Good actors can only do so much with a thriller script (by Michael Stewart and director Yuri Zeltser) that fails to offer anything really fresh. Craig Sheffer and Bradley Gregg star as Ray and Steven, the offspring of a couple operating a diner & hotel out in the middle of nowhere. One day, a pair of criminals show up who kill the parents and rob the place. Young Steven gets blinded in an escape attempt. Years later, the brothers are still operating the business, and their world gets shaken up by the arrival of an unlikely married couple, Sandra (Lara Flynn Boyle, looking quite lovely here) and Marvin (Dennis Hopper).
The film is well made, with top notch photography & lighting and atmosphere to spare. It does deliver a fairly ominous finale when the storm of the title finally hits. But, chief among the problems, "Eye of the Storm" tips its hand way too early and, as a result, fails to ever be surprising. The opening is well staged, but things really hit their stride once Boyle and Hopper show up. Hopper, at least, is worth watching; the late, great actor & filmmaker could make just about anything worth a look. Eccentric roles like Marvin have always fit him like a glove. But things just aren't the same once he's written out of the story. Things also get positively silly when a particular character simply refuses to die and keeps plugging ahead like a slasher movie villain.
Besides Hopper, the other actors fare reasonably well. Sheffer is good, and Gregg does succeed at evoking some sympathy. Boyle and Hopper play off each other well. Leon Rippy ('Saving Grace', 'Deadwood') turns up briefly as the sheriff; Ally Walker ("Universal Soldier") and Wilhelm von Homburg ("Die Hard", "Ghostbusters 2") are memorable as the lowlifes in the opening prologue.
This viewer would hesitate to actually recommend this one, which now appears to be somewhat forgotten, unless they're devoted fans of the cast.
Six out of 10.
The film is well made, with top notch photography & lighting and atmosphere to spare. It does deliver a fairly ominous finale when the storm of the title finally hits. But, chief among the problems, "Eye of the Storm" tips its hand way too early and, as a result, fails to ever be surprising. The opening is well staged, but things really hit their stride once Boyle and Hopper show up. Hopper, at least, is worth watching; the late, great actor & filmmaker could make just about anything worth a look. Eccentric roles like Marvin have always fit him like a glove. But things just aren't the same once he's written out of the story. Things also get positively silly when a particular character simply refuses to die and keeps plugging ahead like a slasher movie villain.
Besides Hopper, the other actors fare reasonably well. Sheffer is good, and Gregg does succeed at evoking some sympathy. Boyle and Hopper play off each other well. Leon Rippy ('Saving Grace', 'Deadwood') turns up briefly as the sheriff; Ally Walker ("Universal Soldier") and Wilhelm von Homburg ("Die Hard", "Ghostbusters 2") are memorable as the lowlifes in the opening prologue.
This viewer would hesitate to actually recommend this one, which now appears to be somewhat forgotten, unless they're devoted fans of the cast.
Six out of 10.