Customer Reviews

Eye See You (aka D-Tox)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I noticed several years ago that Sly was making this moving. Afterwards, though, it passed my mind. I went to the video store one day and saw this title and instantly made the connection that this was originally D-Tox. I was disappointed that it made a straight to DVD appearance. Being a big Sly fan that I am, I would have loved to have seen this in theaters!
Anyways, I picked up the title and was expecting a decent film. But instead I got a great film!
The all-star cast makes this movie entertaining and chalk full of great actors who know how to act! The story itself is original and very suspensefull! Perhaps the best one I have seen to date!
This title is one of the more gruesome Stallone films with people's eyes getting drilled (although you don't actually see it happen but you do see the aftermath) and people getting their throats cut and what have ya. Definately not for the person with a touchy stomach.
All in all a great movie that really deserved a chance in theaters!

EYE SEE YOU starts out pretty good, offering us a weird serial killer after cops. Then it goes off its beam a little, including a puzzling scene where Stallone shoots a man hanging, with duct tape over his mouth. Did they think this was the serial killer? Got me. Anyway switch to a remote detox clinic in Wyoming (actually a beautifully filmed British Columbia) run by the lifeless Kris Kristofferson. Here Stallone is joined by a series of cops who are also suffering their personal demons: Robert Patrick is an obnoxious beefed up bore; Robert Prosky brings a little dignity to his role as an aging cop who supposedly deserted his partner who got killed; Sean Patrick Flannery in a brief but intense role as a cop who witnessed an explosion that killed 20+ children; Christopher Fulford as a British cop with a fear of the dark; Courtney B. Vance who spoke so soft I'm not sure what his role was, other than being the "religious one". Jeremy Wright and Ms. Alvarado were wasted in non-dimensional roles. Polly Walker was pretty as Jenny, although her range was limited. Charles S. Dutton played every cop you've ever seen including Dennis Franz. And why Tom Berenger as a handyman? Director Gillepsie did everything he could to point the murder finger at Berenger.
So what's good? Stallone, amazingly, does a pretty convincing job, a low-key but intense portrayal. The cinematography is gorgeous, giving the winter scenery both a breathtaking beauty and an ominous evil. And the finale is very well executed.
So overall, you could do worse....it's entertaining most of the time.

Not counting Rocky Balboa, which just hit the theaters a week-and-a-half ago, it's been a long time since I've seen Sylvester Stallone in a movie I really enjoyed. The only reason I ordered Eye See You was because the premise of a serial killer hunting down cops seemed so intriguing. I have to admit to not expecting very much from the movie. I figured it would simply be another throw away, but boy was I surprised. I found myself caught up in the film within the first few minutes and then trying to guess whom the killer really was throughout the rest of the movie. While not great, Eye See You is much better than most viewers might think, considering that it was never released theatrically inside the United States.

The movie centers around Stallone playing Jake Malloy, an F.B.I. agent whose fiancé has just been murdered by the serial killer (a brilliant psycho that usually chooses cops as his victims) he's trying to catch. Traumatized by the event, Malloy turns to alcohol as a way of dealing with his inability to save the woman he loved. His close friend and fellow agent, Hendricks (played by Charles Dutton), eventually gets him into a very special rehab center that's geared directly toward cops and their situations. The center is run by an ex-cop (Kris Kristofferson) and is located in an old military facility that's been vacated out in the wilds of Wyoming. As one might guess, there are male cops and female cops, along with white cops, black cops, and Puerto Rican cops, not to mention American cops, British cops, and an old Canadian Royal Mounted Policeman who's played by Robert Prosky. All the police officers have experienced some kind of trauma in their lives and are trying to deal with it in their own unique way, the common denominators being alcohol and drugs. The catch here is that one of the cops is not who he seems to be and before long the group of people begin to drop like flies as they're mysteriously killed off. It doesn't take Jake Malloy long to realize that the man who killed his fiancé is now at the facility, playing a deadly game of cat and mouth with him. Who will live and who will die are the big questions facing Malloy as he gets himself together in an effort to face the killer who changed his life forever.

My actual rating for Eye See You is more like 3 ½ stars, But, since I couldn't put that, I opted for going to four stars because the movie has such an excellent cast (Tom Berenger, Charles Dutton, Courtney Vance, Robert Patrick, Kris Kristofferson, and Robert Prosky) and proved to be a delightful surprise to me after I'd just watched three clunkers in a row. Stallone's role also proved to be more character driven than many of his past ones, giving him an opportunity to display his acting chops. And, believe it or not, Stallone is a decent actor when he has the right material to work with. The movie was filmed entirely in British Columbia as a lot of TV movies are today. The daylight photography is beautiful, but three-fourths of movie is either filmed at night, or inside the cold, stark, lifeless facility. The extras on the DVD include several deleted scenes and interviews with all of the main cast members, except for Sylvester Stallone. I have no idea why Stallone isn't interviewed when it could've been so easily done during the filming of the movie. Still, all in all, Eye See You proved to be a fun experience, and I certainly don't mind adding it to my film collection. Last, but not least, if you really want to see Stallone in top form, go see his newest film, Rocky Balboa. It goes back to the quality and acting of the first "Rocky" movie.

I remember first hearing about the premise for D-Tox, and I thought to myself, that's a movie I'd want to check out. That was three years ago. Now that the movie's on DVD, I finally got the chance to see this much delayed (and much maligned) film. My opinion? Neither particularly good nor bad. It's a mostly middling picture, but it's certainly better than Stallone's last few theatrical releases (Driven, Get Carter).

The plot, as it goes, stars Stallone as Jake Malloy, an FBI agent who's chasing after a cop serial killer. But Malloy's life spirals into a downward spin when his fiancee is brutally murdered by the killer. Heavily depressed, he finally enters a D-Tox center for cops situated in the mountains of Wyoming, just as a blizzard hits. As it turns out, one of the rehab patients isn't who he says he is, and the patients and staff are getting knocked off one-by-one. As the body count rises, Malloy suspects the one responsible is the same man who killed his fiancee.

D-Tox has an undeniably fun premise, and the first twenty minutes are fast-paced and compelling. The killer's method of dispatching his victimes is morbidly amusing; he drills their eye out through the peephole of the front door, and we get to witness this not once, but twice. Not so amusing is his calling card to Malloy, the phrase "I see you." After the opening murders, we even get a tense foot chase and some gunplay, which had me suspecting I'd be in for a riveting thriller.

Not so, once the movie hits the D-Tox center, things go downhill, oddly enough. The center itself is a visually striking set, even if having such a depressing-looking rehab center in the middle of nowhere doesn't make much sense. Security here is virtually non-existent, which I suppose is understandable, given that the place is just starting up, but still doesn't seem very wise. Anyway, it's still a great setting for a potential slasher.

But the movie fails to build up maximum suspense. Don't get me wrong, there are a few mildly heart-poudning moments here and there, but the possibilities of grade-A paranoia are largely unfulfilled. The killer could almost be anyone (though the beginning rules out the possibily of the killer being a woman are non-white male), but there are hardly enough moments where director Jim Gillespie lets the characters fears and suspicions confront one another.

Equally lackluster is the whodunnit aspect. The identity of the killer is revealed rather early and, to be honest, I can't even remember what his motive was. Not helping matters is the fact that few of the characters are even developed at all. Aside from Stallone's and Polly Walker's characters, I can't remember anyone else's name. To be fair, though, the cast is largely decent in their roles (and with good actors like Charles S. Dutton and Robert Patrick, I wouldn't expect anything less than decent). Hell, I'd go so far as to say that even Stallone is good here (in all fairness, though, there are worse actors than him around), and his chemistry with Walker is fairly palpable and believable.

The pacing and suspense does pick up a bit in the last half-hour, which delivers just enough tension and excitement (loved the final fight between Malloy and the killer) to make this a so-so viewing for anyone the slightest bit interested. If there's one bit of consistency here, it'd have to be the excellent cinematography, which captures the bleak essence and isolation of a blinding snowstorm.
** 1/2 out of *****

For some weird reason, this movie opened in theatres down here in Mexico some months ago , skipping tha opening in the USA for reasons that only the distributors know. Maybe they think that it is too mediocre or even bad to risk money promoting it. Well, the movie is not bad at all. It is actually pretty good; it doesn't try to reinvent the genre or to be the most original flick of the decade, but there are still great things about it. The biggest quality of it is that it stars Mr. Sylvester Stallone. He is a legend, he has a strong cinematographic persona, and it is obvious that he made an effort in this one. He plays a burnt out cop, a fed who hasn't been able to catch a serial killer, a cop killer. It is understood that he is not a superhero, he is a regular cop, someone who has problems doing his job (don't we all?), he hasn't been able to do what he was supposed to do, and when the killer focuses on him and the one he loves (Michael Corleone said: when they come for you, they come for what you love), he just breaks. He splits. He's then sent to rehab, in the mountains. What a surprise that, in the rehab center, there's a killer doing his own. It doesn't sound very original, I know, but check Sly out: he lost a lot of weight to play the part, his eyes tell you how really hurt he is, how much he has suffered, how desperate he is. Please, give him a chance. I do believe that it is us the fans who must support the guys who have given us so much fun all these years. Buy the DVD, recommend it, you will NOT regret it.

I didn't feel like this movie quite deservered 4 stars, but really, it was fine.

It's just a typical "thriller" movie, with strong shades of "Ten Little Indians". Nothing new, nothing groundbreaking, but adequately entertaining. The film's direction and production values were fine, the pace was fine...basically, it was an OK film. Didn't set my world on fire, but it certainly kept me entertained well enough. Maybe this would not be the kind of movie I'd rush out to see in the theatre, but for home viewing? Fine. If you like this particular genre of film and/or are a fan of any of the stars, then you'll probably not be too disappointed with this movie.

I'm no fan of Sylvester Stallone (I won't avoid a film he's in, but he's no particular draw) but he was fine. "Fine" is a word that I see myself repeating. Meaning, it was OK. Not fantastic, not horrible...just..."fine".

I enjoyed the entire cast. Charles Dutton as Stallone's supportive friend -- I always like him. Kris Kristofferson as the head guy at the detox place -- yeah, he was good too. I'm a big fan of Tom Berenger and Robert Patrick, so I especially liked seeing them in this movie. Patrick's performance was excellent, playing a fellow "patient" at the detox center who is a rather callous macho jerk. He had a funny haircut, which somehow enhanced his peculiar character. Berenger, (appearing a little more slim than I've seen him looking in other recent films) was amusing as the down-to-earth caretaker who always seemed to be wearing of those furry caps with ear flaps, or a baseball cap. I started to think of his character as the "ear flap hat guy". Robert Prosky had a small part, but he did a good job playing another "patient" -- an aging cop with many skeletons in the closet. I must say, I was impressed with the quality of the actors they got for this movie.

The production values on the DVD are fine as well. There are a few extra goodies on the DVD -- "deleted scenes" being one (I always like deleted scenes). I have a small crummy TV so I can't judge video quality on the DVD, but from what I could see, it seemed...well...once again, fine.

This film makes a very intriguing blend of action, psychological thriller, horror, crime drama, and mystery. It contains elements of a wide range of differing genres, but still remains coherent. The problem with such a fusion is that you inevitably won't appease devotees of any one specific genre; rather, most will be put off by the presence of other less familiar genres. "Eye See You", is a unique and claustrophobic venture that is almost as unorthodox as the rehab facility in which it's set.

The direction of this film certainly doesn't break any new ground, or explore unconventional techniques in order to create a one-off atmosphere, but it does have a certain eerie charm, even if slightly vapid at times. In the end, the fitly selected filming location made up for a more-or-less garden-variety directorial exertion.

What stands out most in this film is Sly's spot-on portrayal of a man going cold turkey after an extended period of constant drunkenness; he really captured those first couple of days quite expertly (although not for nearly long enough). After his trembling, nuanced interpretation of an alcoholic during the detoxification process, Stallone returns to his action hero origins and takes charge as only he knows how. Then, a truly well plotted whodunit ensues!

"Eye See You" is best suited to film enthusiasts, not fans of a specific genre. The minor flaws are more than compensated for by the many strong points, solidly earning it a 7/10.

I love Stallone and I loved this movie. I don't know why it's getting such bad reviews...it deserves nothing less than four stars! Stalone does a stellar job in this movie and the whole story and whatever...it's all really well done. Take my word for it, this movie is really GOOD!!!

I orginally rented this movie at Blockbuster not knowing if it was going to be good or bad. I never heard of this particular movie but I was struck by the amount of stars that were in this which include: Stallone, Kristopherson, and Berenger.

As far as plot goes the serial killing aspect was very original (i.e. the displaying of the bodies at the beginning). Some of the other aspects are typical of the genre, as in Stallone's predictable tragedy.

Stallone does a decent job as Special Agent Jake Malloy with a supporting cast that rises above some of this film's short comings.

All and all. This film left me entertained from beginning to end and I recommend it to anyone who loves the serial killer genre.

Special features include cast interviews and some deleted scenes (which I felt should have been left in).

After coming off of numerous films that were unsuccessful, Stallone tries to go back to what he is good at in "Eye See You" After making "Avenging Angelo", "Driven" and "Get Carter", critics and movie studio executives were very skeptical of Stallone, so they decided (like "Avenging Angelo") that "Eye See You" would go directly to video. This was a big mistake, as I consider "Eye See You" one of Stallone's best films.

"Eye See You" is about F.B.I. Agent Jake Malloy. (Stallone) He is assigned to the case of a cop-killer. While Malloy is investigating a new murder, he gets a call from the killer himself. The killer is at Malloy's house, and we can see him ringing the door-bell. When Malloy gets home, he finds his wife hanging dead in the living room. After seeing this, he gets a call saying they have the killer cornered in a warehouse. However, the killer has committed suicide.
A couple months later, we see Malloy in a bar drinking himself to death. One of Malloy's fellow co-worker/friend convinces him to go to a De-Tox center in Wyoming. It is a program for only law enforcement agents. After being there a couple of days, one by one the agents are turning up dead.

"Eye See You" aka "De-Tox" is very entertaining. Since it was not released in theaters, not a lot of people know about it, but I can assure you, it is very interesting. The plot and the acting in this film was great. I believe Stallone is best in this kind of role, it is not just an all-out action film, and it gives Stallone the opportunity to act as well as do action.
If you are a fan of suspense/thriller films, you should really enjoy this film.