So, is it really that bad? Oh yeah, it is.

FBI agent Jake Malloy (Stallone) has been investigating the case of a serial cop killer. The killer targets Malloy, killing his fiancée (Dina "the chick that wasn't Denise Richards in Starship Troopers" Meyers), and sends him on a downward spiral which leaves Malloy a shattered suicidal boozehound wreck. Malloy is sent to a special D-Tox center in Wyoming that is run by an ex-cop (Kris Kristoferson) and specifically designed to help law enforcement officers. Soon murders begin occurring and the staff and patients (including the likes of Tom Berenger, Courtney B. Vance, Robert Patrick, Sean Patrick "Powder" Flanery, and Jeffery "Basquiat" Wright) find themselves snowbound and cut off from the outside world with a killer (Malloy's former quarry) in their midst.

Like most direct to video fare these days, the film fails as either empty exploitative entertainment or as a work of well-rounded cinema. I may loose my reviewing cred for saying it, but all I can come up with to describe D-Tox (Notice how I wont call it by its alternate title Eye See You, a title so stupid I cannot bear to write it more than once.) is that the film is "blah." Hackneyed, formulaic story. Flat characters. Ineffectual as a dramatic film, a suspense film, an action film, a horror film, or even something in the vein of so-bad-it-is-good. D-Tox is just plain bad.

The script is mind-bogglingly filled with flaws, forsaking any logic or creativity for generic thriller stupidity. First, the killer has the slimmest of motivations, executes his crimes by drilling someone's eye when they look through a keyhole then breaking in and hanging them, and he even gets a Sevenlike rip-off title credit sequence. The D-Tox center itself is an effectively creepy and cold former army bunker, which although a foreboding horror location, realistically, with its deep gray walls, slimy hallways, tight confined spaces, and ill lighting, it would make a maddeningly sour and depressing place to try to cure someone of their psychological and physical maladies. Its the kind of decor that would drive perfectly healthy people to blow their brains out after a weekend stay. The sole group therapy session has most of the cops gleefully relishing in each others suffering and one of them delivering a painfully funny story about witnessing a busload of schoolchildren getting blown up and collecting the severed body parts ("They still had paint on their fingers.... They[sob]... were[sob]... finger painting..."). Lazy writing includes such things as the assumption that all cops- including ones fresh off suicide and suffering from severe drug problems- would show up at the center with guns that then have to be confiscated, and the unbelievable tired horror cliche of everyone automatically deciding that, since there is a killer in their midst, the best idea is to split up.

Director Jim Gillespie (I Know What You Did Last Summer) barely manages to hold the film together. It feels like in addition to the bad script the film must have undergone a lot of edit tinkering, which would explain a lot of things, like awkward character intros, voice over filler, tonal inconsistencies, and vague relationships, particularly between Malloy and the resident doctor/female eye candy/possible love interest (Polly Walker). First time screenwriter Ron L. Brinkenhoff adapts Howard Swindles novel, "The Jitter Joint", and proves that his largely behind the scenes resume on the imdb ("creative researcher" on Mercury Rising, "apprentice editor" on The Sandlot, "production office assistant" on Far and Away) is justified. Actually saying "adapts" is unfair, since a cursory glance at "Jitter Joints" synopsis states an almost entirely different set-up, title character, and killer (a married, adulterous cop named Jeb Quinlin, who is forced into rehab by his superiors, and a killer who leaves AA calling cards). Hell, D-Tox completely ditches any hint of Malloy dealing with an alcohol problem and just jumps into a standard serial killer hunt film.

The final hour of the film boils down into a typical whodunit with a surprising number of recognizable faces cast in puzzlingly thankless, empty roles (especially Tom Berenger as the centers dumb caretaker). Thanks to the film showing a slight glimpse of the killer in the beginning, we know two key things- he is male and white. So, that automatically eliminates the films two female characters as well as the two black characters. Pretty quickly, five male white characters are taken out of the mix (two of whom were most likely too old to be the killer anyway), leaving us with the obvious (Robert Patrick's confounding, effeminate yet masculine, hostile speed freak SWAT guy) or the not so obvious (the fat dumb guy, the overly helpful British guy, the cook, and Tom Berenger's caretaker). Even if you cannot figure it out, which most likely you can, you still won't care. I would feel somewhat sorry for Stallone, but after the films over the top ending, complete with ludicrous set-up and a lame one liner before offing the killer, I was reminded of Stallone's all-too-80's mindless cop film Cobra and how he once built a career with brainless action films. Well, no more Sly, now you're going straight to video with Van Damme. If only Ah-nold would follow.

The DVD: Columbia/TriStar

Picture:. Full screen and Anamorphic Widescreen options (Note: You have to go into the setup menu to choose, it defaults to full-screen). Well, the film was purposefully shot with a lot of murkiness and grain, like Seven and other horror fare, so that visual mood enhancer is too be expected. The print shows little wear in terms of dirt, and the transfer is free of any glaring glitches, though it does lose some resolution because they spent valuable space in order to provide two different ratios. The most troubling aspect of the print/transfer is that it is a little on the green side which especially hurts the fleshtones, making the snowbound protagonists look more seasick than chilly. Cinematography was by Dean Semler (Dances with Wolves, The Road Warrior, The Bone Collector, XXX)

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 English or French tracks, or 2.0 Dolby Digital Surround English track, with optional Spanish subtitles. The sound is adequate but unremarkable, featuring a forgettable score by no less than four composers.

Extras: Chapter Selections--- Trailer--- Actor Interviews. On set interviews with 9 actors but no Sly. Pretty general, each running about two minutes, the cast gives soundbites about their characters, the story, the director, and such.--- 8 Deleted Scenes. All are widescreen and in a rough cut state with timecodes at the bottom of the screen. Mostly pretty basic, an extended arrival scene, a Malloy nightmare, and tidbits with the other characters that give them a glimmer of more detail.

Conclusion: Well, lets see... it is a bad film. Although a direct to video, Columbia does offer some extras, but the deleted scenes aren't particularly engrossing and the actor interviews not only don't feature the star but are a depressing reminder of both the hopes the cast had and the lengths actors will go to sell a film. At the most, if you are curious or some kind of Stallone nut, the film is worth a rental. Otherwise, I'd say this is one most movie/DVD fans can live without.