Review of Eyes Without a Face (1960) by Jeffrey R — 24 Feb 2011

Eyes Without a Face: One of the many provocative and unique things about this film is the fact that it takes an old school B-movie premise of the insane surgeon and not only makes it work in terms of disturbing its audience while simultaneously working them dramatically.

And of course, the other vital thing about the picture's affective working is that what horror there is in the story comes straight from the story. The film doesn't play out like a horror movie at all but as a drama.

The unsettling moments come as a direct result of (and are sometimes a direct cause of) the dramatic elements at work. The thing could easily be a melodrama (and is in a few respects), but the production design, acting (especially Edith Scob as the beguiled daughter), and directing establish a very creepy tone throughout.

It never feels forced either. One of the big things the flick has going for it is that its director takes the material very seriously and treats it very soberly. This steady approach to the material only enhances it, and the frank way the film is shot further contorts the viewer's understanding of the events even as it gives the details in perfect clarity.

And the film's director, Georges Franju, doesn't shy away from the grisly surgical processes. These scenes are shot in the same starkness that the rest of the film is saturated with. The way in which the family is depicted from being on the verge of falling apart to finally completely exploding is just as frightening as the bloody stuff or the nightmarish blurred images of the faceless Christiane.

Way ahead of its time and just as impressive today, Eyes Without a Face is really a rare example of a movie that's completely frightening as any full-on horror movie but that acts more in a dramatic sense.

Movies like this don't come along often enough. **** out've *****.