Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

A Disappointing Continuation

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Probably the best horror movie that I've seen by far. Jump scare free, black and white, not too gory. The movie shows how loneliness can make you do crazy things, in this case. I also enjoyed the Portuguese that they added in the movie. It's one of those movies that you can watch more than once, and still enjoy it. (:

The Eyes of My Mother is director Nicolas Pesce's directorial debut, and an impressive one at that. It's an extremely intentional black & white art-house horror film, with more attention to detail than gore throughout.The story centers around Francisca (played by Olivia Bond first and then Kika Magalhães who was particularly awesome), a young girl whose quiet, simple life is turned upside-down by the murder of her mother (Diana Agostini) and, shortly after, the passing of her father (Paul Nazak).** SPOILERS! **I thought the choice of black and white was excellent. There were many scenes that played out like beautiful, striking photographs set in motion. It also dulled the gore (that was more plentiful now that I think about it in retrospect than I honestly noticed in the moment) while letting us focus on more of the emotion (or lack thereof) in the more brutal scenes. But some shots, like Francisca climbing into the tub while bathing her father's body, are made into pure heartbreaking art by the color choice.Charlie (Will Brill), the man who kills Francisca's mother with an unabashed enthusiasm that was disturbing to see, was a great character that I almost wish we saw more of. He just immediately made me feel uncomfortable even before having any inkling of his true intentions.Each scene — every single one — felt very intentionally placed and timed. Nothing was left out, and nothing was there just as a frill… it was meticulously planned.Francisca both as a child and as an older teenager (we're never really sure of her true age but she seems to be 20 at the oldest) has this detached fascination about her. You get the sense that she's barely ever had to focus on anyone but herself. Her mother's mention of "loneliness can do strange things to the mind" couldn't be more apt. She works in silence, methodically playing out some truly twisted acts with the casual mood one might have while slicing a cucumber (I didn't mean for that comparison to be so accurate but there it is), and yet there's such a desperation about her, such a yearning to be less alone, and an unwillingness, or inability, to see how her desires affect others. Her stealing the woman's baby was another example: watching her cuddle and coo at the baby, finally having someone who will be forced to be her companion, as the child's mother crawled, gasping, towards her was chilling.One of the few times she breaks this blankness is when she finally kills Charlie after he escapes from the barn. Her stabbing him is almost sensual, especially as she rubs his hair and kisses his neck, and it made it one of the most disturbing murder scenes I've seen in a LONG timeUltimately, less is more, and Pesce really knew how to use that to his advantage with a brilliant combination of artful shots, a heartbreaking desire to ease pain and loneliness, and unapologetic views of violence and sadism, a sort of Americana-gone- very-wrong.

There are those rare moments in cinematic experiences when, as a horror fanatic, that in the midst of the banal tropes and fluff of this genre, there is that rare shining pearl that lends a glimmer of hope that there lies the last vestiges of high quality dramatic independent horror. And this movie brilliantly captures that. I can't imagine anyone that would give this movie a poor rating. It is deserving of any award for its quiet mastery of the art of nail biting tension, angst, anxiety, despair, utter hopelessness, depravity and every mother's worst fear. If you're able to stomach this and embrace the sheer agony and complexity of the raw emotions of the protagonist's demented tortured soul and how one can't help to feel pity yet repulsion and disgust simultaneously. It's an emotional roller-coaster few films can capture the essence and dynamics of so masterfully and boldly.

There is no redeeming quality in this movie, the plot is ridiculous, no likable characters, didn't give me any reason to sit through and give up 76 mins of my time, tries too hard to shock or be artsy. Appeals to empty-headed pretentious type people, they eat up this kind of trash. The fact that this movie is rated as high as it is, makes me want to puke.I'm a big horror fan. I'm very one dimensional when it comes to movies, if it's not Horror, I'm Not Interested. I like to watch horror movies from the 70's to 2017, so me hating this movie has nothing to do with the genre. To each his own, and I personally can't stand this film. Christ if I had the power to switch the rating of 1980's Demented (rated 3.8) with this movie (rated 6.2), I would.