Eye for an Eye (1996) | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

8% Tomatometer 40 Reviews 55% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings

Harried working mom Karen McCann (Sally Field) is stuck in traffic, talking on the phone to her teenage daughter at home, when she hears an intruder break into the house and murder her child. Although the killer (Kiefer Sutherland) is arrested, a legal technicality leads to his release. Despite the best efforts of her patient husband (Ed Harris), a sympathetic police detective (Joe Mantegna) and a victims'-rights counselor (Charlayne Woodard), Karen becomes obsessed with taking revenge.

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Eye for an Eye

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Critics Consensus

Overwrought, thinly written, and all-around unpleasant, Eye for an Eye crudely exploits every parent's nightmare with deeply offensive results.

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Critics Reviews

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Eye for an Eye (1996) | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: C+ Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Eye for an Eye (1996) | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Empire Magazine Any pretence of thoughtful debate has long since been abandoned. Rated: 2/5 Aug 4, 2009 Full Review Eye for an Eye (1996) | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader [A] really awful, hysterical thriller. Aug 4, 2009 Full Review Eye for an Eye (1996) | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Grant Watson Fiction Machine Crass, manipulative, and deeply insincere, it is a marvel that it received a theatrical release at all. It is entirely impossible to recommend. Rated: 2/10 Nov 28, 2022 Full Review Eye for an Eye (1996) | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Mal Vincent The Virginian-Pilot John Schlesinger is one of the finest directors of our movie past. It is sad that this is all he apparently can find to direct. Rated: 2.5/4 Mar 2, 2022 Full Review Eye for an Eye (1996) | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Brian D. Johnson Maclean's Magazine If Eye for an Eye were just another dumb thriller about killing a bad guy, it would not be so irritating. But by raising the moral issue, it is more like a dumb TV movie proposing a vigilantelite brand of violent retribution. Oct 21, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Sai M This movie is heartwrenching, shocking, sad and unfortunately the reality for too many people. The performance given by Kiefer Sutherland in the role of a psychopathic serial rap*st and murderer is on point for showcasing his range in acting talent - not unlike his legendary father, Kiefer is able to play the role of a horrible villain to perfection and this movie exhibits that perfectly. Added to the believability factor, is the convincingly well played role that Sally delivers being the mother of a victim, and the evolution she goes through during her grief in her newfound ambition for justice and bringing the culprit down so they can never harm anyone else again - it's exceptional and horribly sad and tragic all at the same time. Seeing her pursuit of a monster and the things she must face and overcome to reach the justice her daughter, and so many other victims deserve makes this a movie any parent will find painstaking and necessary and the way Sally and Kiefer play their counterparts throughout the film is nothing short of acting finesse. Throw in a few other great actors such as Ed Harris in the role of Sally's husband and Julie's father, and the movie is one that is surely unforgettable. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/09/24 Full Review Sea S I thought the story line, the plot was exceptional! I'm truly surprised by the low ratings on this film and the lack of praise as the acting in this was top notch and I really thought they would've received rewards for their roles as well as the directors and producers. It was a hard film to watch due to the violent acts towards women but it will be forever seared in my mind (unforgettable). There def was a shock factor involved and tells a story which I'm sure that many human beings have lived whether they are the ones being brutalized or they are the families. Our justice system has failed in many attempts to vindicate justice for victims. I also love me a vigilante movies. This movie was highly underrated and between you and me the movies that are ranked the highest by critics are usually the movies I avoid seeing bc 99.9% of the time they are awful. 😝 Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/11/23 Full Review Steve D Emotionally manipulative and thinly written. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Hana S It's so long and slow. The script is so bad. The story line is so bad. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/09/22 Full Review Audience Member Superior Performances by an Excellent Cast! Unique take on the revenge plot-- Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review jelisije j How does this movie has such a low rating? This movie has a simple premise about a mother avenging the rape and murder of her daughter. This is not a movie I'm going to be rewatching (since its so depressing) over and over again, but I don't see the reason to say this movie was bad. Its a solid watch for the most part and you cant go wrong with Sally Field. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Eye for an Eye

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Cast & Crew

John Schlesinger Director Sally Field Karen McCann Kiefer Sutherland Robert Doob Ed Harris Mack McCann Beverly D'Angelo Dolly Green Joe Mantegna Det. Sgt. Denillo
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Eye for an Eye

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Synopsis Harried working mom Karen McCann (Sally Field) is stuck in traffic, talking on the phone to her teenage daughter at home, when she hears an intruder break into the house and murder her child. Although the killer (Kiefer Sutherland) is arrested, a legal technicality leads to his release. Despite the best efforts of her patient husband (Ed Harris), a sympathetic police detective (Joe Mantegna) and a victims'-rights counselor (Charlayne Woodard), Karen becomes obsessed with taking revenge.

Director
John Schlesinger

Producer
Michael I. Levy

Screenwriter
Erika Holzer, Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa

Distributor
Paramount Pictures

Production Co
Paramount Pictures, Paramount Pictures International

Rating
R

Genre
Drama

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 12, 1996, Original

Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 1, 2013

Box Office (Gross USA)
$25.7M

Runtime
1h 37m

Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo
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