish elements – whereas Eyes of a Stranger presents the killer in a fully lit room with little intrigue or likability (although the notion of liking a serial killer in a movie is absurd, it happens!). I've given similar reviews to films in the past when I say that this particular title could be played in the background while more pressing matters are attended to. It's not unwatchable or pathetic; the acting is believable and the characters react logically for a change but who really wants to see that? There's a reason why Slasher films specifically dumb down the level of intelligence of the players featured – it gives us, the viewers, a chance to be fully aware of what lurks around the corner even if the lead actor or actress does not. Once you remove that element you're simply watching the villain get bested with little to no effort at all – and in reality, that's not very appealing.

Eyes of a Stranger (1981) ** (out of 4) A rather lame "slasher" has Lauren Tewes playing a TV reporter who begins to think that the serial killer stalking women is her neighbor (John DiSanti). This is a very strange movie as it never seems to know what it's trying to be. On one hand it really plays and feels like a made for TV flick but then again there are some rather sleazy murders, which includes some graphic violence and some nudity. Tom Savini was behind the special effects but I've read that this film started out as a straight psychological thriller and then Savini was called in after the success of Friday the 13th. I'd be curious if Savini came in after the original film was completed because there's really no rhyme or reason behind the special effects. Some of the murder sequences are rather tame while others happen off screen. If you make a slasher then the murders don't happen off screen. Then there are other murders, which you can clearly tell Savini is behind them but then again these sequences seem out of place as if they were filmed later and then edited back into the movie. No matter how they were really done or when, they do look good. Overall I found the film too slow and boring to really be that good and some of the blame has to go towards the director even though the first murder sequence manages to build some tension. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays the blind/deaf/mute sister and does a pretty good job in her first film. I wasn't too thrilled with Tewes who I felt was bland in the lead. DiSanti was an interesting choice for the killer but he doesn't have much to work with. The film could be called a remake of Rear Window and even a rip of various DePalma movies, which this seems to try and copy. Either way the movie never really takes off.