Ojos en la noche

This wallow is an "erotic thriller" and we can be certain of that because it is called so upon the home video box. There are many examples of this seamy genre, particularly prevalent since the late 1980s, the film under discussion here being perhaps the most financially rewarding, earning more than 30 million dollars above its production cost of $750,000, but only a rabid fan of this cinematic category may consider it to be an artistic success, as well. A very small company, Night Eyes Security, composed of two Griffith brothers, is tasked with guarding the Beverly Hills estate of a British pop musician, Brian Walker, and his wife Nikki (Tanya Roberts) but after she discovers her husband making the grade with a young woman during a party in their home, Mrs. Walker files for divorce, following which Mr. Walker hires Night Eyes to supposedly protect his soon-to-be former wife at their Malibu residence, although his true purpose is to obtain damning video tapes from surveillance cameras that he hopes will record Nikki's own sexual misconduct, thereby crystallizing his courtroom defense for their looming civil trial. The younger of the brothers, Will (Andrew Stevens, who also produces here as well as contributing heavily to the screenplay), a rather artless character, does in fact espy Nikki in flagrante delicto, but this apparently fortuitous event for Brian is nullified because Will has succumbed to the physical charms of the wayward wife and has decided to withhold the evidential tape from the musician and his attorney, played by able supporting player Paul Carr, causing a viewer to recognize that the lovestruck security guard can not be considered as an example of rectitude. Becoming involved in his duties well beyond the operation and maintenance of his mini-company's surveillance equipment, Will is delighted as Nikki ostensibly matches his passion, as is evident from a cluster of scenes wherein the two explore each other's private areas, but complications appear when murder, rape and sundry other felonies occur in conjunction with their affair, Will being the primary suspect for the crimes. The substantial profit garnered by this movie prompted production of three sequels, each continuing the amourous adventures of young Will and his trusty spy cameras, and even though their potential merits cannot be determined by this viewer, the first number in the series does provide an unexpected element of suspense in addition to capable costuming from Ha Nguyen, fine stunt performing, and a polished turn from Carr. An unrated version is available that seemingly promises to provide additional footage of the ardent romantic actions shared by the mismatched lovers.

My review was written in April 1990 after watching the movie on Prism video cassette.

Tanya Roberts approaches X-rated territory in Andrew Stevens' entertaining sex thriller "Night Eyes", a "Body Heat" clone bound to become an important rental title and conversation piece.

With theatrical ratings frequently in the news, this direct-to-video release comes in both R and longer, unrated editions, latter reviewed here. Steamy sex scenes of Roberts and Stevens should generate plenty of word-of-mouth.

Stevens, who co-wrote and served as supervising producer, toplines as a guard for Night Eyes Security Agency, working with his brother (Cooper Huckabee). The two are hired by British rocker Warwick Sims to install home surveillance cameras, supposedly as protection for his wife but, in reality, to gather incriminating info against her for a divorce case.

Roberts is the oversexed lady in question, abused by her husband and cheating on him. First lover to be taped by Stevens' cameras is guest Stephen Meadows and, before long, straight-arrow Stevens succumbs to her wiles.

Several stagings and Richard Gaser's musical score (with wailing sax solos) recall Lawrence Kasdan's "Body Heat". Roberts is extremely alluring in the Kathleen Turner role, telegraphing her bad intentions. Stevens makes for a believable dupe, though a final sex scene after he has figured out her guilt seems a bit much.

The romantic couplings deliver more than expected from name talent, beyond what qualifies for an R rating but never hardcore. Roberts has not gone as far as European actresses but is bound to raise eyebrows among her American peers.

Jag Mundhra's direction is convincing until a hurried windup, typical of video-driven projects.

Pic successfully demonstrates a solution to the theatrical ratings impasse between distributors and Motion Picture Association of America -even a major like Paramount can handle unrated films via home video, in this case distributing for indie Prism Entertainment.

The rock star Brian Walker (Warwick Sims) is surprised by his wife Nicky (Tanya Roberts) shagging a woman in the bathroom in a party. Nicky asks the divorce, and Brian hires a security company to spy on her to prove that she is unfaithful and has love affairs. The security guard Will Griffith (Andrew Stevens) hides a camera in her bedroom and peeps on Nicky having sex with her lover but he hides the truth from Brian. Will protects Nicky from the violent Brian and they have a love affair. Nicky gets a restraint order against Brian and one night he breaks in the house and Will, who has fallen in love with Nicky, kills him with three shots. Will is prosecuted for the death of Brian, and he finds that Brian apparently was not the responsible for the aggressions to Nicky. Will investigates and discovers the truth about the whole case.

"Night Eyes" was a successful erotic thriller in the 90's, when I saw this movie twice. Today I have decided to watch my VHS again and the sexy femme fatale Tanya Roberts really makes this flick worthwhile. The flawed story has a reasonable development but the conclusion is absolutely disappointing and senseless. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Olhos Noturnos" ("Night Eyes")

Note: On 29 July 2021, I saw this film again.

Washed-out drunken rock star Brian Walker is having sex in the bathroom at his party and his wife Nikki (Tanya Roberts) catches him. He immediately announces their divorce in front of the guests. He hires security guards Ernie and Will Griffith (Andrew Stevens) to spy on her. They install cameras around her home as well as a secret one in her bedroom. Will watches her have sex with Michael Vincent. He hides it from Brian. He becomes obsessed and starts an affair himself with her. Brian runs into them at a gallery and gets combative. Brian breaks in one night and Will chases him off. After almost running over her, Nikki gets a restraining order against Brain despite his claim of an alibi. Brian comes in with a gun and Will shoots him but there's more to the story.

The plot is actually functional considering its B-movie nature. The acting is pretty stiff and the production is second rate. Stevens and Roberts are basically good enough and pretty enough to do the job. There is some T&A but it's not actually the main driver in this movie. The twist isn't unexpected. This is either a well written soft porn movie or a weakly made real movie.

Strolled down the B-grade section of my local video store and noticed this movie. Having read the main IMDb review earlier, I thought this movie might turn out to be quite entertaining. Sadly, it was not ! Very predictable. In its genre of B-grade, there are ample examples of better efforts.