source: Eyes of Fire

Eyes of Fire

I saw this film by accident back in 1983 as a rental from Blockbuster. I have been hooked ever since, turning many people on to it's original story. The movie is creepy and eerie and yes the ending is open ended by the references and the characters make up for this trust me! It is an old American settlement in the woods with references to witches and druids and the evil that lies within us all. There are some neat Hitchcock like quick pans and sounds with only references to the actual happenings allowing your brain to fill in the pieces nicely. The scenes mostly take place in a dark and omniscient woods. There are some religious references which play into the plot as well. I am looking for it on DVD, you should too.

This is a very low-budget movie about demons in the American countryside two hundred years ago. It has a lot of the feel of a genuine folk tale: for instance the demons steal into farmers' barns by night and suck milk from cows' teats. The shadowy unpredictability of their comings and goings is well caught and strangely unnerving. The movie is too academic, as if it had been made to partially fulfill the requirements of a Master's in American Folklore, and most of the performances would fit right into a small-town little-theatre production, but those qualities help to set the movie apart from others. It's rather like "The Blair Witch Project" set in period, but with real spirits and a real story. It doesn't always escape absurdity but it seems to be communicating somebody's real and unusual vision. That's no mean achievement.

I saw this for the first time recently aft reading some very good reviews n the second enticing part was how its mentioned that is a Western genre movie. I made a terrible decision as I didn't like this movie at all. I shud have refrained from seein this the moment comparisons with The Witch was made in the review section. I hated The Witch, Hereditary n various so called great horror movies but in reality they r boring with just a shocking ending. William Friedkin must have copied the tree horror stuff from this movie n incorporated in his abysmal The Guardian.

To anyone interested in this movie, I say you have to see it. If you find it at your local video store and are the type to be intrigued by the title and video box, you will enjoy it. The poor lighting and practically non-existent special effects actually make the mood more effective, although it may be slow going for some horror movie fans. Some movies in a similar vein are The Company of Wolves, el Topo- if you can find it, and Ravenous (1999)