Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
Eyes without a Face
Georges Franju’s gorgeous, poetic horror film about a surgeon’s dark obsession with restoring his daughter’s disfigured face.
Director: Georges Franju
Overview
Pierre Brasseur (Le Quai des brumes, Les Enfants du Paradis) is Dr Génessier, a brilliant and obsessive plastic surgeon driven by the need to restore his daughter’s disfigured face and push the boundaries of his field. Aided by his loyal assistant Alida Valli (The Third Man, Suspiria), who lures young women to his secluded chateau in pursuit of his dark quest.
Initially intended as a French response to Hammer horror films, Eyes Without a Face transcended its exploitation origins when young filmmaker and founder member of the Cinémathèque Française, Georges Franju, was hired to direct. The passionate cineaste imbued the production with expressionist mood and poetic grace, inspired by his love of silent cinema and the fantastique serials of Louis Feuillade. With gorgeous black and white photography by Eugen Schüfftan (The Hustler), a haunting waltz score from Maurice Jarre (Laurence of Arabia) and a twisted script finessed by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac (Vertigo), Eyes Without a Face is a cult horror classic that has been a major influence on filmmakers such as Jesús Franco, John Carpenter and Pedro Almodóvar.
Contains moderate bloody medical horror and violenceRelated
Let the Right One In Let the Right One In
Horror 2008 115 mins Director: Tomas Alfredson
A twelve-year-old boy befriends a mysterious girl with a dark secret, in Tomas Alfredson’s grownup tale of childhood vampirism.
The Love Witch The Love Witch
Comedy 2016 121 mins Director: Anna Biller
A modern-day witch uses spells and magic to get men to fall in love with her, in Anna Biller's outrageous tribute to 1960s Technicolor melodramas.
Amulet Amulet
Horror 2020 99 mins Director: Romola Garai
Old sins refuse to be forgotten in Romola Garai’s gothic horror and hauntingly atmospheric debut feature.
Red Rooms Red Rooms
Drama 2023 118 mins Director: Pascal Plante
The allure of the serial killer is explored in this deeply unsettling and unforgettable exploration of the impact of extreme violence.
Sleep Sleep
Horror 2023 94 mins Director: Jason Yu
A recently married couple find their lives turning upside down as a result of the husband’s nocturnal behaviour.
Starve Acre Starve Acre
Horror 2023 98 mins Director: Dan Kokotajlo
Dark and sinister forces invade a couple’s home in this wildly eerie British folk horror, with unflinching performances from Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark.
Battleship Potemkin Battleship Potemkin
Historical drama 1925 69 mins Silent Director: Sergei M. Eisenstein
A fixture in the critical canon almost since its premiere, Eisenstein’s film about a 1905 naval mutiny was revolutionary in both form and content.
Vampyr Vampyr
Horror 1932 73 mins Director: Carl Th. Dreyer
The first sound-film by one of the greatest of all filmmakers, Carl Theodor Dreyer, is akin to a waking-dream; guiding the viewer on a trance-like journey between reality and the supernatural.
Steamboat Bill, Jr. Steamboat Bill, Jr.
Comedy 1928 71 mins Director: Charles F. Riesner
Waterway hi jinks abound in this Buster Keaton classic, in which he plays the reluctant heir to his father's paddle steamer business.
The Old Dark House The Old Dark House
Comedy 1932 72 mins Director: James Whale
A group of weary travellers arrive at a spooky mansion with a madman on the loose, in this classic horror-comedy from James Whale (Bride of Frankenstein)
A Bagful of Fleas A Bagful of Fleas
Documentary 1962 43 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Věra Chytilová's 'fictionalised documentary' uses non-actors to portray girls' lives in the cotton mills of Náchod.
Bait Bait
Drama 2019 89 mins Director: Mark Jenkin
Simmering tensions between locals and newcomers in a modern-day Cornish fishing village reach boiling point in this hugely acclaimed British independent film.
Suspiria Suspiria
Horror 1977 101 mins Director: Dario Argento
Dario Argento’s phantasmagoric gothic nightmare blends operatic violence, disorienting dream logic and hyper-real visuals to create a horror classic.
Eat the Night Eat the Night
Thriller 2024 107 mins Director: Caroline Poggi and Johnathan Vinel
Siblings find passion and peril online and in the real world, in this visually electric French drama.
Bound Bound
Gangster 1996 109 mins Director: Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski
A seductive neo-noir and cult classic centring on lesbian desire in dangerous circumstances.
High Life High Life
Science Fiction 2019 113 mins Director: Claire Denis
The messiness of sex, the mysteries of birth and the moving spectacle of devoted parenting in the face of impending oblivion create a potent atmosphere in Claire Denis’ English-language debut.
Pornomelancholia Pornomelancholia
Drama 2022 94 mins Director: Manuel Abramovich
Soulful docufiction featuring real-life porn actor Lalo Santos.
God's Own Country God's Own Country
Drama 2017 105 mins Director: Francis Lee
A troubled young sheep farmer falls for a hired hand in this stunning debut from Francis Lee.
Amores perros Amores perros
Drama 2000 148 mins Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Alejandro González Iñárritu's (Birdman, The Revenant) gripping debut feature is a savagely brilliant triptych around the theme of animalistic desires.