El mirón indiscreto

This film appears to be an after dark type of cable movie but has more to offer. It's a good rental if you want to escape to a world that exist in your town maybe even in your neighborhood that you would never be a part of. Unless you are up all night looking out the window at your neighbors.

It's not too often that you see a film in which the hero is actually a pervert. Harry Ross is a stressed-out stockbroker who, during one of his evening runs, sees a gorgeous redhead woman perform a sensual strip act through her front yard window. He returns night after night to watch her, even though it costs him a lot of parking tickets and even when he's out on a date with an excessively horny co-worker. Still, though, Harry realizes his behavior is not sane, and he contacts the ravishing psychiatrist, Alex. While in therapy, Harry still returns to practice his voyeurism hobby, and witnesses how the object of his lust is brutally stabbed to death in her bed. With all the DNA evidence in the garden, Harry quickly becomes the prime suspect, so he'll have to resolve the murder himself. He begs Dr. Alex to help him, and ... not only does she help him and lies to the cops, but she also suddenly feels enormously attracted to Harry! So, the perv isn't just the hero of the tale, he also gets the girl! And what an incredibly professional shrink she is, too.

I think it's fair to say the plausibility level of "Bedroom Eyes" is zero, but it's still a fun and easily watchable erotic thriller. It has Brian de Palma vibes as well as Italian Giallo trademarks, and there's a nicely demented twist at the end. The name of director William Fruet probably doesn't mean much to admirers of elite and mainstream cinema, but he's definitely a personal favorite of mine. Fruet made downright awesome exploitation hits like "House by the Lake", "Search and Destroy", and "Baker County, USA", as well as more than adequate horror titles like "Funeral Home", "Killer Party", and "Insect". Okay, he also made the lousy "Spasms", but everyone is entitled to a misfire. And, for the record, "Bedroom Eyes" isn't a misfire.

Made and acted (amateurishly) by unknowns, this bland thriller sets up its contrived main situation right from the opening sequence - and then goes nowhere you haven't been before (voyeurism, murder, the wrong man suspected, etc). All-too-obviously (and all-too-intentionally) reminiscent of "Rear Window", but there's just no comparison. (**)

This is a rather unpleasant and needlessly protracted suspenser wherein is to be found emphasis only upon sex instead of suspense. An attempt is made by director William Fruet to give a light tone to the film, but a surfeit of coarsened humour operates against the plot line from its inception. Stockbroker Harry Ross (Kenneth Gilman), following completion of his customary evening jogging session in Toronto, is seized by a voyeuristic urge to peek into an open window of a residence, at which time he observes a type of fetishistic sexual activity that may best be described as drab, but apparently of more than adequate interest for Ross to prod him into additional viewing during the following evening. On display for him during this follow-up observation is a probable murder although such an event is bereft of any details for Ross's excitable narration to his newly-established confidante, an attractive female psychiatrist, Alixe Barnes (Dayle Haddon). Meanwhile, a zealous crew of police detectives is searching after a suspect for the now confirmed killing, and their efforts give Ross no end of displeasure, since he was, after all, involved solely as a peeping tom. As the forces of law and order are floundering, they spend a great deal of time trailing the frightened Ross. Alixe tries to hypnotise Harry to determine the extent of his involvement, since she supports him as an innocent and believes that through hypnosis he can overcome the drawback of not having a credible reason for peering through the concerned window. A poorly constructed script infects a cast led by an ungainly Gilman whose acting range here is not devolved beyond an ever-present deer in headlamps appearance. Director Fruet has done much better work than this piece, in particular as a scenarist, but there is very little imaginative feeling to this film that can be recommended only if one has absolutely nothing else to view. Oddly, the work developed a following that eventually led to a sequel which, in any case, was not able to provide much of a successor plot or a form that could improve upon this silly movie.

Don't be fooled by the title, for this isn't another piece of direct-to-video sleaze. What you will find instead is a fun, fast-moving film that is admittedly silly, but so what? It's no classic to be sure, and certainly there are few (if any) surprises, but it's a fun movie that tries for laughs instead of thrills, and works as a result. Open your mind, and give "Bedroom Eyes" a look.