Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Absolutely amazing

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Blistering performances.

"Eyes of a Stranger" follows a Miami television news anchor (Lauren Tewes) who grows increasingly disturbed by a series of brutal sex killings in the area. Her paranoia leads to an ardent protectiveness of her vulnerable blind-deaf sister (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and she becomes convinced a male neighbor is responsible for the murders.For an early-eighties slasher entry, "Eyes of a Stranger" has a pretty darn good opening that seems to promise a nasty, unrelenting horror flick. As much as it seems to be borrowing from its contemporaries (it shares many things in common with other entries, such as "Don't Answer the Phone," and "He Knows You're Alone," as well as 1974's "Black Christmas"), the film's opening scene and first murder sequence are startlingly effective and brutal. The first half remains compelling, with an ambiguous subplot concerning the sisters making sparse entries into the narrative—but as it reaches its halfway point, the film begins to slightly devolve.It's not a fatal devolution by any means—this is still a very watchable film—but the tightfistedness and intrigue begins to dissipate as the audience becomes familiarized with the villain. The flip side is that the exposure allows John DiSanti's performance some room to breathe, and he manages to evoke a fairly frightening antagonist. Lauren Hewes is solid as the feminist lead, and Jennifer Jason Leigh makes her first major screen role in the film as Hewes's disabled sister, a role that also flourishes in the second act. The film's conclusion is a bit anticlimactic by most accounts, and this also detracts a bit from the picture, but it's not enough to cause a serious implosion.Overall, "Eyes of a Stranger" is a mixed bag. It is conceptually unoriginal, and there is a sense of unevenness between its first and second acts, but it's also relatively well-shot and the performances from all are above the standard. It also boasts some unexpectedly disturbing, effective murder sequences that are likely to catch the audience off guard. 6/10.

I think I would give this movie 3 stars out of 4, since what is good about it is often very good. However, the violence is shockingly explicit and gratuitous, which very nearly derails the picture. In fact, it is so needlessly explicit one is tempted to turn away from the screen in order to avoid it. Lauren Tewes is shockingly good in the lead role, so good that I now wonder why she didn't get more opportunities to shine. Jennifer Jason Leigh is also excellent, and I have to admit I forgot it was her until near the end of the picture. The identity of the killer is revealed early on, so the only suspense comes when Tewes begins to think she knows his identity and then begins to follow and taunt him. Some of this was compelling, but a lot of it was so unlikely that I had to laugh on occasion. At one point Tewes finds herself in the killer's apartment when he suddenly returns, and the way she extricates herself from this predicament is so unlikely that I laughed out loud(entering another apartment directly below and then casually walking out with the inhabitants eating at their table? Really?). The great film critic Gene Siskel gave this movie 2.5 stars out of 4, saying that without the gratuitous violence he could recommend the film without reservation as a well-made urban thriller. I agree with him, but for those who like these slasher-type movies, I believe this is by far the best. It's genuinely creepy and scary much of the time.

You can't call this a good movie. It doesn't get the slack you might give to a slasher movie, because while it has some elements of that, it aims higher, and misses. There was some decent acting going on in places. Lauren Tewes was pretty, but never really inhabited her character. John Di Santi was creepy enough, while passing as normal. But the writers never fleshed out his character, a missed opportunity, I'd say. Jennifer Jason Liegh did surprisingly well as the deaf-mute, blind sister-victim. She looked so young, and I guess she was. Gwen Lewis had a fairly long scene with a fair number of lines, and did very well. I was surprised to see that she never appeared as an actress in anything else before or since. In spite of the good things, there was too much bad (stilted dialog, plot holes, characters behaving in inexplicable ways) to recommend this one.

Coming along when slasher flicks were enjoying popularity and when female newscasters in peril was also a common hook, this thriller failed to catch on when it was released (due in part, perhaps, to some censoring of the more graphic violence.) Tewes is a pretty news anchor living in a south Florida high-rise with her sister, the deaf-mute victim of a crime perpetrated against her as a young girl. While Tewes reports a series of deaths by serial killer on the air, she soon begins to suspect that her neighbor DiSanti is behind them! She has spotted him in bloodstained clothing and in a mud-splattered car following the discovery of a body in such a place. The audience is made aware early on that DiSanti is the deranged, sadistic killer (who, by day, appears like any pudgy, white-collar businessman), but watches as Tewes carries out a dangerous investigation of her own. Unfortunately, her rather sloppy approach to unmasking him turns his eye to her debilitated sister (Leigh) and she becomes the next girl on his list. Tewes enjoys playing something other than the bubbly and lightweight role she played on "The Love Boat" and generally does well in this far more serious role. DiSanti has few lines and is actually quite terrifying in his brawny, creepy way, never more so than when he presses his face up against one young lady's shower door! Leigh, in one of her earliest roles (and also one of her least grating), isn't given a great deal to do until the end, but performs admirably. Her encounter with DiSanti is memorably taunting. DuPre (sporting very dated glasses and hair) plays Tewes yuppie, ineffectual boyfriend. Lewis, Lunn and Crabtree play three of DiSanti's victims and their scenes provide varying degrees of suspense, with Lewis's probably taking the cake as the creepiest. Though there's never any doubt that it's not even close in quality, the film takes a few cues from Hitchcock's "Rear Window," even making DiSanti resemble that film's killer Raymond Burr. There are some genuine scares to be had here as DiSanti uses the telephone to taunt his early prey. This does turn unintentionally funny in Lunn's segment as he somehow manages to patch through to the emergency phone in the elevator! Other chuckles pop up when Tewes rolls around in her ghastly dark bedclothes with matching headboard and drapes and when she hangs from a balcony, eventually intruding upon an aged couple having their morning coffee. For what it is, it's an enjoyably tawdry little film with a few decent gore sequences and a creepy feel to it. At 85 minutes, it's also easy to digest and doesn't become oppressive to sit through.