EIGHT EYES (2023)

Now streaming on Shudder and Vinegar Syndrome!
Directed by Austin Jennings.
Written by Matthew Fink, Austin Jennings.
Check out the trailer here!!

Cass (Emily Sweet) and Gav (Bradford Thomas) are spending their long-delayed honeymoon hiking across the country formerly known as Yugoslavia and meet a mysterious local named Saint Peter (Bruno Veljanovski). Though at first it seems Saint Peter is hospitable and looking for friendship, as his journey seems to coincide with theirs, it becomes apparent that his intentions for the couple are anything but altruistic. But Cass and Gav realize this too late as they seem to be caught up in Saint Peter’s web of perversity, depravity, and even worse horrors.

EIGHT EYES is one twisted bit of cinema. It is slow to start and those without patience might zone out in the earlier, creepier moments as the pace is slow. But the film methodically lures the couple as well as the viewer in with promises, good intentions, and a charming smile, until you let your guard down and then pounces. The film can be broken into two parts: the seduction and the ordeal. And both parts are worth looking at in a little more detail.

When Saint Peter first meets Cass and Gav, both are leery, but Gav, looking to spice up their vacation, is more open to be lured in by Saint Peter. Cass, is creeped out by Saint Peter from the get go, but is convinced by Gav to go along with this redirection of their vacation. This is the first time we see the rift between Cass and Gav, which Saint Peter takes advantage of. As this wedge gets wider and wider, the likability of Gav dissipates, culminating in a non-fight that ends up splitting the two up in the middle of a foreign country. This is a wound made so slowly and delicately by Peter that the two don’t even realize he is the one behind it.

And at the halfway point of EIGHT EYES is where I nearly cussed out the screen. Gav is presented as rather spineless. He is unfazed when Saint Peter says offensive things around Cass and is for the most part, a pushover, so unlikable, that you wonder what Cass ever saw in him. Sure, you can say he might be sick of being in a relationship with someone who is clearly not happy with him and that most of the time, Gav appears to be drunk and inconsiderate of anyone but himself, but man, did Bradford Thomas do a fantastic job of making me loathe his character for leaving a woman, who has already been felt threatened and unprotected, in even a more fragile state. Now, Cass is no frail gal. She takes care of herself. But still, it’s a dick move to leave her alone like that. It was at this point where I realized how invested I was in these characters, especially Cass—menaing that filmmaker Austin Jennings and his co-writer Matthew Fink had done a great job of reeling me in.

The second half of the film is pure psychedelic nightmare. I won’t get too much into it, but once separated, the couple are in real trouble. I guess there’s a metaphor there, but the important part is that because this film is made on both 16mm and Super8 cameras, there is a grainy and gritty look to the entire thing, but once in the clutches of Saint Peter and his demented family, it gets even more intense. Yes, it is derivative of TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, as Cass is forced to witness a ritual of sorts involving opening mystical eyes closed to the common man. The story goes from a travel terror piece to a trippy and tie-dyed nightmare and if you’re into intense horror, you’re bound to see something you haven’t before, despite the similarities to Hooper’s classic film. Straddling the 70’s grindhouse vibe with the grungy family and the 60’s psychedelic era with the opening of the third eye, and EIGHT EYES also adds loads of giallo aspects such as pairing the glamorous with the grotesque, elaborate death sequences, and the travelogue-like tone of showing off the sights and sounds of a foreign country. It’s a grab bag of goodness to those who are in love with classic horror of the 60’s and 70’s.

Things get very trippy and I think that’s where EIGHT EYES might lose others who didn’t fall off during the slow lead in to the real terror. The film throughout is laced with paranoia as we can see the strange looks Saint Peter is giving the couple and understand his ill intent, so it’s not a film without horror evenly spread. But by the end, the ritz has definitely slid off the cracker and while this may just be a representation of Cass’ mind slipping away, it also speaks to some kind of greater awareness one achieves through trauma. Still, this is a film that can be appreciated on a simple brutal level rarely achieved in safer, mainstream horror. EIGHT EYES is anything but safe and mainstream, and if that’s the kind of sickness you like to see in your films—the kind if sickness I love to see, then EIGHT EYES is going to be a must see for you.