Eyes without a face/They got no human grace…The Unenthusiastic Critic's 2022 Halloween Movie Marathon continues with Georges Franju's influential French horror classic Eyes Without a Face (Les yeux sans visage) from 1960, starring Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, and Edith Scob.
The mask from Eyes Without a Face is one of the most haunting images in cinematic history, and inspired everyone from John Carpenter to Billy Idol. So, first this week, we're having a discussion about iconic masks in horror movies—from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to Halloween to Friday the 13th to The Strangers—and trying to get to the bottom of just why they're so creepy.
Then, we're sitting down for our first viewing of Eyes Without a Face, Franju's poetic and brutal masterpiece about grief, guilt, surgical malpractice, and the high cost of beauty.
Join us for a conversation in which the masks—and the gloves—come off.
Program
00:00: Preliminary Conversation: Creepy Masks
22:21: Musical Interlude: "Creepy Doll" by Jonathan Coulton
23:37: Cultural Osmosis: Pre-Viewing Discussion
28:31: Interlude: Guillermo Del Toro on Eyes Without a Face
29:45: The Verdict: Post-Viewing Discussion
1:08:32: Outro and Next Week's Movie
1:11:35: Outtake
Notes and Links
—Movie Reviewed: Eyes Without a Face (dir. Georges Franju, Lux, 1960).
—Links and References: Review by Isabel Quiqly, The Spectator; Review in Monthly Film Bulletin, Vol. 27, no. 312; "Ick Flicks," David Edelstein, Slate; "To Cut or Not to Cut? The POV Shots in Eyes Without a Face," Andrew Hahn, Bright Lights Film Journal; "The 100 Best Horror Films of All Time," Time Out; Review by Kenneth Turan, LA Times (quoted here); Adam Savage Interview with Guillermo Del Toro on Eyes Without a Face, Criterion Channel.
—Find additional episodes, leave a comment, or make a donation to support the podcast at unaffiliatedcritic.com.
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—"Creepy Doll" by Jonathan Coulton is licensed under CC BY NC 3.0.
—Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre" by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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