Eye of the Beast (2006)

Eye of the Beast is a rousing thriller rising out of the depths to put the squeeze on you. For centuries, tales of its existence have inspired fear and fascination. It is one of the largest creatures on the ocean floor. A massive, tentacled invertebrate that tends to feed on smaller creatures. Government scientist Dan Leland is sent to investigate a reported story of a giant squid that appears to be devouring everything within sight-and scent. What he uncovers is something that no one could have imagined a one-ton, tentacled terror with its eye on a new feast...man. Product Description

A Biologist's View

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. June 20, 2008

This Ain't Jaws, Thats for Sure

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. May 24, 2008

Beat Beast

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?! May 21, 2008

Alexandra Castillo is the reason to see this film...

...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. April 18, 2008

Pretty good movie!

Not bad flick with above average special effects. Also James Van Der Beek is not bad to look at! Four stars... April 2, 2008

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