Wow, talk about synchronicity. No, not the Police album, but the phenomenon of “two or more events which occur in a meaningful manner, but which are causally unrelated.” A month or so ago, as I was buying some books from Amazon used (an undying habit that keeps me happy) and I decided to purchase a VHS of the movie Eyes of a Stranger – a slasher from the 80s starring a young Jennifer Jason Leigh as a blind.
I was drawn in by the cover and the praise from amazon customers. I started looking online for an image of said cover in case I wanted to recommend it and stumbled across Final Girl – a horror movie blog written with captivating wit and charm by Stacie Ponder. She made Eyes of a Stranger her film club pick the exact week I ordered it! Had I read it earlier I would have known it was released on DVD and just rented it, oh well.
The movie did not make it to this week's movie pick but deserves an honourable mention for the following reasons. A pan faced woman with a Bob Saget look a like boyfriend and a mute and blind Jennifer Jason Leigh sister decides her neighbor is the local serial killer because he doesn't wear a belt one day and has muddy shoes. Of course she's right, even though no one believes her and a cat and mouse game ensues; well a very sloow cat and mouse game. In one scene, as she searches the killer's apartment, I remarked “this is about as interesting as watch a woman walk around an apartment” and just wait for the pacing in the phone dialing scene.
Slowness is a major flaw in the film, that and its level of unbelievability. There's little wonder that no one believes her accusations, as she acts like a lunatic throughout the movie. If I met up with Jim for a movie date with a neighbor's shoe stuffed in my shirt and claimed that it was the evidence needed to bring to the police to convict said neighbor of murder because I saw him come home without a belt on, he'd rightfully think me crazy.
In a way it is a shame. There are tense moments, some good scenes, Tom Savini gore and a nutso strip scene. It could have been worked into a worth while film with editing and other modifications.
Final Girl, however did deservedly make my list even if our shared obsession with seeing a forgotten slasher didn't. I feel a kinship with her not only over that one coincidence, but as a self proclaimed nerd who loves horror movies. Her reviews are funny and detailed, she recommends new and exciting things and any site that can introduce me to new horror films gets hugs in my book, but this one also recommends with descriptions like “It totally reminded me of something I would have written in 7th grade for a mystery-writing assignment.” and “This movie made me feel like I'm living in a cuckoo clock.”, she also features the best in horror artwork for movie posters and paperbacks. This is the kind of girl that could understand my purchase of a huge poster of Blood Beach and relish in its glory. “The Five People Believed to Have Drowned Here Never Even Made It Pat the Sand!”
Beyond all this, she seems like a genuinely nice person, whose character shines through in her writing and reminds you of your funniest friends.
But what do you think?