Eyes of a Stranger (1981)

Director:

Ken Wiederhorn

Writers:

Eric L. Bloom
Ron Kurz

Release Date:

27 March 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Sorry, your party is dead.

Plot:

A reporter suspects a creepy neighbor, who lives in the high-rise building across from hers, is a serial killer terrorizing the Miami area.

Plot Keywords:

News Anchor | Serial Killer | Sister | Fish Tank | Slasher Flick

Cast

Lauren Tewes	...	Jane Harris
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Tracy Harris
John DiSanti	...	Stanley Herbert
Peter DuPre	...	David
Gwen Lewis	...	Debbie Ormsley
Kitty Lunn	...	Annette
Timothy Hawkins	...	Jeff
Ted Richert	...	Roger England
Toni Crabtree	...	Mona
Robert Small	...	Dr. Bob (as Bob Small)
Stella Rivera	...	Dancer
Dan Fitzgerald	...	Bartender
Jose Baramonde	...	Jimmy (as José Bahamande)
Luke Halpin	...	Tape Editor
Rhonda Flynn	...	Woman in Car
Tony Federico	...	Man in Car
Alan Lee	...	Photographer
Amy Krug	...	Young Jane
Tabbetha Tracey	...	Young Tracy
Sarah Hutcheson	...	Friend
Jilian Lindig	...	Mother
George De Vries	...	Father (as George DeVries)
Mel Pape	...	Doctor (as Melvin Pape)
Robert Goodman	...	Crewman
Herb Goldstein	...	Elderly Man
Sonia Zomina	...	Elderly Woman
Joe Friedman	...	Movie Thetre Patron
Patricia Warren	...	Susan (as Pat Warren)
Kathy Suergiu	...	Karen
Michael De Silva	...	Technical Director
Richard Allen	...	News Director
Madelon Curtis	...	Nurse (as Madeline Curtis)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steven Belgard	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)

Directed by
Ken Wiederhorn

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Eric L. Bloom
Ron Kurz		(as Mark Jackson)

Produced by
Ronald Zerra	....	producer

Original Music by
Richard Einhorn
Red Neinkirchen

Cinematography by
Mini Rojas

Film Editing by
Rick Shaine

Production Design by
Jessica Sack

Makeup Department
Dean Gates	....	special makeup effects artist
Tom Savini	....	special makeup effects

Production Management
Josi W. Konski	....	production manager

Art Department
Karen Simon	....	props

Sound Department
Stan Bochner	....	sound editor
Dan Lieberstein	....	supervising sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
John Leeward	....	grip
Frank Smathers	....	grip

Casting Department
Dee Miller	....	location casting

Editorial Department
Paul Trejo	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Steven Belgard	....	production assistant
Greg Schroeder	....	production assistant
Jay Tobias	....	set production assistant

Production Companies

• Georgetown Productions Inc.

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1981) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia (1981) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Die Augen eines Fremden" - Austria, West Germany
"Olhos Assassinos" - Brazil (imdb display title), Portugal (imdb display title)
"Appels au meurtre" - France (alternative title)
"En främlings ögon" - Sweden
"Gli occhi dello sconosciuto" - Italy
"L'Oeil assassin" - Belgium (French title) (alternative title)
"Los ojos de un extraño" - Spain
"Moord op zicht" - Belgium (Flemish title) (alternative title)
"Morilec iz slusalke" - Slovenia (imdb display title)
"Muukalaisen silmät" - Finland
"O strangalistis tou Miami xanahtypa" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Yabancinin gözleri" - Turkey (Turkish title)

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:(Banned) | Norway:(Banned) (1981-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Georgetown Productions Inc.

Trivia:

At the movie theater there is a poster for Dawn of the Dead (1978) which Tom Savini also did makeup-effects for.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: You can see the "body" underwater move her eyelids in the beginning of the film.

Quotes:

[first lines]
TV Reporter:Police say the body was found early this morning by a wildlife photographer in a mangrove swamp off Key Biscayne. The victim's clothes were in disarray, and police believe she may have been the victim of an assault. This is possibly the third rape/murder in as many weeks. However, police are not willing to say the murders are connected.

Movie Connections:

References Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Do you get that feeling you're being watched?

A series of gruesome sex murders is plaguing a coastal community of Miami and the police seem to be well behind the eight ball. Jane, a local TV news reader urges viewers each time a murder happens to ring up with any sort of information to catch this killer. This really strikes a nerve with her, as her blind and deaf sister Tracy who she lives with was raped and left for dead when she was a child. Causing this traumatic condition. After some unusual coincidences, Jane starts to suspect her neighbour Stanley Herbert might be behind the murders.

After making the sorely underrated 70s horror gem "Shock Waves" (which appears in the film in a couple of shots focusing on a TV), director Ken Wiederhorn returns back to the genre with an low-budget Hitchcock inspired thriller, which to fit the trend of the times it also threw in many 80s slasher traits. While derivatively clichéd and filled with some implausible scenarios, it's still well made and actually can be creepy, suspenseful and at times a clever exercise in familiarity. The voyeuristic plot, yep it's got one. Rings true to "Rear Window (1954)" and even "Wait Until Dark (1967)". The killer's identity is brought up quite early, so there's no surprise there and through flashbacks we actually see what happened to Tracy. Which goes a long way to show how hard it hit Jane and the guilt that plagues her with her involvement in getting this predator. The characters here are capable of looking after themselves and have good judgement of common sense.

After a strong opening half and being realistically staged in parts, it then it falls away gradually and becomes the run-of-the-mill stalk and slash vehicle that simply leaves you waiting for it cracking conclusion. What little substance it generates is broken up by the ridiculously nonthreatening phone calls taunting his victims and its random acts of unpleasant violence. Make-up artist Tom Savini is the master behind the death-sequences and crafts some good effects. While, one or two moments stand out, sadly most of the scenes were off camera or were cut out. The suspenseful situation really does lose out to the basic slasher set-ups and seedy intentions of its material. Wiederhorn's tight direction is sturdily achieved and he doesn't go at a cracking pace. The grimly washed-out look of the film enhances the eerily sordid atmosphere. The moody lighting, Richard Einhorn and Red Neinkirchen's ominously alarming electronic music score and leering camera-work by Mini Rojas simply soaked up the encroaching menace of a city plagued by a vicious killer. The cast provide spot-on performances. An effectively worthy Lauren Tewes (Love Boat fame) gives it her all as the gusty TV news reader Jane and the delightfully stunning Jennifer Jason Leigh in her first major screen role plays it accordingly assured as the blind/death Tracy. Looking the part, John DiSanti's lumbering physic and unnerving attitude is rather convincing as the murderer.

It's nothing out of the ordinary and it can get contrived, but it's well-made and provides potently active lead performances.