Eye See You Blu Ray Review (MVD Marquee/FilmRise)
Eye See You (aKa D-Tox) is a 2002 thriller film directed by Jim Gillespie (I Know What You Did Last Summer, Venom, & Billionaire Ransom). It was written by Ron L. Brinkerhoff (The Guardian). It was originally made by Universal Pictures in 1999 before it was renamed & sold off after years of it being shelved at the studio. It was produced by Ron Howard (Backdraft 1/2, Parenthood, Vibes, The Burbs, & A Beautiful Mind) & Brian Grazer (Arrested Development, 24, Ransom, Boomerang, The Doors, & My Girl 1/2) for Imagine Entertainment when it was being filmed but both took their names off the project before it was released. It from being a major theatrical feature to direct to video after poor test screenings & problems behind the scenes for it.
While FBI agent Jake Malloy (played by: Sylvester Stallone from the Rambo franchise, the Rocky franchise, the Expendables franchise, & the Escape Plan franchise) pursues a serial killer who targets police officers, his former partner becomes a victim. The murderer calls Malloy from Malloy’s home while he’s out investigating the case. The killer says Malloy pursued him earlier for a series of prostitute murders. In a brutal act of revenge, he kills Malloy’s girlfriend Mary (played by: Dina Meyer from the Saw franchise, Starship Troopers, Johnny Mnemonic, & Birds of Prey). Malloy pursues the killer, only to find that he appears to have committed suicide. Malloy descends into alcoholism which leads to a suicide attempt, Malloy’s best friend Agent Chuck Hendricks (played by: Charles S. Dutton from Rudy, Mimic, Alien 3, & Gothika) enrolls Malloy in a rehabilitation program for law enforcement officers run by Dr. John “Doc” Mitchell (played by: Kris Kristofferson from the Blade franchise, Payback, Planet of the Apes, & Songwriter). Malloy meets several other officers who are patients in the clinic which includes Peter Noah (played by: Robert Patrick from Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Die Hard 2, Dusk Till Dawn 2, & Cop Land), Frank Slater (played by: Christopher Fulford from A Prayer for the Dying, Resurrected, Hotel, & Immortal Beloved), Willie Jones (played by: Courtney B. Vance from Hamburger Hill, Beyond the Law, The Hunt for Red October, & Terminator Genisys), Jaworski (played by: Jeffrey Wright from The Batman, Shaft, Westworld , & The Goldfinch), Lopez (played by: Angela Alvarado from Replicas, Judgment Night, & Showtime), & McKenzie (played by: Robert Prosky from Rudy, Christine, Dead Man Walking, & Last Action Hero). Plus staff members Hank (played by: Tom Berenger from the Sniper franchise, The Big Chill, Major League 1/2, & Platoon) & Jenny Munroe (played by: Polly Walker from Pennyworth, Rome, Cane, & Patriot Games) are in there with the recovering officers. A blizzard seals everyone in the rehab center without outside communication. Jenny finds patient Connor (played by: Sean Patrick Flanery from Suicide Kings, Powder, Saw: The Final Chapter, & The Boondock Saints 1/2) dead but they rule it as a suicide until other patients end up dead. Is Jake’s past coming back to haunt him again? Who is killing all this law enforcement????
Unfortunately, Eye See You had so much interference & changes done to it so the final product is kinda a mess. It’s a very fun & entertaining one so it’s still solid despite all it’s flaws. D-Tox should have been a huge hit for Universal especially with it’s all star cast, upcoming director, & great producing team behind it but the production ran into lots of bad luck. This was Sylvester Stallone first smaller feature after becoming a star. It wasn’t direct to video but it was damn close because it’s theatrical run was very limited. The original version is included on this brand new home video release, D-Tox is so much better than Eye See You. It’s much more coherent & the script is better on that version. Regardless of it’s problems, I still really enjoyed Eye See You. It was a completely different type of film for action superstar Sylvester Stallone so that was refreshing to see here. It’s a very dark thriller with some slasher tendencies to it. The suspense has a nice build up to it & the twist is solid for the finale. It’s one of the better acting performances from Sylvester Stallone. Plus he he had an amazing supporting cast which includes Charles S. Dutton, Robert Patrick, Robert Prosky, Jeffrey Wright, Dina Meyer, Tom Berenger, Sean Patrick Flanery, Courtney B. Vance, Christopher Fulford, Kris Kristofferson, & Stephen Lang (Manhunter) to help him elevate his presence here. It’s definitely better than it’s reputation, RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s discuss the special features from MVD Marquee! The highlight of the bonus material on here is the unreleased original director’s cut under the title “D-Tox”, it’s almost an hour & 35 minutes. The video is a little rough but it’s the one everyone has been wanting to see since this film was released & had so many problems behind the scenes. It has a different tone to it & lots of additional footage in this one. It has a completely different score & the finale was changed in this one. If you can get past the lower quality, this is the version to watch when it comes to this movie. It’s a huge improvement over the theatrical one. It has about 11 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” which includes Cold Shoulder, The Tour, Eye Opener, Fireside Chat, Moby Dick, Faith, Left Behind, & Slater Concern. As you can see, Eye See You had loads of cut footage shot for the production. It has almost 19 minutes of “Interviews” with Charles Dutton, Kris Kristofferson, Polly Walker, Christopher Fulford, Robert Patrick, Robert Prosky, Courtney B. Vance, Jeffrey Wright, & Angela Alvarado Rosa. They chat about their experience, the script, the several genres it crosses, & their characters for Eye See You. They go what attracted them to the project & working with Sylvester Stallone. Just a heads up, all the extras on this release are in standard definition. It has a few promotional items for the feature with a “Photo Gallery” & a “Trailer”. It also has a slipcover. This is a huge upgrade compared to 2013’s original blu ray release from Millennium Media. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
