Film Recommendation: Eyes Without a Face (1962)

George Franju's Eyes Without a Face (Les Yeux Sans Visage in the original French) is a horror film built on a solid foundation of melancholy and despair rather than shock-fest fright. At its heart, Eyes is the story of a father who becomes a monster to atone for an accident that left his daughter literally without a face. The tale is plenty dark, and its combination of imagery, pacing, and subtly building music creates a poetic, somber tone that haunts after the final, surreal scene.

Known among some circles for a key scene--a bit of film history where a woman's face is surgically removed with a scalpel, and yes the camera allows no escape during that seminal moment--the film as a whole delivers an unflinching sense of sorrow and regret.



(He later transplants the skin on his own daughter...ewww.)

I give it 8.5/10 surgical scalpels.

Eyes Without a Face at allmovie.com and imdb.com