Review of Starry Eyes (2014) by Simon M — 05 Apr 2015

A dull, depressing, and inconsequential horror film that hints at a few interesting directions without every delving into them.

Alexandra Essoe is good in the lead role as an actress trying to make a living and find her big break, but the film doesn't lead her character through any logical development, even within the confines of the film's supernatural elements. She is unhappy the whole time, sleeps with a creepy rich producer to get a role, and is instantly a murderous psychopath. This film, while well-edited and (mostly) well-acted, is wholly without subtlety or surprise, apart from some rather grotesque murders; this could be the bloodiest film I've ever seen.

I mainly didn't like "Starry Eyes" because it didn't reach deep enough into its characters and their motivations, mainly, of course, Essoe's lead character. She'll do anything for fame, that much is certain, but were not given much indication of why she wants to be famous, apart from some posters on her wall of famous actresses from the black-and-white era. There's no enough indication that the character is in love with the craft of acting for us to understand her outbursts in certain scenes, and apart from the money we're not given too much indication of her lust for fame, either.

I'm probably being too harsh on this pretty well-made film, but it left me bored and uninvolved. The narrative didn't lead to anything all that interesting, and the best parts are the ones that felt out-of-place in context with the film's direction as a whole; I refer mainly to the scenes with Essoe's character and her boss at a Hooters-like restaurant and the scenes with the cultish Astraeus production company, which are given far less substance than spectacle.