Review by Chris Rennirt

Some movies are exceptional not because of what they create as an end result or product, but for the events experienced during the process. Regardless of how little sense the movie makes along the way or in the end, it’s still a great ride getting there. The Eyes of My Mother (written and directed by Nicolas Pesce) is just such a process-rich film, captivating us in every moment, while keeping us in the dark about where we’re going and if there’s a purpose. Long after I realized that The Eyes of My Mother was such a film, I still knew it would be one I would never forget, if not call a favorite. If it wasn’t so rich in art-house imagery and screenshots that look like prize-winning photos, I’d call it popcorn packaged in haute couture. Instead, it’s far from popcorn. It’s actually something most exciting happening in horror.

Olivia Bond (as the young Francisca) in The Eyes of My Mother

What’s it all about? In a secluded farmhouse, a mother (a former surgeon) teaches her daughter, Francisca (Kika Magalhães) anatomy, and that life and death are not to be feared. One afternoon, a mysterious visitor shatters their idyllic family life, deeply traumatizing Francisca, but also awakening curiosities. Years later, clinging to her aging father, the trauma reawakens, as her desire to connect with the world around her takes on a dark form.

“I remember I was fascinated how the inside of the body looked.” ~ Francisca

Here, desire in a “dark form” creates a monster with whom we can identify and for whom we can have empathy. Instead of a monster lurking in the shadows, ready to jump out and scare us, this is a human being, made into a monster by circumstances and evils in the world that are uncontrollable. Developed honestly and logically from experiences we understand and recognize, it still defies its innocence and outward appearance. Everyone processes the world in different ways, and The Eyes of My Mother is the story of one person’s process. The story’s pathway to transformation, although extreme, is all the more horrifying, exactly because it is “logical” and possible.

Mother (Diana Agostini) and a gun in The Eyes of My Mother

One of the great things about The Eyes of My Mother is its unpredictablility. I rarely thought I knew what would happen next and, as a result, I was captivated from beginning to end. Events and behavior in the film are often bizarre, unconforming to formula and stereotype, almost avant-garde and surrealistic. Even when I thought I knew what would happen, the suspense and tension were no less; what I anticipated (thanks to the film’s dread-rich atmosphere) was often so extreme that it was worse than the outcome. What an incredible rebirth for the horror genre this could be, as possibly that “most exciting” thing I mentioned earlier, but didn’t name–originality! Movies like Eraserhead and Tetsuo: The Iron Man come to mind as forerunners, on a very short list.

Kika Magalhães (as Francisca) in The Eyes of My Mother

Making this film in black and white was another choice that made the difference between popcorn fare and art on film. Tonal contrasts overall are vivid, dramatic, and high impact, spanning the range of monochromatic palates, more effective than color could have been. In black and white, viewer attention also focuses on subtleties of textural detail as a visual highlight, emphasizing physical horrors of the flesh even more. And only a film like The Eyes of My Mother could inspire such a review like this from me, almost as a muse itself.

If the movie has a message or meaning, it is either simple or complex, depending or your perspective. Perhaps, it’s just about loneliness, utter lack of socialization, and the imaginable consequences of both. Or, perhaps, it’s about results darker and deadlier than anyone would imagine–results of the utmost horror, because their origin is human. Perhaps we are also reminded of how the things (and people) we love–the very relationships we create, cling to, and protect–can kill us in the end; how our dependence on them can be deadly to ourselves and others. And such is the story that is The Eyes of My Mother.

If you’re an outside-the-box (or outside-the-genre) thinker like me, The Eyes of My Mother is definitely a movie not to miss. It’s a bold, new vision for horror, if not a rebirth, in a genre starved for something original and experimental. Process-oriented horror, fleshed out in unfamiliar ways, leads to revelations of the human condition and monsters unimagined. Although some may curse me later for recommending it, I will anyway. I will even shout it from the rooftops if necessary, with only one disclaimer. Don’t expect to understand the movie at all, necessarily…and bring the popcorn just in case.

Rocket Rating – 10

Chris Rennirt is a movie critic and writer in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as editor in chief at Space Jockey Reviews. He has been a judge at many film festivals, including Macabre Faire Film Festival and Crimson Screen Film Fest, and he attends horror and sci-fi conventions often. Chris’ movie reviews, articles, and interviews are published regularly on Space Jockey Reviews and in Effective Magazine.