Eyes of a Stranger (1981)

19 Jul 2023

Rating: 3/5

TV Reporter Jane Harris (Lauren Hughes) reports on yet another woman found murdered, warning the women in her audience to take every precaution

Jane’s sister Tracy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) was raped as a child, and the experience left her psychosomatically deaf and blind, so her warnings come from a personal place for her

Jane suspects that her neighbor is the one committing these crimes, going through any means necessary to gather proof

The film patiently lingers in the frustrating place where the victim knows something is wrong and cannot access the help they need. The killer announces themselves through a series of threatening and harassing phone calls. More than once, a victim will call the police only to be told to get in line

It will surprise no one who has seen a movie that Tracy and the killer have an encounter, and it’s here that Jennifer Jason Leigh shows just how great an actor she is — and her first film role at that! The sequence is terrifying as we see her unable to navigate her space while the killer toys with her

Overall, the movie is a solid slasher entry. It may not have the flashiness of its contemporaries, but its grounded tone keeps a palpable unease throughout


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