The Eyes of My Mother

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The Eyes of My Mother

R

Released Dec 2, 2016

1h 16m

Horror

Drama

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Popcornmeter

78%

Tomatometer

100 Reviews

57%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Francisca (Kika Magalhaes) has been unfazed by death from an early age because her mother, formerly a surgeon in Portugal, imbued her with a thorough understanding of the human anatomy. When tragedy shatters her family's idyllic life in the countryside, her deep trauma gradually awakens some unique curiosities. As she grows up, her desire to connect with the world around her takes a distinctly dark form.

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Critics Consensus

The Eyes of My Mother uses a shocking trauma to fuel a hauntingly hypnotic odyssey whose nightmarish chill lingers long after the closing credits.

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Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

The Blue Lenses

The Eyes of My Mother is an insightful, meaningful, and exquisitely beautiful horror film, and undoubtedly one of the genre's most important offerings of 2016.

Aug 25, 2018

Full Review

Tara Brady

Irish Times

The running time - or lack thereof - is a problem, but this otherwise perfectly ghoulish exercise marks Nicolas Pesce and his crew as talents to keep track of.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 26, 2017

Full Review

Dan Einav

Little White Lies

Watching Nicolas Pesce's insipid The Eyes of My Mother, it's clear that some directors should make sure they've mastered the basics before they try to do something new within the genre.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 27, 2017

Full Review

Kristy Strouse

Wonderfully Weird and Horrifying

The Eyes of My Mother is really one of a kind. Each scene is meticulously crafted, and it is one where the chilling atmosphere lives in you. A unique directorial debut that shouldn't be overlooked.

Oct 29, 2022

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Jason Adams

My New Plaid Pants

A bedtime freak-out fairy-tale for the genuinely disturbed

Jan 14, 2022

Full Review

Emma Wolfe

SpookyAstronauts

The way it twists and turns and follows this child's life as she leads into adulthood is very sickly entertaining.

Rated: 7/10

Apr 28, 2021

Full Review

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Waniya S

Wasn’t scary or too graphic, but like the movie was, I was expecting it to be too graphic.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/09/25

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Gabriel T

It's super scary. I see a strong Martyr's (2008) in it. It's quite gore and terrifying. The movie has its fair share of good character, especially the main character. It's impressive how she was wrote to be evil and, at the same time, you can feel her struggle. It makes the movie more nuanced and deep. The only drawn back is how Hollywood portrays other cultures as dangerous, but it happens all the time anyway

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/01/25

Full Review

Stoner J

Pesce’s first and best movie. Although a tad depressing, it’s super thrilling and horrific as well, and short and sweet

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/30/24

Full Review

Wayne K

A slow, meditative examination of family, grief and our obsession with murder, The Eyes Of My Mother is a film that’s certainly not to everyone’s taste. If you like your horror quick and chockfull of scares, then this isn’t the movie for you. It has shots that go on for a long time, large gaps in conversation and not much dialogue. It’s one you need to have patience with and absorb everything that’s going on. The lead isn’t an interesting character on her own, but it’s the events she goes through and her increasingly erratic actions that make the story so interesting. I don’t think it was necessary to open the film with a scene from later on, but it does at least look distinctive and create a sense of mystery, one which hangs over the entire story. It’s proof that we don’t need to like our lead to find them compelling and engaging, and while it might strain your patience at times I still think that, at only 76 minutes, it’s more than worth the watch.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/24/24

Full Review

J. T

Twisted and beautifully brutal. Subtle, unsubtle, and unsettling. Pesce put to film an evil romance with loneliness that's portrayed by conditioned reality into an unconsciousness acceptance. Like salt to chocolate.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/27/24

Full Review

Megan K

I saw this movie many years ago now, but I still vividly remember one of the first scenes in this movie, and it makes me cringe.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/16/24

Full Review

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Nicolas Pesce

Director

Kika Magalhães

Francisca

Will Brill

Charlie

Olivia Bond

Young Francisca

Paul Nazak

Father

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The Eyes of My Mother: Trailer 2

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The Eyes of My Mother: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Francisca (Kika Magalhaes) has been unfazed by death from an early age because her mother, formerly a surgeon in Portugal, imbued her with a thorough understanding of the human anatomy. When tragedy shatters her family's idyllic life in the countryside, her deep trauma gradually awakens some unique curiosities. As she grows up, her desire to connect with the world around her takes a distinctly dark form.

Director: Nicolas Pesce
Producer: Max Born, Schuyler Weiss, Jacob Wasserman
Screenwriter: Nicolas Pesce
Distributor: Magnet Releasing
Production Co: Magnet Releasing, Magnolia Pictures, Tandem Pictures, Borderline Films
Rating: R (Disturbing Violent Content|Disturbing Violent Behavior|Brief Nudity)
Genre: Horror, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 2, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 7, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $26.1K
Runtime: 1h 16m

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