Eight Eyes

Emily Sweet delivers a strong, and very believable, performance as "Cass" in the first half of "Eight Eyes." Unfortunately, this character study is lost (or at least put to the side) in the second half of the film.

Sweet is entirely credible as the increasingly exasperated young wife of "Gav" (Bradford Thomas) who befriends the rather odd "Saint Peter" (Bruno Veljanovski) during their journey through Serbia. The smiling (or is it smirking?) Saint Peter functions as their erst-while tour guide from early in the film, though Cass almost immediately suspects he is not what he represents. She certainly resents Saint Peter's inappropriate comments and hair-trigger tendencies, despite Gav's decision to continually placate their new "friend" in the name of getting along.

Of course, it is Cass' suspicions that eventually prove correct, but by that point the film has left behind the careful character studies and simply copies (as other viewers have noted) such films as "Hostel" and the "Texas Chain Saw Massacre." The second half does not so much suffer from this decision as waste an opportunity to be a different type of entry.

If you're in the mood for a bizarre and twisted journey that blends the mundane with the otherworldly, 'Eight Eyes' might be the cinematic trip you didn't know you needed. Directed by Austin Jennings, this 2023 film takes a couple's strained relationship and hurls it into the realm of the surreal, leaving viewers both intrigued and bewildered.

As the film opens, we're introduced to Cass and Gav, a couple whose relationship is hanging by a thread. Their decision to travel through Serbia seems like a last-ditch effort to salvage their love, but little do they know, they're about to stumble into a web of strangeness spun by the enigmatic Saint Peter. The initial setup is intriguing; a troubled couple, a mysterious local, and the exotic backdrop of the Balkans create a perfect storm of tension and intrigue.

Jennings masterfully crafts an atmosphere of unease as the trio embarks on their impromptu adventure. The Serbian landscapes, with their rugged beauty, become a character in their own right, adding an eerie sense of isolation. The film excels at building a sense of foreboding, with Saint Peter's eccentric behavior and cryptic references to psychic abilities leaving the audience as uncertain as Cass and Gav about what lies ahead.

As the story unfolds, 'Eight Eyes' takes a sharp turn into the realm of the occult, blurring the lines between reality and hallucination. The rituals and supernatural elements introduced are both captivating and disorienting, making it challenging for viewers to discern what's real. This descent into the surreal is both the film's strength and weakness. While it provides an intriguing twist, it also risks losing viewers who prefer a more grounded narrative. The film's exploration of the human psyche and the potential for self-deception is fascinating, but it may leave some viewers feeling like they're being led down a rabbit hole of confusion.

The performances are commendable, with the actors successfully conveying the growing unease and desperation within their characters. As the story progresses, the dynamics between the trio become increasingly complex, adding layers to the narrative. However, the script's reliance on cryptic dialogue and vague motivations might leave some viewers frustrated, wishing for more clarity amidst the chaos.

'Eight Eyes' is undoubtedly a bold and daring cinematic endeavor. It offers a unique blend of psychological thriller and occult horror, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea. The film's exploration of the unknown and the human mind is both its allure and its downfall, as it can be simultaneously fascinating and frustrating.

You wonder why the makers of films like "Eight Eyes" pull out all the stops in making a film that looks like a grindhouse flick from the '70s when the movie itself could only have been made in modern times.

It's shot on old cameras, has retro-style introductory titles, and a low-key synthesiser score like something sampled on a Moog, but the relationships and characters are straight out of any modern movie.

It seems to clash.

It doesn't help that most of the movie feels like a rip-off of "Hostel", a movie from the new millennium, and only seems to ape "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" toward the end of it.

I didn't really get it. Why evoke so much of Yugoslav culture and history, just to finish off in a splatter fest that could have happened anywhere?

Nor did I really understand what the ending was getting at. There's a long hallucinatory sequence that was maybe just in the movie to make it seem more dingy and grindhouse?

Also I didn't really understand how our unlikeable protagonist went from the streets of Macedonia to the hide-out of the bad guys, nor what the bad guys actually wanted with them. What was with the naked fat guy in the mask?

Maybe that was just a nod to Texas Chainsaw, ie. This movie's version of Leatherface.

Whatever. By that time I was mostly just waiting for the movie to end.

Austin Jennings creates a darkly romantic portrait of Serbian family dysfunction. It explores a couple's (Cass and Gav) travels while filming footage with vintage equipment.

The story follows them until meeting a stranger, Saint Peter. Then like with many cinematic tropes of the American tourists in a foreign country, things go array.

It's slow moving but if you are a film technie, this film is for you. The director explores Italian filmmaking, 70s Giallo and horror genres by using practical effects with a selection of cameras. Although Jennings really tried to produce something new, rather than mimicking.

The acting by Emily Sweet as Cass, the woman in peril, holds the storytelling with the performance of Bruno Veljanovski as Saint Peter. Location shots are well photographed and as well as interior shots of trains, apartments, etc.

Caught this tonight on Shudder and really liked it even though I didn't understand the ending, which I will not.spoil for you. It doesn't reach the level of gruesome horror of A Serbian Film or Life and Death of a Porno Gang, but it's in that neighborhood. There's a sense of menace early on and you'll think you know where that ominous feeling Is coming from, but you'll be wrong. The tension is unrelenting and the characters and situations are interesting. The films atmosphere reminded me a little of Hostel but the plots of the two movies are very different, of course. It kept me guessing what was going on. But the ending was so crazy all I could do was shake my damn head and say Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!