Eyes of a Stranger is a 1981

1981 in film

-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....

 slasher film

Slasher film

A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...

 directed by Ken Wiederhorn

Ken Wiederhorn

Ken Wiederhorn is a film and television director, known mainly for the horror films Shock Waves and Return of the Living Dead Part II. Other features include Eyes of A Stranger, Meatballs II, and A House In The Hills. He also directed multiple episodes of 21 Jump Street, Dark Justice, and...

. It features makeup effects by Tom Savini

Tom Savini

Thomas Vincent "Tom" Savini is an American actor, stuntman, director, award-winning special effects and makeup artist. He is known for his work on the Living Dead films directed by George A. Romero, as well as Creepshow, The Burning, Friday the 13th, The Prowler, and Maniac. He directed the 1990...

 and stars Jennifer Jason Leigh

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Jennifer Jason Leigh is an American film and stage actress, best known for her roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Georgia and Short Cuts...

 in one of her earliest roles.

Plot

The film centers around a rapist

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

 and murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

er who stalks his victims and then calls them repeatedly before raping and killing them. A feminist TV anchor becomes suspicious and investigates one of her neighbors, who she believes is committing the crimes.

Censorship

The film was originally cut for an R-rating, removing many instances of violence including a decapitation from the film, leaving only the final head shot uncut. As a result many of Tom Savini's gore effects were cut out or censored. The Uncut version was released in Warner's Twisted Terror Collection on DVD with the rating of R on the packaging.