The Eyes of My Mother (2016) User Reviews

This one will stay with me

[starwarspasta · 7/10 · 8 September 2022]

It has been a while since a film has truly disturbed me. 'The Eyes of My Mother' is a minimalist film with a foreboding sense of isolation that I haven't felt in a long time. As a massive horror fan, few films can cause me to have a sick feeling in my stomach, but this was one of them. Unique, concise and unsettling. There is nothing extra in this film; no fluff, the 1 hour and 16 minute runtime is perfect to accomplish all that is needed.

The limited dialogue and black and white filter give it a surreal aspect, and the POV being from the protagonist solely is quite effective. It invoked feelings of sadness, terror, and disgust while viewing. Ultimately, it was a glimpse into the macabre that we don't get from garden variety Hollywood Horror.

A slow burn into hysteria.

[subxerogravity · 7/10 · 13 December 2016]

It was a wicked horror tale that was worth watching. The movie starts with the shot that let's you know it's going to be a black and white film, totally setting the tone.

The film is about a girl name Francesca who lives a very isolated life on a farm with her mom and dad. Her mom was teaching her life lessons like how to surgically remove eyeballs from the cows. Then one day Francesca loses her mom to a violent crime and her father shortly after. This is when we learn what it's like for a little girl to become a woman literally all by herself.

Francesca experience some pretty violent acts as a child that were treated like every day life and with no one to teach her otherwise, she grows up with little to no filter on the value of human life, except for that one raw emotion she has not to be alone, but one that she has not learned how deal with like the rest of us.

This was like watching the slow development of like Micheal Myers or Jason Voorhees. It's really a stroke of good fortune nobody opened a camp in the near by area.

It's a very quiet story of horror, so quiet it does not really register as one, it also has elements of torture porn, which, like the horror is very quiet, but it only makes the actions of Francesca more disturbing to watch as she tries and fails to figure out how to make friends and start a new family, which produces deadly results.

An amazing work of art that I would recommend for horror fans.

http://cinemagardens.com

The Eyes of My Mother

[quinimdb · 7/10 · 31 December 2016]

Within the first few scenes of "The Eyes of My Mother", we are confronted with one of the most disturbing and terrifying scenes in years. A young woman who works with her mother and father on a farm sits as her mother is brutally murdered in the room next to her, not moving or reacting, only to have her father come home and kill that man. What truly makes this scene as disturbing as it is, is how distant and detached the cinematography and editing make these scenes feel. There is no music in these scenes, and the murder isn't shown extensively, but rather briefly glimpsed at, before cutting to Francisca, the young girl, scrubbing her mother's blood off the floor.

The film is essentially a character study of this young girl, told in a structure that is strangely similar to this year's "Moonlight" (although an entirely different type of film). The first part covers her as a young girl after her mother's murder and her father's enslavement of her murderer, which slowly turns into Francisca's enslavement of her murderer. Her mother was an eye surgeon, and would often dissect cows with Francisca, making her far too comfortable with gore, which is only perpetuated by her murder and then the enslavement of her murderer. She begins to essentially use him as an animal, and pretty much turns him into an animal, depriving him of his sight and voice without flinching. She is completely isolated except for with her father. That changes when he dies, sending her into a descent further into madness.

The film is incredibly disturbing, possibly one of the most disturbing I have ever seen, and this is largely due to how the cinematography and editing almost mirrors the main character's point of view. There are many long, static shots without music, viewing horrible acts as flatly and coldly as the main character does. On top of this, the film often doesn't focus particularly on the murders, cutting to after it has taken places. This gives a sense that this horrible act is simply trivial for this main character. The stark black and white aids this sense of detachment.

The exploration of this character throughout the film is disturbing and hard to watch, but incredibly well realized and well written, with just enough subtlety and ambiguity in the character to give her depth. The film is painfully realistic and doesn't shy away from the psychological horrors of trauma, isolation, and helplessness.

A Disquieting, Disturbing & Demented Horror That Paints An Unsettling Portrait Of Loneliness

[CinemaClown · 18 January 2017]

Crafted with restraint, told with startling composure, and all the more uplifted by Kika Magalhaes' downright deranged performance, The Eyes of My Mother is a disquieting, disturbing & demented psychological horror that paints one of the most unsettling portraits of loneliness & perversion but it isn't a film that's meant to appease all.

The Eyes of My Mother tells the story of Francisca, a young girl living a quiet life with her family in a remote farm. But when a stranger appears in her house & promptly kills her mother before being knocked out & chained by her father in the barn, the trauma of the tragedy unravels Francisca's deepest & darkest desires in unexpected ways.

Written & directed by Nicolas Pesce in what's his directorial debut, the story follows a three-tier structure, each focusing on Francisca's personal growth and is narrated in a very patient manner as Pesce allows the silence & stillness to ratchet up the anxiety while delivering moments of pure horror that only get more unsettling as the story progresses.

Employing a minimalist approach, Pesce takes the route of slow-burn storytelling which works out in the film's favour as even moments of nothingness end up adding something to its grisly tale and, in turn, make those violent, perturbing scenes stand out even more. Further assisting its ominous tone is its black-n-white cinematography, methodical editing & muted score.

Coming to the acting department, The Eyes of My Mother is Kika Magalhaes' show all the way as she carries the entire film on her own and delivers a bone-chilling performance. It's a quiet showcase from the young actress, conveying more from her unblinking gaze & silent expressions than the choice of words, and provides an unnerving insight into her character's psyche.

On an overall scale, The Eyes of My Mother is a gruesome example of body horror that's definitely not for the easily distressed and packs many moments that are powerful enough to linger on long after the credits have rolled. Managing to get under the skin with startling ease, this little art-house endeavour is a dark, twisted & nightmarish study of a disturbed character who is consumed by her loneliness in devastating ways. Definitely worth a shot.

Movie too dragging and ending too sudden

[luisgentil · 6/10 · 28 February 2017]

The black and white and the Portuguese fado really set a great atmosphere in this movie. It sets the stage for a horrifying and disturbing story.

But until near the end of the movie nothing actually happens, except for some background story. The few dialogues are monosyllabic, scenes are cut just when they start to get interesting, and the entire movie is interspersed with long dragging static scenes and exaggerated time leaps. Character development here is practically zero.

When the real substance of the plot begins, the movie is 20 minutes from the end.

The choices made here are confusing. The entire movie is about 75 minutes long, and although they abuse static scenes (making it feel a lot longer, by the way), they couldn't spare 3 or 5 more minutes to make a decent ending. The ending is clear to the viewer, but as with all interesting scenes, it is cut short just before the climax.

Partially successful foreign language art-house horror

[johnnyrev · 7/10 · 27 February 2017]

'The Eyes of my Mother' is a morbid and austere little horror flick with a disturbing premise, disturbing imagery and heavy implications. Unfortunately, as with many other prestige horror movies with pretensions to high art, although it's beautifully shot in crisp b/w it suffers from a typical lack of ideas and intellectual depth, resulting in a depressing and empty experience, rather than an exhilarating, educating or illuminating one. Watch it and decide, but don't watch it with the family.

Not a horror - but fantastic film

[annrie_1 · 7/10 · 23 February 2017]

For people who are expecting a slasher or bloody and gore film then this isn't one for you...

Probably one of the best films of this year and the cinematography in black and white is brilliant and just adds to the suspense of the film throughout.

Personally I loved that this film made me feel uncomfortable the entire time never knowing what was going to happen.

It makes you feel sympathetic to the main character but also for the rest of the cast as well in a messed up way!

I am not going to let anything away with this film but for commercial horror fans this isn't for you.

Think the anti Christ without sex but with a stunning female lead who work solo through out and make us fall in love yet hate and also feel Sorry for her all at the same time!

A must see

So smart it's stupid /s

[draftdubya · 2/10 · 9 April 2017]

She managed to live in the only town without mail, police, door to door salesmen, or church people. She manage to live in a town WHERE NO ONE WONDER WERE ARE THESE MISSING PEOPLE GOING. She finds a Asian woman(It can't be that many of them living in rural America at that time) at a bar in town, but NO one seems to notice this. She captures a woman WITH A BABY, but still NO even bothers to look. We're talking about a rural area were everybody knows each others business. I have no clue how she was able to make money to keep the power on. Maybe she sold livestock, NO, because people in said town would've known her.

Spellbinding

[dfranzen70 · 8/10 · 6 February 2019]

Spellbinding tale of an unwell, isolated young woman who has no idea that she's unwell. Just a mesmerizing performance by Kika Magalhães in the lead, and shot in exquisite black and white. It's a very dark, off-putting movie, and it's definitely not for everyone. Director Nicolas Pesce makes great use of the film's short running time (under 80 minutes) and relatively claustrophobic atmosphere. VERY well done.

If your looking for disturbing. this movie is for you.

[chrislesmckis · 6/10 · 21 April 2017]

ummmm, if your looking for an extremely disturbing movie then i guess this is a good pick. i didn't like it for that reason. it was senselessly disturbing, like watching someone throw up into a bowl and make someone else eat it. im giving it a high rating because it freaked me out, succeeding in that respect, but not a perfect score because it was PAINFULLY SLOW. So slow in fact, that i could write a few emails and hold a conversation with someone without missing anything important.

Don't accept the invite!

[wrightiswright · 5/10 · 8 January 2017]

Just another lovely day at your isolated farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. You milk the cattle, muck out the pigs, feed the captive in the barn you've held prisoner for years who's eyes you gauged out... WHAT?! Yes, you read that right. The protagonist here is a certifiable headcase who just wants your company, but instead of a nice chat over a cup of tea, she requires you to stay FOREVER. When she was young you see, her mother taught how to dissect animals, then she saw the same woman chopped up in front of her by an aimless drifter. No surprisingly she's ever so slightly messed up... Shot in eerie black and white, 'The Eyes Of My Mother' is an atmospheric horror film with a great premise, but something is missing to make it a priority watch. It might be too short to leave much of an impression, the acting generally isn't the best and with so little happening, things tend to drag a little. The ending too, feel like a major anticlimax. True, it's hard to imagine the film finishing any other way, but... yeah. Could be better. 5/10

Genuinely a work of cinematic art. And I hated it.

[S_Soma · 10/10 · 7 December 2016]

THE EYES OF MY MOTHER

Executive summary: Unquestionably a horror masterpiece. But unless you LIKE being horrified in an especially nauseating way, I would recommend avoiding this one.

Within the first 9 minutes of this movie, including the opening credits and a foreshadowing sequence, a young girl of perhaps 9 or 10 years old has a ringside seat at the brutal murder of her mother by a serial killer. The fact that this scene is NOT the most horrific scene/event in this movie, nor even remotely so, should give you some idea of what seeing this movie is like.

There is horror and then there is horror. There is horror, writ small, in movies like ALIEN or POLTERGEIST; thrills and chills and jump- scares that make for an exciting movie-going experience, but unless you're a child, no real dents or scratches on your psychological or emotional paint job. Everything that happens is so far outside of your first- hand experience, or even the possibility of your first-hand experience, there isn't much opportunity for deep impact.

And then there is HORROR, writ large. In such movies, all of you is fair game, especially your head. All of the myriad ways in which a human being can experience horror, usually expressed as a vivid spectrum of unimaginable suffering inflicted deliberately by and to others, are excruciatingly detailed on screen.

In point of fact, most horror pictures don't really have a lot of subtlety or depth to them in that the elements of horror depicted are most often shallow representations of gore or make-believe monsters/supernatural scares. As people, for the most part, such representations don't really touch us in any way that is emotionally or psychologically painful. There isn't much chance that you're going to experience a bunch of ghosts or space aliens attacking on any given day. Such things are sugar candy terrors from our imagination and carry very little lasting emotional impact.

But a horror story in which gore is relegated to a mere visual condiment in the context of emotional deadness, affection starvation, isolation, genuinely devastating psychological damage, sociopathic disconnection, et al. is what I might term, for lack of a better description, REAL horror. Real bad things that can and do happen to real people at the hands of other real people to the point where you become confused whether anyone ISN'T a real monster in one way or another. This is horror that is carefully calculated, artfully designed, beautifully crafted, and finally, perfectly polished and balanced. I don't know this for a fact, but I suspect the film was shot in black-and-white because the ordinarily bright colors of gore are very muted in black-and-white, and the director didn't want them distracting from the subtler but more powerful horror going on.

In THE EYES OF MY MOTHER, I don't think any thought was given to entertainment value because it wasn't relevant to the objective. This was a creation of a gifted connoisseur of horror, and it's finesse carried me well past my tolerance for such things.

I give the movie top marks because it's genuinely artistic cinema and exceptionally well made. The creators set out to create a certain kind of movie and they hit their target squarely. Which is not the same thing as saying that I liked it, because I didn't. The only note in it that did not ring completely true to me was the notion that a woman surgeon from Portugal would somehow end up the wife of an aged farmer in the middle of nowhere in America. This device was necessary to the plot, but it does strain credulity.

Primarily, I watch movies for the purposes of being entertained. I can recognize genuine art in almost any medium, and this movie definitely qualifies as that. But for me, it was not entertainment. I didn't take points off for that fact because it wasn't trying to be.

But I have an awareness that Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Josef Mengele are concrete, historical facts and part of the real world. Also, "according to former chief of the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, John Douglas, there are 25 to 50 active serial killers in the United States at any given moment". Everything in THE EYES OF MY MOTHER has the odor of the entirely possible. There is nothing of the outlandish or wildly unbelievable about it. If you don't ever experience any of the 31 Flavors of Horror depicted in this movie in the course of your life, it's only a coincidental, happy circumstance. I really don't want to experience a horror picture that works so hard to GET AT YOU in this way.

I can "appreciate" the skillfulness and artistry with which this movie was created. I can't see how anyone with any subtlety, intelligence and even a shred of empathy could possibly "enjoy" it. I wouldn't have enjoyed watching Josef Mengele do his "work", either.

Messed up and yet sympathetic film

[KineticSeoul · 6/10 · 20 January 2017]

This is a gruesome and yet abstract movie that will be difficult for some audiences to sit through. Not because it's overly full of gruesome scenes, but because of the psychologically disturbing parts. As a matter of fact, this film surprisingly changes scene before a violent and gory parts are about to take place. The black and white cinematography actually adds to the visual effects and make the film appear more ethereal and psychotic. This film delves into the mental instability of a girl that witnesses traumatic and messed up stuff. And has to deal with seclusion and loneliness that overcomes her. From the beginning the film appeared very psychedelic and brought about a very creepy vibe. What stands out about this film is some of the unexpected turn of events. And how it builds sympathy for the protagonist because of her longing to be loved. Overall, this isn't a film I would see again, despite the very short run time it did feel a bit tedious after a while. However if you are in the mood for a short disturbing, psychotic and ambient horror movie.

6.5/10

Fatuous Tripe

[Neil_Durrant · 3/10 · 5 February 2019]

This film may come across quite well if you're naive of the likes of Lynch and the Cohen Brothers, but having seen it done SO much better, to me this film is try-hard mindless nonsense. To get away with this kind of aesthetic and style, you need a compelling plot for it to hang from, so that it acts as dressing as you journey along, absorbed. This film just strings along a lot of "arty" shots with a girl with a black bob and enough loose ends to tie you up in frustration at the sheer over-reliance on genre.

Beautifully filmed and quite disturbing. Stunning debut feature.

[Red_Identity · 4 December 2016]

Incredibly well-made. Created with a confidence and assurance of the material, I was shocked to learn that it was from a first time director and writer. Saying that, I don't think the film goes as far as it needs to. I do feel like its very short running time is felt. It's not always the easiest film to watch, it's quite disturbing in a frighteningly quiet way. It's beautifully filmed and directed, with a stunning lead performance at its core. I'll see how it fares with me over time but as of now I like it quite a bit. 2016 has been a great year for horror and this only continues that tradition. I definitely recommend this for horror fans that want intelligence in their films.

Remove "horror" from the genre section.

[makotoshintaro · 6/10 · 4 December 2016]

OK, to begin with, this is not a horror movie. This is a drama. A gory, disturbing drama, with a unique plot, really good acting and quite messy direction... Seriously, the "horror" tag should be removed from the genre section 'cause it's quite misleading.

The black and white element was successful to me - it made splatter scenes less unpleasant - and gave the movie a noir atmosphere at points. Kika Magalhaes' acting was breathtaking.

I felt though that there were some gigantic gaps regarding the direction. No information about many basic things that left me with some unanswered questions. After a point, I also felt that the movie just started making circles. I don't know if that's happened because of lack of inspiration, but it was quite obvious.

Sad, depressive, beautiful, ugly, disturbing, sick, tragic...

[arturmachado-29588 · 7/10 · 20 January 2017]

Synopsis (and spoilers) of the first 20 minutes:

60's or 70's of the 20th century somewhere in the USA. An isolated farm in the middle of nowhere. A family apparently normal. The mother, former surgeon in Portugal, teaches her 10 years old or so daughter Francisca how to tend the cattle and how to prepare it as food, denoting that from early age she is not sensitized by the sight of entrails. They also speak both in English and Portuguese.

One day a strange appears, revealing himself to be a psychopath that kills the mother just before the father arrives. Somehow off-screen (and there are many moments off-screen but with explicit message) the killer ends up beaten and chained in the barn.

The years pass and the child becomes a woman without any social nor moral values due to her extreme isolation, incapable of distinguishing good from evil (and the father does not help either due to his apathetic personality or perhaps he became so after the trauma of losing his wife).

When the father dies, the loneliness of Francisca becomes overwhelming, being that every attempt at human contact ends up tragically for those unfortunate ones who cross paths with her.

My verdict:

The movie is in black and white (which plays on its favor), does not contain too many gore, is extremely slow paced even for just 76 minutes of its duration, but the images and message are strong and disturbing enough to be clearly classified as horror. Horror more psychological than visual, but yet highly effective. The only negative aspect I have to point is the fact that the daughter speaks Portuguese better than the mother, which is odd, but since the mother as little screen time it does not affect the overall quality.

If you're looking for gore this is not the movie; but if you seek a truly terrifying story, then I highly recommend it.

bizarre horror story in art-house style

[trashgang · 6/10 · 30 January 2017]

This is a difficult one, i mean, it's a horror story but everything is done off-camera so no red stuff or to be honest nothing at all and still some do find it rather creepy.

Being shot in black and white doesn't make it easier to watch. It do has an overall art-house overlook so many geeks in the horror genre will stop this flick quickly. But it's worth picking up, at this writing it's all over the world being shown at festivals. Why should you watch it, well, if you're into art-house you will love this or if you do like creepy stories then this is also a must see. You are left with your imagination and you will be pushed in your mind that this could happen with the girl next door. It's all seeing normal but it isn't because torture and in fact child abuse are the main theme. With eyes being poked out and having sex with your victims is very rare to watch.

What turns out to be a home invasion turns a complete different way. Be open minded and see this rather bizarre story.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 0/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

A Prententious and Painfully Slow Horror Film

[trublu215 · 3/10 · 19 April 2017]

The Eyes of My Mother tells the story of a young girl as she is subjected to a horrific and violent event that leads to her mother being killed at her family's remote farmhouse. As the father comes home, he knocks out her killer and decides to hold him hostage in a barn. Sounds good, right? Wrong! The Eyes of My Mother is one of the most pretentious and idiotic attempts at creating an atmospheric film that I've ever seen. Filmed in the stark beauty of black and white, the film never exceeds more than 60 shots and each shot lingers for far too long in hopes of creating tension. It doesn't. Instead, the film tries to make the most out of its paper thin plot by stretching out everything. The dialog is stretched, the shots are stretched, everything feels stretched so thin that it is hard to even determine whether the film had enough in its tank to fill the short runtime. At 76 minutes, this film should have been snappy and very intriguing. It ends up feeling like 176 minutes. It's painfully slow and boring and it is clear that director Nicolas Pesce was determined to make a feature length film on a subject that a short film could have handsomely supported. Overall, The Eyes of My Mother is one of the slowest and emptiest films I've ever seen. Despite its look and decent acting, the film suffers from a poor script and terrible pacing.

A quiet, disturbing horror film.

[Wolf_King_1982 · 9/10 · 10 June 2017]

I went into this knowing a little about it and came out pleasantly surprised. A fantastic psychological horror film and a great character study. I loved the black-and-white filter. It added to the already unsettling feel. The music and camera work also added to the suspense. Clocking in at just 76 minutes, it may seem short but the run time is actually one of it's many strengths. It never feels bloated and never overstays it's welcome. It's a slow moving film, but I never felt disinterested. In fact, I was sucked in from beginning to end. This is indie horror at it's best. I loved it so much, that right after it ended, I ordered the Blu-Ray off of Amazon. Who said that the horror genre was dead?

The Eyes of My Mother (2016)

[fntstcplnt · 7/10 · 31 October 2019]

Directed by Nicholas Pesce. Starring Kika Magalhães, Will Brill, Olivia Bond, Paul Nazak, Clara Wong, Diana Agostini, Fiora Diaz, Joey Curtis-Green. (R)

Stark, sinister story of isolated, traumatized girl (Bond as a child, Magalhães as an adult) whose values are so compromised (to say the least) and curiosities so disturbing, that she's capable of horrors that feel vividly real and outlandish in the same venomous breath. To say more would spoil the disquieting surprises, but it's rare for evil to be witnessed in such confused, guileless terms that one questions the true definition of "evil" (nature vs. nurture?). Not for all tastes, to be sure, and certainly not the squeamish--there's not much blood-and-guts gore to see, but plenty is implied, primarily through the nauseating use of sound. The presentation is chilling and matter-of-fact, though the particulars of the story logic are fable-esque; more background would have helped, and there are too many irrational leaps to take, especially when the timeline shifts ahead several years on multiple occasions. Despite that significant flaw, the film is still capable of lingering, nightmare-inducing power. The Stygian shadows cast from the black & white photography make some sections of the film feel like they're being transmitted from the depths of an abyss.

73/100

A Lot of Hype, Fairly Fulfilling

[bajmba · 4/10 · 3 December 2016]

The horror movie websites have been hyping this movie.

The previews indicated this movie won awards.

Even the reviews here on this website made it seem as if it was going to be the horror movie of the year.

There is a very good idea here.

For us, the movie didn't go far enough with the ideas.

It was strong in places but didn't go all out as to the horror element.

The ending was abrupt. It didn't flow well at that point. I felt as if they ran out of ideas or didn't know how to end the movie.

Overall, it was a cut above many recent releases.

Great character study in a beautiful psychotic film.

[robfollower · 10/10 · 20 October 2018]

The Eyes of My Mother is a film that really pay off on many levels. The cinematic art film on one hand. Yet A slasher picture with no attempts at irony. Hauntingly hypnotic. The film is very delicate and precise in it psychotic violence as to be difficult to analyze or describe. I would go so far to say The Eyes of My Mother is an insightful, meaningful, and exquisitely beautiful horror film, and undoubtedly one of the genre's most important offerings .

Isolation as the Medium for Amoral Growth?

[captainpass · 6/10 · 31 December 2021]

This is a bit of a hard one to peg. Stylistically, the tone and cinematography remind me a great deal of "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" (2014). TEOMM features some rather arresting and carefully selected black and white framed shots while also largely avoiding the use of dialogue. Tone and visuals count more here than verbal narrative.

Yet to the extent there is a story line here, TEOMM might be compared to something like "Deranged" (1973) or McGee's "May" (2002) or "The Woman" (2011). It is a beautiful film in many respects. But it is also quite cold and dispassionate. It almost plays like a thought experiment performed on a certain character type.

The character? The striking Kika Magalhaes plays the principal character "Francesca," who is depicted as being at once deeply lonely, indifferent to the pain of others and rather conscious of the moral qualities to her predicament. Francesca is a free floating atom that never quite bonds in the proper way with the other humans she comes into contact with. Yet we do not know enough about her background to, say, blame her issues on "mom" ("Psycho," "Deranged") or her own victimhood ("Closure").

So, in the end, I have trouble pinning down what the "point" of this film is. It is not a slasher flick in any conventional sense of that word. Magalhaes appears to have been selected for her physical beauty and apparent delicacy, while also conveying the determined acts of a calculating "survivor." Yet TEOMM really is not a character study or a social commentary on survivorship. We only get glimpses of what makes Francesca tick, and there certainly is no cathartic victory over circumstances. In the end, I recommend this one just because it is so engaging and beautifully filmed.

Points for originality and good use of black and white but not much else

[CBfilmbuff · 2/10 · 22 August 2021]

The Eyes of my Mother is like M. Night Shyamalan's The Lady in the Water: it gets points for originality but it botched up its execution. I cannot tell you how many times, in this films just under 80min runtime, I rolled my eyes and asked myself "why?" and "how"? Why is this character doing this and/or that? How has no one called the police? Where did that weapon come from because he was clearly not concealing anything? The lead has no character. Other than her being crazy. And any attempt at character is conveniently skipped over almost like the film is using its inability to write solid characterization by telling us to fill in the blanks. If so, this film never meets you halfway. Quite a slog, depite it only being 76 minutes. If I had to choose which was better between this and the directors follow up Piercing, I would still say this one because as dumb as it is, it's still trying to be original and its black and white does give it an edge is a better choice for this story over being in color, giving the film, aesthetically at least, a bit more life to it. Other than that, this film dog you-know-what.