How far would you go to right a wrong that you had committed? Can even the most noble of ends ever truly justify the means to achieving them? These are the questions that drive the 1960 macabre masterpiece Eyes Without a Face. combining classic gothic horror with elements of modern slasher flicks the film continues to mystify, hypnotize, and ultimately horrify viewers over sixty years after its release. This Halloween, meet the shocking gaze of Eyes Without a Face...if you dare.
The story begins with alluring Louise disposing of the body of a young woman on a riverbank in the outskirts of Paris. When police recover the body, local physician Dr. Genessier identifies the victim as his missing daughter, Christiane. It is then revealed that Christine went missing shortly after she was disfigured in a car accident in which her father was the driver. The doctor returns home from his daughter's funeral with the mysterious Louise in tow. It is then revealed that Christiane is actually living hidden in Genessier's mansion waiting for her father to restore her former beauty. The film then explains that the dead woman had been kidnapped by Louise as part of Genessier's scheme to graft another woman's face onto Christiane. The film then follows the doctor and his assistant as they descend ever deeper into madness in their single minded pursuit of the perfect donor. Meanwhile, their supposed beneficiary, Christiane, is driven further into isolation, guilt, and despair by the crimes being committed in her name. When Christiane's fiancé and the police become suspicious of the doctor, Genessier, Louise, and Christiane are all forced to finally face the devastation left in their wake.
While it remains notorious for its visceral visuals the true horror of Eyes Without a Face lies in its bleak vision of humanity. While many horror films feature supernatural villains and otherworldly monsters Eyes Without a Face's antagonists are all ordinary people. Instead of featuring the faceless psychos of modern slasher movies the film takes viewers into the hearts and minds of its villains. In this way, audiences are forced to confront the all too human motives behind their inhumane actions and wonder what we would do if we were in the same position. The film's depiction of human experimentation also echoes the real life horrors of both the Nazi regime and the eugenics movement. As a result, the often fantastic plot remains disturbingly grounded in reality. Get your chills this Halloween by staring into the cold, calculating, vision of Eyes Without a Face.
The film is brought to eerire, skin crawling, life thanks to the stellar work of its cast. Beatrice Altariba infuses police decoy Paulette with street smart sass. Alexander Rignault aptly captures the world weariness of dogged policeman Inspector Parot. Francois Guerin aptly portrays the loss and longing of Christiane's fiancé, Jacques. Smoldering Alida Valli is nothing short of chilling as Genessier's fatally devoted assistant, Louise. Pierre Brasseur finds the humanity in Gennesier as he showcases the guilt, devotion, and desperation driving his monstrous behavior. Even as she utters minimal dialogue Edit Scob haunts the film in her ethereal turn as the tragic Christiane.
When a French journalist described Eyes Without a Face as a horror movie the film's director, Georges Franju aptly corrected him saying that the film was actually something worse, "a terror movie". Over sixty years after its release the terror of this film remains as deep as ever as it forces viewers to come face to face with the all too real terrors of loss, guilt, insecurity, and our own arrogance. With writing as precise as a surgeon's scalpel the film relates its harrowing tale without a single misstep. The brilliant performances bring each of the characters to all too human life. This Halloween stare into the terror behind Eyes Without a Face.
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