Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Redundant and unnecessary.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Only his third film in 17 years, Scottish director Donald Cammell followed his mind and identity-bending psychedelic masterpiece Performance (1968) and the studio-butchered Demon Seed (1977) with another oddity, the strange and confusing, yet nonetheless effortlessly intriguing White of the Eye. Cammell killed himself shortly after seeing his final film, Wild Side (1995), heavily censored by an appalled producer, at the end of what seemed like a frustrating career. It's a shame he wasn't allowed more opportunities to direct features, as although White of the Eye sometimes steers into TV-movie aesthetic and features an unnecessarily overblown climax, it is something to be savoured and thought about a long time after the credits roll.After a series of brutal murders of upper-class women, tire tracks left by the killer leads Detective Charlie Mendoza (Art Evans) to sound expert Paul White (Keith David). We learn through flashbacks the meeting of Paul and his now-wife Joan (Cathy Moriarty), and how he stole her away from her boyfriend Mike Desantos (Alan Rosenberg). There's something not quite right about Paul - he has the strange ability to omit a sound that echoes through his head, allowing him to hear at what point in a room that the sound from speakers should come from. Mike knows something too, and when Joan discovers Paul's secret affair, she slowly uncovers who her husband really is.There's not really much point trying to unravel the mysteries in the movie, as it will leave you with a headache. Below the surface of giallo-esque murders and the sleazy Lynchian atmosphere, there seems to be a mythology happening somewhere. At one point, Paul whispers "I am the One,". Is this really a deeper story than it lets on, or is Paul just simply a narcissistic loon? Whatever it is, the film works better if you just let it play out, as the film has a lot to offer in terms of style. The soundtrack, by Rick Fenn and Pink Floyd's Nick Mason, is a powerful presence, and drums up a dusty, apocalyptic feel reminiscent of Richard Stanley's Dust Devil, which came out 5 years later.David's performance is also impressive, especially in the latter stages when he is let off the leash. But it's about the only good thing about the climax, which tries too hard to be a number of different things and fails in just about every one of them. It becomes almost generic, with car chases and a stalk-and-slash set-piece, completely betraying the slow-build that came before. Whether Cammell was simply trying to appease his producers or indulging in mainstream aspirations, I don't know. Still, this is a bizarre little treat; uncomfortable and distinctive, cementing it's status as a must-see for fans of cult oddities. www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

The last half of the movie is a "shining" ripoff ;to be fair ,one should add there's a final "unexpected " twist for good measure,and plenty of gore .It's a wonder attractive Cathy Moriarty did not go nuts after such an adventure.The first half suffers from a loose screenplay .Most of the scenes do not bring much to the thin plot.The most interesting side is the guy-next-door side of the hero ,but the "I can't help it,It's another person " neurosis is as old as the hills ,itw as already what Peter Lorre said in Lang's "M".If you do not ask for too much,you may have a look ,but only if you are into the "serial killer" sub genre.

There's a lot going on in this movie, I just look forward to the day I can finally decode it, which doesn't sound like a good sign. There seems to be something vaguly supernatural at the core of it and something about love. On the subconcious level it seems to make sense, I just can't get anywhere when I try to analyse it consiously. For those put off by the accusations of style over substance, have faith, this is an fascinating movie. There's one moment that is absolutly hair-rasing, the moment when we finally realize that Keiths mind is living in a diffirent world. The only thing that lets the film down is the ending, which looks like a Hollywood style tag-on but probably isn't. Once the car chase starts it's time to leave.

Donald Cammells take on the psycho-thriller,is an absorbing,offbeat,beautifully made affair.Opening with a breathtaking sequence,as a woman is murdered in her chic house by an unseen assailant.Cammell uses extreme close ups of the killers eye,slow motion,and a weird pulsating music track,to blistering effect.This is a stunningly directed film,with a script by Cammell and his wife to match.Thankfully the cast are up to the challenge.Raging Bull's Cathy Moriarty gives her best ever performance in this,as the wife who not only has to discover her husbands infidelity,but also his terrible secret.Alan Rosenberg also impresses as Moriarty's ex,giving a sympathetic performance for such a pathetic character.The revelation here though is David Keith,who is quite simply awesome and believable as a man who appears normal,but inside is a mass of raging insanity.The flashback scenes that appear sporadically as the film progresses are clever and well written,gradually revealing Paul Whites mindset.Although the film isn't overly violent,one of the murders is disturbing in the extreme.*POSSIBLE-SPOILER* Also nasty is the scene where Moriarty discovers the secret her husband has hidden under the bathtub.The climax as Paul,clad in warpaint and wearing half a ton of dynamite,hunts his wife is riveting,with an explosive ending in a disused quarry.Another good feature of the film is the stunning location work,showing Tucson Arizona as an almost alien but starkly beautiful landscape.Criminally underseen and underrated,this is stunning cinema and one of the best films of the eighties.