Eyes Without a Face
Composite Score: 85.4
Starring: Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Juliette Mayniel, Alexandre Rignault, Béatrice Altariba, Edith Scob, Claude Brasseur, and Michel Etcheverry
Director: Georges Franju
Writers: Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac, Jean Redon, and Claude Sautet
Genres: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Box Office: $60,254 worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Eyes Without a Face is the film adaptation of Jean Redon’s novel of the same name about a plastic surgeon who seeks to perform a face transplant on his daughter after she has been left disfigured by a tragic car crash. The film stars Pierre Brasseur as the borderline mad scientist, Alida Valli as his sinister assistant Louise, and Edith Scob as his tragic daughter Christiane. Though initially a controversial film for its graphic (for the 1960s) imagery, it has become a classic of horror and French cinema, lauded by cinephiles the world over. Its exploration of the moral quandaries of science, the nature of beauty and cosmetic surgery, and the familial relationships in its story keep it standing as one of the must-watch films of its decade.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
I’m not here to tell you that Eyes Without a Face is the most enthralling horror film about mad scientists messing around with the bodies of their victims that’s ever been made, but the film manages to strike an almost pious take on its subject matter that makes for a unique watch in its genre. No, it’s not the film’s entertainment value that holds it back. In fact, the only real detraction I can give this film is in the form of a content warning. This film contains some surprisingly graphic imagery for a 1960s black and white horror film, specifically in its showcasing of the doctor’s attempts at transplanting faces from his victims to his daughter. It’s pretty dark and definitely not for audiences that tend toward squeamishness. We’re not talking Saw levels of gore, obviously, but it’s certainly more than I’ve ever come to expect from a pre-1980s horror, so keep that in mind if you’re looking to seek it out.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
The film’s blend of melodrama and realism lands it in a unique space within the more scientifically focused horror films that feels almost holy or poetic in its execution. Perhaps it’s the haunting eyes of Edith Scob behind the mask that covers Christiane’s deformity or the lengthy following shots of Louise seeking out new victims or even the contrasting relationships that each character has with the doctor’s canine test subjects, but there’s just something about the film as a whole that seems to be telling a deeper truth than most mad scientist films choose to engage in. It feels more reminiscent of the works of Shelley than of her derivative followers in the film world. Nothing lends itself to this unique sense of identity within the film’s genre quite like the film’s final shot of Christiane among the white doves - reminiscent of images of the Christ and the Holy Spirit or some similar iconography within an otherwise very grounded film. Perhaps that was Franju’s goal – to highlight the nature of the holy (or the moral) and its contrast to the amorality that science so often tends toward, particularly in the unique case of this film. Regardless, it makes for one of the most unique horror experiences I’ve ever watched, and it stands out in the pantheon of horror greats because of its ability to blend the sense of the supernatural with the very real and natural world.
The haunting realism and religious imagery of Eyes Without a Face carve it a unique niche within the greater horror pantheon and, therefore, a guaranteed spot among the Greatest Films of All Time. Its surprisingly intense moments of body horror and gore might be disconcerting to some audiences, but those who have steeled themselves against such squeamishness are sure to be rewarded by giving this film a watch. You can currently stream it on Max if you’d like to put a nice bookend on the fall season before fully jumping into this holiday time.