Eye See You

Summary

“Booze is a slow burn, but it’s suicide all the same.”

MVD Marquee Classics has recently released the Sylvester Stallone film Eye See You. Based on the book Jitter Joint by Howard Swindle, the film was directed by Jim Gillespie who is probably best known for directing I Know What You Did Last Summer. The film had a troubled production that hampered its chances of making back the $55 million dollar budget of the film. The film was released originally on Blu-ray by Millennium Media as part of a 4-pack of films called Icons of Action. The new release by MVD features the theatrical cut of the film along with the alternative cut of the film under its original name D-Tox. The film had a troubled history but will be of interest to fans of Sylvester Stallone and slasher films.

Federal agent Jake Malloy (Sylvester Stallone) used to be a cop. All of his best friends are still on the force. Malloy has just bought an engagement ring for his girlfriend Mary (Dina Meyer.) Over the last six months, nine policemen have been killed by a serial killer that is targeting them and then leaving their dead bodies on display. Jake is closing in on the killer, but he hasn’t been able to catch the criminal because the killer is varying his methods of attack. One of Malloy’s officer friends is killed by the serial killer after they have hung out at a bar. When Malloy arrives at the scene, a phone call comes in for Malloy. The killer is at his house. Malloy had apparently nearly caught the killer when the killer was murdering prostitutes four years earlier. In revenge, he kills Mary. Arriving at the crime scene where she has been killed, an officer lets Malloy and the others know that they have the killer cornered. At a warehouse where the killer has fired shots at the police, Malloy sees the killer, dressed in cop clothes, and gives chase. The killer shoots at Malloy and evades him. Malloy rounds a corner and fires at what he believes is the killer, but it is actually an officer that the killer has hung. On his face in blood it says “I C U.” Three months later, Malloy is suicidal and a drunken mess. After a failed suicide attempt, he is taken by his friend Hendricks (Charles S. Dutton) to a detox center run by Doc (Kris Kristofferson.) The center specializes in treating police officers. Doc is a former officer. The building is a former military installation and very isolated. It is in the middle of a freezing cold wilderness far away from everything. Jake meets the other inhabitants – Slater (Christopher Fulford,) former Narc Jaworski (Geoffrey Wright,) mountie McKenzie (Robert Prosky,) Connor (Sean Patrick Flannery,) hotheaded Noah (Robert Patrick,) alcoholic Reverend Jones (Courtney B. Vance,) Brandon (Mif,) Jack Bennett (Stephen Lang,) and Lopez (Angela Alvarado.) The staff includes medic Jenny (Polly Walker) and maintenance man Hank (Tom Berenger.) One of these people is not who they seem, and one by one the tenants start to get murdered while completely snowed in and out of contact with the outside world.

Eye See You was originally called D-Tox, which makes sense although I think the title Jitter Joint may have been a better fit. D-Tox was green lit by Universal Pictures and given a nice budget to film. Unfortunately, test screenings for the film proved disastrous and the studio began to fear that they would not be able to make the film appeal to mass audiences. After trying their best and recutting the film, it still was not passing the muster with test audiences. Universal unceremoniously shelved the film. It was later released by DEJ Productions in 2002 as Eye See You, over two years after the film’s original completion. 

I may be in the minority based on what I have read in user reviews or other reviews, but I actually like Eye See You. I am a big fan of Stallone in general and this is the closest that Stallone ever came to acting in a slasher film. The film is definitely not perfect and requires numerous leaps in logic revolving around how the killer operates and the killer’s motivations, but I still enjoyed watching the film. I have seen it twice now, and feel comfortable saying that I enjoyed watching it both times. One of the reasons I enjoy the film is the fantastic setting which had shades of the great John Carpenter classic The Thing. The other reason that I liked the movie is its wonderful cast. The cast on this almost unknown and underseen film is stacked with actors I like including Tom Berenger, Kris Kristofferson, Charles S. Dutton, Jeffrey Wright, Robert Patrick, Robert Prosky, Sean Patrick Flannery, Dina Meyer, and Stephen Lang. I honestly couldn’t believe how many respectable actors were in this film that was destined for the bargain bin of history. While the film’s plot may not be anything incredible, it still works for what it is. I think that if Universal had simply promoted this film as a slasher starring Stallone, a lot of people like me would have gone to see it in theaters with appropriate expectations. I feel bad for director Jim Gillespie that this was his big follow up after I Know What You Did Last Summer and it didn’t ever get a chance to realize its potential. 

Like I mentioned earlier in the review, I am in the minority of people who enjoyed this movie, but I am thankful that MVD put in the effort to give it a proper release.

Video

Eye See You is presented on Blu-ray with an MPEG-4 AVC encoded 1080p transfer in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. This transfer provided from Film Rise to MVD looks pretty good. While it does not appear to be from a new source, the transfer is healthy. Fine detail is pretty good. The film’s exterior scenes in the snow look the best, while certain scenes in the compound look a little flat. Fans should be happy overall with this presentation.

Audio

The audio treatment of Eye See You sounds great with a DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround track. While a third of the film is largely dialogue driven, the firs third of the film and final third of the film uses the surrounds extensively. The sound of wind whipping through the snow outside helps to establish the desolate surroundings well. A strong track overall.

Supplements:

• Eight Deleted Scenes
• Interviews – short EPK style interviews with:
• Charles Dutton 
• Kris Kristofferson 
• Polly Walker 
• Christopher Pulford 
• Robert Patrick 
• Robert Prosky 
• Courtney B. Vance
• Jeffrey Wright 
• Angela Alvarado Rosa
• Photo Gallery 
• Detox – presented in VHS quality video is the “Unreleased Director’s Cut” which features the original score that was scrapped. This is pretty interesting to compare to what the final product became. It is different in some noticeable ways from Eye See You, especially in terms of how certain scenes are sequenced.
• Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5 

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 3.5/5

Overall – 4/5

Eye See You is not from what I can tell a crowd pleaser from everything that I have read online. I think that this is simply because numerous portions of the film require leaps of logic regarding how the killer can so easily dispatch their victims in the time elapsed and also draw no attention to themselves. If you can get past that core weakness, the film has a lot to enjoy. This is probably the closest we will ever get to seeing Stallone in a slasher film. His supporting cast is full of talent and I like the setting of the film with the harsh snow covered exteriors as the backdrop. While I am sure many people will disagree with me on its merits, I liked the movie. Fans of the film will be glad to have the film in this new Blu-ray from MVD that looks good and sounds great. This release also features the Director’s Cut of the film in essentially  VHS quality under its original title of D-Tox. There are some substantial differences between the theatrical version and the original cut.