"Winter Chills"
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What You Need To Know:
This very basic tale is enhanced visually by some clever camera devices and location transitions via the use of gift store “snow globes.” Dialogue is basic, however, as is the acting. Both characters have abandonment issues, but these do not excuse them from their sins. Grim and containing no redemption, EYE OF THE BEHOLDER does have some Christian symbolism mixed with unrepentant sin, occult elements, violence, full nudity and drug use. This is a dead, cold story of winter.
Content:
(PaPa, OO, C, LLL, VV, SS, NNN, AA, DDD, M) Largely pagan worldview of man obsessing over a murderous woman with a reoccurring occult premise of astrology with some mild Christian elements of Scripture reading at funerals, several uses of “God bless you,” & some metaphors & symbolism for fallen man; 28 obscenities & 7 profanities; moderate violence including stabbing, man hits woman, man hit by car, man shoots at escaping car, & car crashes into truck; woman strips to underwear for man & man visits strip club with nude dancers in background; full female & full male nudity but no genitalia; alcohol use & drunkenness; smoking & man involuntarily injects woman with heroin; and, obsession, scary images of man seeing visions & idolatry.
More Detail:
In DOUBLE JEOPARDY, Ashley Judd played the scorned woman hero. In EYE OF THE BEHOLDER, she loses all goodness and becomes a serial murderer named Joanna, scorned by a father who left her when she was young. Ewan McGregor (last seen swinging a light saber as Obi-Wan) plays a detective named simply the Eye, who also has a disturbed past. He becomes obsessed with Joanna and follows her all around the country. Mainly grim and containing no redemption or character growth, the movie does have some Christian symbolism mixed in with unrepentant sin and some occult elements.
The Eye uses high tech surveillance equipment and watches Joanna seduce and destroy many men all around the country. Why he doesn’t turn her into the police after her first murder is a mystery, other than the fact that he is completely mesmerized by her. As the Eye watches Joanna, he has conversations with his imaginary daughter, who left him along with his former wife. Joanna, a faithful, charming follower of astrology, moves to a different part of the country after each murder.
Slowly the Eye makes himself known to Joanna, rescuing her from possible police pickup, and even visiting her in the hospital after she is beat up by a drug using thug, Gary (Jason Priestley). Eventually, the Eye meets Joanna in Alaska, but surprises lurk there, including another police intervention.
This very basic tale is enhanced visually by some clever camera devices and location transitions via the use of gift store “snow globes.” Dialogue is basic, however, as is the acting.
The story isn’t about catching a criminal, but about trailing a criminal. The Eye is useless as a detective and abuses his equipment and skills to waste his time following Joanna. They both reveal an influence in their mutual sicknesses, in that they both have abandonment issues, but these do not excuse them from their sins: his of idolatry, and hers of murder. Interestingly, there is a scene where the Eye hides in a church bell tower that holds many old crucifixes inside. The bell tolls for the Eye to repent, and clues of his redeemer are all around him, but he does not recognize them. At other times, he says, “God bless you,” but to no affect. Scriptures read at a funeral bring no comfort either to the two anti-heroes. Through most of the movie, Joanna trusts in astrology, and the Eye even gets into the act, buying a Taurus charm.
This primarily grim, unrepentant, unchanging thriller has more depth and symbolism than DOUBLE JEOPARDY, but its dark nature may not endear it to many. Judd, in fact, does her darkest role ever, and even strips down to a bloody naked mess after one murder. This is not a summer roller coaster ride thriller, but a dead, cold story of winter.
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