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I am about to post one of the most embarrassing statements I’ve ever made:

I think James Van Der Beek is a decent actor.

There. I said it. I may never say it again, but I said it there. After Final Draft and now Eye of the Beast, I think he should be doing more than straight-to-video horror movies. He’s not great, mind you, but he shouldn’t be remembered just for Dawson’s Creek.

In Eye of the Beast, the latest in Genius’ “Maneater Series” of nature-on-the-loose films, VDB plays Dan Leland, an aspiring ocean-life scientist sent to a fishing village to figure out why the fish population has vanished. The local fishermen believe it’s because the Native American tribe in the area depleted the stock due to their immunity from catch limitations. This causes problems as the new sheriff is one of the previously mentioned Native Americans, and also the romantic interest for Leland. Of course, it wasn’t overfishing that caused the ecological chaos, but rather a very large, very hungry squid that has targeted the waters and is moving on to munching on people.

The “Maneater Series” has been real hit-or-miss, and while this isn’t a real hit, it’s not bad. Everyone gives convincing performances, and Van Der Beek realistically plays his role. He’s not Denise Richards playing a nuclear physicist in a James Bond movie, just a young man who has some, but not too much, knowledge about critters. The only real drawback of the film is the special effects, as the squid (or rather, its tentacles) are pretty crude CGI most of the time.

As with the others in the series, there are no special features on the disc.

I’m all for new giant monster flicks, and while Eye of the Beast isn’t It Came From Beneath the Sea, it’s certainly not Octopus 2: River of Fear either. It’s good popcorn fun, plus it’s not about friggin’ crocodiles. Think we’ve done that one to death recently. 

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