Corner of the Eye (1995)

Posted by Mrs Giggles on August 11, 2019 in 3 Oogies, Idiot Box Reviews, Series: The Outer Limits

Corner of the Eye (1995)

Main cast: Len Cariou (Father Anton Jonascu), Justin Louis (Father John Royce), Chris Sarandon (Dr Pallas), Bill Croft (Officer Fletcher), Callum Keith Rennie (Carlito), Tamsin Kelsey Tamsin (Victorine), and Vanessa Morley (Miranda)
Director: Stuart Gillard

There is a death scene here in which the person croaking goes all cross-eyed for a second before biting it big time. I’m evil – I laugh and that, people, is the best scene of this entire episode, maybe even the entire season.

Father Anton Jonascu tends to the homeless on the streets, but he is becoming increasingly frustrated by how he seems to be effecting very little change to the lives of these people despite his best efforts. And then the poor dear is diagnosed with an eye tumor that will likely kill him in a few months is. If that isn’t bad enough, this eye tumor affects his vision and somehow allows him to see through the illusions of a race of warty pig-like aliens that are posing as humans in the neighborhood.

However, these aliens claim to have no evil intentions. You see, they claim to be the good guys that have been helping humans throughout the ages, and their human proxies ended up as cornerstones of the religions founded throughout our civilization. Because Jonascu can see them, they believe that he is their chosen one. They heal his tumor and give him the power to heal people and even raise the dead with his touch. However, are they telling the truth, and is there a price to be paid for using this gift?

Corner of the Eye actually feels like a full episode instead of some banal preachy socialist propaganda. The cast is fine, and while it may be tempting to assume that this episode is an allegory for police being demons wailing away blows on wee, helpless undocumented refugees, this episode also has a strong message of faith that may trigger the socialists advocating for a Greater Portland. The only downside to this episode is its predictability: the so-called twist can be seen coming away, and the episode then ruins what little suspense it may have by having the villains stupidly tell one another the details of their nefarious plans only to be eavesdropped on. Worst of all, there is no reason to even have such a conversation – they should already know the details in the first place!

So, all in all, a decent episode, ruined by the people behind the whole thing believing that their audience aren’t too bright and hence, the script needs to talk down to them. True, the entire series does seem to be aimed at a socialist-communist audience, but still…

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