Today’s quick review: The Girl from the Naked Eye. To pay off his gambling debts, Jake (Jason Yee) works as a driver and muscle for the Naked Eye, a strip club run by Simon (Ron Yuan). There he befriends Sandy (Samantha Streets), a young prostitute working for Simon, and looks for a way to get her out of the dangerous business. But when Sandy is murdered, Jake must fight his way through a list of her clients to find the culprit.
The Girl from the Naked Eye is a budget action movie with noir influences. The movie presents itself as a hard-boiled detective story, following Jake as he hunts for the killer of a woman who was close to him. But the way the story plays out is closer to a typical action film, with Jake using his fists rather than his brain to solve most of his problems. Unfortunately, a low budget and a few major missteps keep it from reaching either ideal.
The noir side of the movie consists of Jake’s narration, gloomy city streets, and the tragic quasi-romance between Jake and Sandy. In spite of these trappings, The Girl from the Naked Eye has none of the appeal of a true noir. The mystery barely qualifies as such, since there are few suspects and barely any clues. Jake makes for a shallow protagonist, so his narration falls flat, and the writing doesn’t carry much dramatic weight.
The action side of the movie fares no better. The fights are poorly choreographed by genre standards, with a few passable moments but no impressive ones. The gunplay is plentiful but inconsequential. The action is also poorly justified by the story. A repeated pattern is for Jake to hunt down a lead, pick a fight, and battle his way out of the building. However, the fights are barely set up, and Jake hurts his investigation by starting them.
The Girl from the Naked Eye has issues with its execution that go beyond its failings as a noir and as an action flick. The film is packed with sex and swearing that serves no concrete purpose. Incongruous moments of comedy undermine the serious tone it seems to be aiming for. The soundtrack is cheaply produced and distracting, with none of the intensity that an action film should presumably have.
The movie’s one redeeming quality is its sincerity. Buried deep within it is a story that’s meant to be touching, and the movie tries to bring it to life as best it can. There’s a friendliness to Jake, Sandy, and the others that belies all the sex, violence, and sleaze. The characters are far from compelling, but they’re hard to hate. Everything from the action to the dialogue shows traces of the movie The Girl from the Naked Eye was meant to be.
The Girl from the Naked Eye is a movie that falls well short of the target it’s aiming for. Weak action and writing, tonal inconsistencies, and a slew of minor shortcomings make it a poor pick for all but the most dedicated viewers. The movie holds some value in the form of its sincerity and its mixed successes, but its failings are significant enough that few viewers will get much value from it. Try it only for its mistakes.
For a noir-influenced drama that’s dark, stylized, and much more successful with what it tries to do, try Sin City. For a violent comedy that does more with its seamy subject matter, try Deadpool. For a dark, brutal tale of revenge, try Old Boy. For a budget action flick with similar flaws but somewhat better action, try The Hard Way or The Debt Collector. For a budget crime movie with similar issues and more charm, try Checkmate.
4.9 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 4.0 for poor execution of an earnest vision.