From the early films of Georges (A TRIP TO THE MOON) Melies, to the horrors of H.G.Clouzot (LE CORBEAU, DIABOLIQUE), to the vampire madness of Jean Rollin, France has a long history with le cinema fantastique. EYES WITHOUT A FACE is one of the most eerie of all French horrors, it’s dreamlike quality capturing the viewer, even with subtitles. I’m not a big fan of foreign films, but EYES WITHOUT A FACE stood out to me as a perfect example of how quiet horror can be just as effective as full-throttle terror.

The story unfolds slowly, deliberately, as we see a woman (Alida Valli) driving down a lonely highway. There’s someone or something in her backseat, bundled up in a hat and topcoat. The woman pulls over when a car comes behind her, nervous, scared. When it passes, she carries what we now see as a female corpse, dropping it into the Siene River…