Jane Harris (Lauren Tewes of Love Boat fame) plays an idiotic reporter who ends up attracting a serial killer. This is not just any killer, it's John Desanti who the year before played Gross Out in the Belushi-ploitation opus King Frat! That character made such a revolting impression that it threatens to outshine this one. He plays Stanley Herbert, prank calling different blondes, saying sleazy horrible shit over the phone, then stalks them and kills them. Later on he almost rapes Jennifer Jason Leigh who plays a blind mute in one of her first roles. Roger Ebert most likely skipped this one otherwise he would be up in arms about her getting naked like he did in Fast Times. The critics have really panned this one, even Psychotronic trashed it! in my opinion, they got it totally wrong!
This is a nice effective slasher that has a mean edge and yet is still very fun! The reason the critics were pissed was that the version they saw was completely edited, all the nudity and violence was butchered from that print. Tom Savini handled the FX and in Grand Illusions mentions an odd story about Gross Out (John Disanti). During an effect where the actor is supposed to smash through the shower glass, but he couldn't break through it! and ended up cutting his butt in the process and had to go the hospital. He brought the X-rays to the set and kept mentioning it, maybe being a jerk about it. Savini says that the director hired him after seeing his work in Friday the 13th and basically wanted him to pad the film with creative deaths. The severed head decapitation in the fish tank is really cool! In Grand Illusions Savini maps out all the effects and the actor held his breath in a prop fish tank. Most of the murders are enacted toward women like any other slasher and they all get naked then die. Gross Out calls up different women and scares the shit out of them, then shows up sometimes wearing a clear mask over his nylon covered face.
Jane eventually prank calls the killer and interrogates him, the moral of that idiotic story is don't antagonize a psychotic rapist unless you want your relatives assaulted. Also don't call someone a "Phone Freak". Gross out skulks around peeping at different women, eventually showing up at Jane's house and running into Jennifer Jason Leigh instead!
By revealing that the killer is Gross out,it seems that I'm giving away the ending, but trust me he is the main reason to check this one out considering as a cult movie fanatic there are just a handful of reasons to watch something this predictable and its usually to check out your favorite stars in action. Ken Wiederhorn would become one of those reviled directors to avoid after he made Return Of The Living Dead 2, a complete blasphemous spineless, horrid remake of the original, rated PG! But forget about that and enjoy this early effort that would be his last great film. The director shamelessly plugs his own snooze fest Shockwaves (which is played on TV in different houses)! No one can stay awake through that film. Eyes Of A Stranger is very predictable, but has a disturbing and unique quality that's very likable and quirky.
WATCH HERE (click on free user then hit Play)
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