By far, The Third Eye is one of the most criminally underrated films in Canada. Perhaps this has to do largely with people being put off by its DVD release, which seems to advertise a lot of violence, gore and mayhem. Don't be fooled though, this story is NOT a slasher film, but rather a deep psychological thriller in which a grieving woman, who lost her brother to an apparent drug overdose, believes that she has stumbled upon a mystery involving a burnt-out punk rocker family friend, and a bizarre ritualistic behaviour which her brother seems to have partaken in. The ending is a complete shock, and it turns out to be far more complex than those involved even realize.
Admittedly a few scenes are kind of laughable, for example a reoccurring nightmare-type scene in which we've got Julian Richings wearing fake rabbit ears, grinning like he's high on acid whilst attacking somebody with a drill. We've got Tara Spencer-Nairn in her role as the main character, having sex with all her clothes on while images of her deceased brother run through her mind. But all in all it's a compelling film, and the ending especially is very emotional and well-acted. Tara Spencer-Nairn puts her all into the role of bereaved Toronto news reporter Nika Printz and does an excellent job. Stewart Arnott as Nika's guardian figure was good, but seemed rather monotone in some of his scenes. Julian Richings resurrects his style of Bucky Haight from 'Hard Core Logo', but this time he plays an ill and troubled character who proves to be not a killer, but a very loyal and kindhearted friend who knows more about the death of Jacob Printz than Nika cares to hear about. There's a wonderful soundtrack, beautiful camera shooting, a subtle creepiness throughout, and psychological themes which run deeper than I initially realized. Although this has in the past been labelled a "feminist" film, I didn't pick up a vibe like that at all, in fact there's such a wide cast of characters with so many different personalities that I honestly don't think it matters either way. I really enjoyed this one and it really deserves a much better rep than what it has now.
Admittedly a few scenes are kind of laughable, for example a reoccurring nightmare-type scene in which we've got Julian Richings wearing fake rabbit ears, grinning like he's high on acid whilst attacking somebody with a drill. We've got Tara Spencer-Nairn in her role as the main character, having sex with all her clothes on while images of her deceased brother run through her mind. But all in all it's a compelling film, and the ending especially is very emotional and well-acted. Tara Spencer-Nairn puts her all into the role of bereaved Toronto news reporter Nika Printz and does an excellent job. Stewart Arnott as Nika's guardian figure was good, but seemed rather monotone in some of his scenes. Julian Richings resurrects his style of Bucky Haight from 'Hard Core Logo', but this time he plays an ill and troubled character who proves to be not a killer, but a very loyal and kindhearted friend who knows more about the death of Jacob Printz than Nika cares to hear about. There's a wonderful soundtrack, beautiful camera shooting, a subtle creepiness throughout, and psychological themes which run deeper than I initially realized. Although this has in the past been labelled a "feminist" film, I didn't pick up a vibe like that at all, in fact there's such a wide cast of characters with so many different personalities that I honestly don't think it matters either way. I really enjoyed this one and it really deserves a much better rep than what it has now.
