Customer Reviews

Eye of the Beast: Maneater Series

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have seen this movie a couple of times on the SciFi Channel and eventually bought it. The acting for this movie is above average as had been commented on by several other reviewers. My interest in this movie however is how it treats scientists and some of the social issues. Compared to some other SciFi/horror films recently, this film is a bit more reasonable in portraying a fisheries scientist. Still kind of ridiculous but in a more reasonable way (just watch Snakehead Terror or Frankenfish if you want to the the unreasonable version).
The fisheries scientist does not have super human powers (as far as scientist go) compared to Snakehead Terror. The equipment he uses is reasonable (and he seems to have lots of it)though his results are generally hard and fast which isn't the way it really happens.
Besides the better than average acting and screenplay I was very impressed with the social issues that this movie touches on. The first is the conflict between the white fishers and the aboriginal fishers on the lake. I work on the Great Lakes and this conflict has occurred in the past and still in the present, especially in the upper Great Lakes. The second point I was impressed with is the conflict between the scientist and the fishers. In the past the fishers have cooperated with the scientist/government and seen their position reduced to the point of hostility to the scientist. And in the past 20 years I have seen that happen on the Great Lakes, where the data collected by scientists working with the commercial fishers hurts the fishers lively hood.
So I feel that this movie (even though it concerns a giant freshwater squid) touches on some current issues and that makes it a cut above other horror films that touch on freaks of nature.

...particularly if you're casting a movie in Canada.

The movie itself is actually better than expected. No, it does not deliver on the promise made by the box art (which is great if you happen to have any fondness for the cheat art they used to use on Italian Jaws rip-offs in the eighties), so gore fans are bound to be disappointed, but some care has been taken in the writing of the two main characters, and Castillo's character even turns out to be a bit of mystery, which adds much needed intrigue to what would otherwise be a pretty straightforward (and probably actionable) remake of Peter Benchley's The Beast. But, pleasantly, this turns out to be a much more enjoyable film than the adaptation of that book, and a large part of the reason for that is down to the casting of an actress I'd never heard of before.

In one of the lead roles as the Metis fisheries officer, I was first struck by how realistically pretty Alexandra Castillo is -- and by pretty I mean attractive in a human kind of way, not at all the kind of plastic-surgery addicted anorexic horror we're used to seeing in these things. Which was the first surprise.

The second surprise was when she began interacting with the rest of the cast -- who range from okay to pretty bad -- and seemed ABSOLUTELY natural. It literally caused me to sit up and take notice of what I'd assumed was going to be a complete waste of time. James Vanderbeek, the second best actor in the cast, gives her more to work with, and the skill with which she handles her scenes with him is pretty remarkable. She managed to convince even when it meant fighting through the dialogue, which she had to do from time to time. (Though, to be honest, the script was much better than anyone renting this thing has any right to expect, and at no point does anyone say those -- I thought -- inevitable lines regarding the necessity of getting either a bigger boat and/or gun).

I don't know. Maybe there's a problem when you notice the acting -- maybe it should be an invisible art in film, and like the editing or the direction itself it fails if it draws attention to itself. Perversely, every time Ms. Castillo gave me the sense that I wasn't watching an actor, but a completely natural human being, it sort of drew me up short and popped me out of the story long enough to chuckle my pleasure at what she'd just pulled off with such ease. Except it probably wasn't easy, was it? Yes, the special effects in this thing were pathetic, even in comparison to that Peter Benchley's Beast thing, but this little film, with Ms. Castillo's help, proved to me yet again that the small pleasures of even one really good performance, and some obvious care in the writing of the script (which deserves applause even when it doesn't always work out), trump the hell out of a better giant squid in another lesser film.

Right about now I'd be asking myself if this reviewer isn't either related to Alexandra Castillo or wishing to be. No. But someone should congratulate her on her work, and someone else should put her in a better movie. Her five star performance earns this two star video three stars.

story line is good but the film is mostly taped at night & it is way too dark.

This movie will probably zonk you right out, as it did to me several nights in a row as I tried to reach the end.
Please, don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad movie. As some of the other reviewers have said, the acting is actually pretty good, with "the Dawson" James Vanderbeek leading the way as a scientist brought in to discover what's causing all those pesky deaths and disappearances. While the scruffy look he wears does nothing to make his character look more legit(and it looks like he stole Richard Dreyfuss' beanie hat from the original Jaws) he does a fine job of acting the part. The woman who plays the sheriff in these parts also does a good job. Apparently she already believes in the lake monster, as it snatched up her daddy years ago and she now must convince the local fishermen. There is even a fairly interesting little sub-plot involving said fishermen, with the white locals and the aborigines (did I spell that right? Probably not) not liking or trusting each other.
Still awake? There in lies the problem for me. Out of everything I just wrote I mentioned the monster only once.
What you get of the monster is the occasional rubber tentacle (and sometimes a CGI one) snatching someone off of a pier or a boat, and that is it until the very end. For the finale, the head of the beast actually rises up in all of it's plastic and latex glory, the eye of the beast fully visible (hence the title), and then it just sinks away.
The thing I have never understood with a movie like this is why the creature gets such scant screen time. It wasn't a CGI creation, it was a prop actually produced and paid for with no limit on how much the filmakers used it. I realize that would have taken away from the final reveal of the creature, perhaps lessening the climax to a degree, but what good is a climax if no one is awake to see it.
Well, enough ranting. In conclusion, what I look for most in a movie about a giant creature is entertainment, not plot or character development. And while the two sides can certainly work well together (as it did in Jaws), the pacing and lack of action here brought me to snores. If a slow-building creature feature is your thing, then you will enjoy this. However, if your like me and are buying this hoping to see lots of good giant octo action, then steer way clear.

Eye of the Beast (Gary Yates, 2007)

There are few things that guarantee the badness of a particular project like the presence of James Van Der Beek, who graduated quickly from being a mediocre TV actor in Dawson's Creek to being a truly horrendous direct-to-video actor in such deathless cinematic classics as Varsity Blues. Well, it could have been worse; they could have cast Casper van Dien instead.

Van Der Beek, in yet another failed attempt at cinematic seriousness, plays Dan Leland, a scientist sent to the secluded island of Fells Point to research the gradual decline of the fishing industry there. Once he gets to Fells Point, he encounters all sorts of nasty monster movie stereotypes. There's the divide between the Native American (Native Canadian?) and white populations, and the mestizo deputy (2gether's Alexandra Castillo) trying to keep the peace between the two. (Each, of course, blames the other for the disappearance of the fish, and the first victim of the giant squid--this is not a spoiler, for the title graphics tell you exactly what the beast is--is a Native girl who's making out with her white boyfriend. Horror movie stereotypes? Not here!) There's the government agency (for which Leleand works) who refuses to believe anything he says about a giant squid because of his shadowy past and their fear of losing credibility if they were even to investigate the possibility of a giant squid. An,d of course, there's the inevitable romantic subplot. Woohoo!

Dumb, silly, and predictable, but what else do you expect from a Sci-Fi (excuse me, "Syfy") Channel Original Movie? An amusing way to kill an hour and a half, assuming you've DVRed it to get rid of the commercials. You may not want to, though; they're often the best part of movies like this. *

I'm a big fan of sea monster movies, and this one does have its entertaining moments. However, it's also a terrible film. Characters are, of course, two-dimensional, the dialogue is embarrassing, and it just never picks up any steam. We also get alternating shots of a rubbery tentacle flopping around on the decks of boats and the shabby-looking CGI monster the tentacles are attached to. I have the same problem with this movie that I have with all of the "Maneater" series movies I've seen so far: Where's the violence and gore? When you plug your movie with a DVD box that depicts creatures, animals, people, etc. slathered in blood, I expect to see some darn blood! Please, please, if you're a filmmaker and you're out there, and you're going to make a horror movie, please don't skimp on the grue! It's what we want! Don't you know that?!

Eye of the Beast takes place on Fells Island, where investigative scientist Dan Leland (James Van Der Beek) meets cute with sheriff Katrina Tomas (Alexandra Castillo). The two try to figure out what caused all the fish to disappear around the island. If only they had looked at the cover art.

Look...if there's a giant tentacle crushing someone in half on the cover art, the only mystery is whether the monster is a giant squid or Cthulhu. And since I have yet to see a decent modern update of Call of Cthulhu, it's got to be Architeuthis. This is not a mystery. It's fact. The name of this film series is "Maneater" for crying out loud. It's not "eel we mistakenly took for a giant freshwater squid." And yet Eye of the Beast strives mightily to turn its plot into a romantic mystery instead of the pedestrian monster bash it should be.

Eye of the Beast is more preoccupied with Tomas' love life (at 36 still she still lives with her mom, who nags her incessantly about finding a boyfriend) than it is about the squid. Never mind the dubious logic that one can electrocute an entire lake with a power cable; you've got to wonder if anybody even cares about fishing anymore since electrocuting the lake might, ya know, kill all the fish.

Eye of the Beast is made up of far too many non-monster killing scenes: Leland and Tomas flirt, rednecks and Native Americans quarrel, and a giant squid keeps lopping off limbs. Indeed, that's all there the action that takes place in Eye of the Beast - limbs. Be it from the squid itself, which are big floppy puppets, or a piece of a victim, whenever Eye of the Beast runs out of anything interesting to show ...CUE THE LIMB!

Idiot couple smooching on the lake? FLOATING FOOT!

Some genius tried to kill the squid by himself? DRIFTING ARM!

Viewer tired of watching a giant monster he knows is in the movie somewhere but because of the tiny CGI budget never gets to see it? SLAPPING FOREHEAD!

Okay that last one didn't happen in the movie, but it did happen to me.

EYE OF THE BEAST

When it comes to monster flicks out on the water we all know that "Jaws" is the supreme ruler of the sea, but this creature feature is actually really good. This is part of the "Man Eater" series that has been coming out lately in fact I believe that it was the 5th or something in the series. Robert Halmi Sr. and Jr. are the executives behind this popular series, and for the most part their films have been good. In fact this one in particular is very very good and worth not only a viewing but also a purchase. As a low budget b movie that only has one really recognizable name attached to it this is actually a very entertaining movie, I love these types of flicks.

The story is about a scientist that is sent to some town to research the area and find out what is going on out that way. While there it seems that there is something in the water that is going after those who get to close to the water, so naturally he stays around a little while. Also while there he becomes interested in the local sheriff who is very new to her job and the town thinks she is nuts, mainly because she believes in the sea creature. So has the story progresses people start to disappear and the towns people start to kick the new guy in town out because of his associations. Of course the town nut who happens to be the local law enforcement pleads her case to every one about a sea monster and naturally they turn her away. That is until two of the locals are attacked in broad day light, then all of a sudden it is war on the creature. So we are off to the races setting up a very Jaws like finale but a very good one at that.

The most surprising thing about this film is that for the type of film that it is it was very well written, all of the dialogue was believable and was well paced. Mark Mullin did a fine job with this movie, his writing is probably one of the best in this genre that I have seen in a while. Even the long speech like moments are well written and well paced and for a film that debuted on the Sci-Fi channel that may be saying something. Director Gary Yates did a fine job on this film as well because a lot of that pacing I mentioned is handled by the film maker and he did a great job with it, and his choice to not really show the creature through out the film until the end and in select well timed parts adds to the atmosphere. I would have to say that this could be the best in the man eater series by far, although some others are good.

The acting is really good in this film as well with James Van Der Beek leading the way as the scientist outsider, he gives a wonderful and believable performance. As does co star Alexandra Castillo as the local sheriff that has known about the creature since she was a child, she looks good and performs well. All the other actors in this do equally as good as the two stars and turn in excellent performances, it seems every one came on board to create a great film. Also the creature effects are very well done and look very good for this type of film.

Over all I would say that this is one of the best from the production company and one of the best in the genre, I recommend this film to every one out there. I would say that it is perfect for a weekend and you are out at the video store looking for something, pick it up. P.S this is a squid or octopus type creature.

Having loved the camp quality of Mega-Shark vs. Giant Octopus, I jumped back into the water of cheesy sea monster movies with this entry, expecting to laugh at bad CGI and wooden acting. I was also looking forward to seeing James Van der Beek, who was a decent actor for six seasons of Dawson's Creek but has come back as a self-aware actor in recovery from silly teen stardom with appearances on FunnyOrDie.com and the new Ke$ha music video. To my great surprise, this movie disappointed me - the camp was dialed down in favor of a legitimately interesting scarefest about a coastal town coming to realize that the dwindling number of fish (and local teens!) may have something to do with a giant squid. Van der Beek wows as a ruggedly handsome marine biologist, selling both the dramatic moments and a very funny flirty sequence where the character improvises a top ten list about why fishing is better than sex. The monster effects weren't terrific but did involve some physical props instead of relying on digital graphics, and you get points for that in my book. This is still not a movie to take too seriously, but if you're looking for a cheesy monster flick on a Saturday night, this is a cut above.

You know, the sea creature gone amok genere was best done by Peter Benchley. However, this movie doesn't try to live up to 'Jaws' or 'Beast'. Instead, its a cheesy made for TV movie about a (appearantly fresh water) giant squid gone wild in a lake up in Canada. In spite of this, its still a fun movie.

The plot is pretty much self-explanatory. James van der Beek is a marine biologist who goes up to a small fishing town in Canada to figure out why all the fish are disappearing. The town, which is split between whites and Indians (who, refreshingly, seem to be played by actual American Indian actors) is being preyed on by a giant squid. And he enlits the aid of the lovely Metis sheriff (played by Alexandra Castillo, who was a surprisingly good actress for someone I'd never heard of before). Love story with the lady sheriff ensues. Along with lots of giant squid attacks. How the squid adapted to fresh water isn't really explained, but who cares? I mean, its a giant squid attacking people. We aren't exactly looking for too much plot here.

All jesting aside, this is definately one of the better outings in Sci Fi channel's Maneater series. The fact that the writers actually included Metis in the film suggests they actually know something about Canada's history and culture (which is good because it looks like they filmed there). And I have to agree with an earlier reviewer that Alexandra Castillo was quite good in her role. I would certainly like to see more of her! So definately check this movie out, and keep your eyes peeled for other movies in the Maneater series, like 'Grizzly Rage,' 'Blood Monkey,' 'Croc' and 'Shark Swarm.' A very nice collection of movies they have going on there.