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Sylvester Stallone, renowned as one of the greatest action stars, first captured the public’s attention in the 1970s with his iconic role in “Rocky,” and further cemented his status in the 1980s with the “Rambo” series. Recently, Stallone embraced the television landscape, gaining acclaim with “Tulsa King.” However, there was a period not too long ago when his career hit a rough patch, leading him to venture into the horror genre with the peculiar 2002 film “Eye See You,” also known by its alternate title, “D-Tox.”
Universal Pictures
“D-Tox” presents itself as a horror film with a major box office draw at its center. The storyline follows a weary cop, played by Stallone, who finds himself trapped in a detox center during a blizzard, facing a relentless killer targeting him and the other residents. Despite its intriguing premise, the film falls short, feeling like a mishmash of a subpar teen slasher and a lackluster “Se7en” imitation. Surprisingly, the cast is quite impressive, featuring talents like Kris Kristofferson, Jeffrey Wright, Charles S. Dutton, and Robert Patrick, though their skills are largely squandered in this ill-conceived narrative.
Yet, does the film merit a viewing? Strangely enough, it does. It stands as a quintessential so-bad-it’s-good horror flick, where witnessing talented actors grapple with a dubious script becomes an entertaining spectacle. And for those curious, the film is accessible on platforms like Tubi, Plex, and Roku at no cost.
Stallone, a seasoned Hollywood figure known for his versatility in writing, directing, acting, and producing, was well aware of the film’s shortcomings during production. In a 2006 interview with Ain’t It Cool News, he candidly discussed the project’s troubled journey after a fan queried about it. As Stallone recounted, the original producer withdrew before filming even started, branding the movie as “damaged goods” from the outset.
Stallone explained that the film suffered from budget constraints and creative conflicts among the producers, director, and writer, leading to its initial shelving by the studio. Later, an attempt to salvage it with reshoots ensued. “We screened it, it tested okay, Ron Howard was involved with overseeing some of the post-production … but the movie had the smell of death about it,” Stallone remarked. The film was eventually released under the title “D-Tox” with minimal impact and quickly faded from view.
Stallone says the movie was doomed from the start
Universal Pictures
Despite the setbacks, Stallone maintains a humorous perspective on the experience, quipping about the production process: “If you looked up, you could see celluloid buzzards circling as we lay there dying on the distributor’s floor.”
“Right away the film was considered damaged goods,” Stallone answered. As he detailed, the film was plagued with problems, with budget issues and creative differences between the producers, director, and writer, and eventually the studio simply shelved the project. Eventually, they decided to dig it out and try to fix it with some reshoots. “We screened it, it tested okay, Ron Howard was involved with overseeing some of the post-production … but the movie had the smell of death about it.” Ultimately, the movie received only a limited release and the name was changed to “D-Tox” to help market it, but it came and went with little fanfare.
Thankfully, Stallone has a good sense of humor about the film, and joked that during production, “If you looked up, you could see celluloid buzzards circling as we lay there dying on the distributor’s floor.”
