The Eyes Below – Frightfest Movie Review
Director: Alexis Bruchon
Writer: Alexis Bruchon (Screenplay)
Cast
- Vinicius Coelho
- Pauline Morel
Plot: A lawyer is trapped in his bed by a supernatural creature that appears under the bed covers.
Runtime: 1 Hour 17 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Eyes Below starts as lawyer Eugene (Coelho) finds himself struggling with night terrors, after seeing a shadow figure in his home. Eugene starts trying to put the pieces together after the figure, which sees him searching through his work and questioning his faith.
As each encounter becomes more terrifying, Eugene finds himself battling the unknown to make it through the night.
Verdict on The Eyes Below
Characters
Eugene is a man trying to have a normal night’s sleep, he is awoken by the figure in his bedroom. At first, he sees it more as an optical illusion, but when it returns, he finds himself dealing with something more sinister. Eugene doesn’t speak a world through the film, knowing there isn’t anyone to call out to for help.
Performances
Vinicius Coelho is excellent in the leading role, taking on an almost silent performance, relying only on screams. It is a performance where you can see the clogs turning in his character’s mind, as he looks for answers.
Story
The story follows a man that finds himself trapped by an unexpected threat in his own bedroom. One that starts off lurking before becoming one he must fight off to survive.
The story is kept to the minimum here, relying on the tension to drive things forward. It is simple because it relies solely on the idea of trying to survive a threat coming from when you believe you are safest, asleep in your own bed. The story does an excellent job at creating clues that are needed to solve what is going on.
Themes
The Eyes Below is an atmospheric horror thriller that brings horror to the character’s bed. Using a mixture of sleep paralysis, optical illusions and night terrors to create the nightmare experience Eugene goes through. The movie is kept nearly entirely in the character’s bedroom and uses music to build up the tension and play out the horrors. With no real words being used, only screams or reactions. The lighting plays into the terror, as like Eugene, we can’t see in the shadows.
Final Thoughts – The Eyes Below is an excellent horror which is filled with tension, suspense and atmosphere.
