Eye of the Devil

1967

1h 32m

Horror

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Reviews

57%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A French winegrower (David Niven) returns to Bordeaux with his wife (Deborah Kerr) and family to face ritual sacrifice for another bad year.

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dave s

When wealthy landowner Philippe (David Niven) returns to his vineyard in Bordeaux to address the failure of his crop, he is covertly followed by his wife (Deborah Kerr) and their two children. Much to her surprise, she soon discovers that her husband is to be the guest of honor at an age-old ceremony of human sacrifice. The premise of Eye of the Devil is fine, but the movie is maddeningly inconsistent throughout. There are individual shots that are wildly effective – a woman walking through the mansion, the shot perfectly framed and eerily lit, creating a genuinely creepy atmosphere. However, these moments are often immediately followed by something that looks like it was shot by a child with a dusty 8mm camera found in their grandfather's attic. Another inconsistency – Kerr is excellent in the lead role, but the rest of the cast walk about in some sort of zombie-state, shuffling about with unblinking eyes. Eye of the Devil isn't all bad, but it's mostly bad.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Fantastic film! Characters are so strong, even those that fall into the grey area between good or evil are so charismatic that you find yourself rooting for them. This is a 1967 Occult film that doesn't need to try, as good as the 1973 Wicker Man ? Better I think, just watch it please :)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

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Tom M

Suspenseful, creepy and completely silly with an ending that is so dissappointing. Kerr is the only one who acts in the film - the remainder of the cast just walks around with vacant stares (Pleasance and Hemmings provide the creepiness). One critic described Tate's debut as 'chillingly beautiful but expressionless'.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/04/21

Full Review

joe m

I'm a fan of hooey-rific, supernatural based movies and "Eye of the Devil" delivers on a lot of those elements, but doesn't quite pull it off. There's no reason to worry about spoiler alerts since the movie is practically shouting out from every scene what's to be expected. As a result, the film is totally lacking in any elements of suspense. Some of this is made up for in the rather convoluted plot about an ancient family's pagan roots - an element I loved - and by the spectacular Parisian apartment set and the stunning chateau used for most of the scens. But, that's just not enough. "Eye of the Devil" is ok, and just ok, if this is a genre you like.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Lee W

Deeply labored. Sharon Tate can really act though.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/11/19

Full Review

Audience Member

Dated but worth a 'look'....

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

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J. Lee Thompson

Director

Deborah Kerr

Catherine de Montfaucon

David Niven

Philippe de Montfaucon

Donald Pleasence

Pere Dominic

Edward Mulhare

Jean-Claude Ibert

Flora Robson

Countess Estell

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Given the director and that cast, this should have been much better.

Rated: 2/4

Oct 29, 2021

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

More atmospheric and gloomy than suspenseful.

Rated: B-

Nov 11, 2020

Full Review

Penelope Houston

The Spectator

The movie commits a kind of screen harakiri, flinging 'itself upon its own absurdities.

Jul 12, 2018

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Synopsis

A French winegrower (David Niven) returns to Bordeaux with his wife (Deborah Kerr) and family to face ritual sacrifice for another bad year.

Director: J. Lee Thompson
Production Co: Filmways Pictures
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2012
Runtime: 1h 32m

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