StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
AshUnow
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Isbel
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Scott LeBrun
What could be driving various beautiful young women to mutilate themselves? What do they all have in common? Could it be the devilish hypnotist Desmond (Jacques Bergerac) and his mysterious assistant Justine (the 50 foot woman, Allison Hayes)? A skeptical detective (Joe Patridge) becomes personally involved when a friend (Merry Anders) becomes the latest victim, and his own girlfriend (Marcia Henderson) falls under the spell of the hypnotist.As with other movies from the era, this originally came complete with a gimmick designed to lure people away from their TV sets and into the theatres. In this case, that would be "Hypno-Magic". Overall, the movie is pretty amusing, with the suave, handsome Bergerac doing a fine job of taking centre stage. The makeup effects are fairly good for the time this was made, and some of the methods of self mutilation are a hoot, even if we don't see all of them: flammable shampoo, lye cocktail, face pressed into fan blades, etc. One has to wonder if Herschell Gordon Lewis was somewhat inspired by this one when he made "The Wizard of Gore" 10 years later.The cast keeps it watchable, particularly the striking Ms. Hayes, who does have a (not terribly surprising) twist in store for us right near the end. The filmmakers also get some credit for not over explaining things; for example, not giving us a back story for Desmond and Justine. The movie takes a brief detour into beatnik culture at the start of the second half, showcasing poet Lawrence Lipton and bongo drummer Eric Nord. Jimmy Lydon plays an emergency doctor, and in another doctor role the real life "Great Impostor" Fred Demara is cast."The Hypnotic Eye" is agreeable goof ball entertainment for people looking for a vintage "shocker".Six out of 10.
LeonLouisRicci
This use to be, hard to find, bit of Psychotronic Cinema has finally been released in an excellent transfer and Baby Boomers and modern fans of off-beat, exploitive, gimmick-ridden, bizarre, cultural phenomena, and just good old fashion B-Movies can get in on the "eye" popping fun.It is guaranteed that if you see the first few minutes there is no turning back. With its gruesome opening and creative camera shots it will trans-disfigure you for the next 80 minutes or so. After all, this one is full of treats for Dive-In Movie lovers. There are some good makeup effects, a beatnik scene, some Noirish Photography, sexual innuendos, and more. With a nod to Director/Huckster William Castle and a marketing-persuasion to suggest to the zombified TV viewers to leave their "living" rooms for the Theaters. This fun-fest has one thing or two that keeps it from reaching the best of the best, the very long audience hypno scene for one. But who cares, the rest of this is so entertainingly enticing that most viewers are helplessly seduced by this little seen Movie. In the ads, and also on screen, there was a very strong WARNING to not try Hypnosis at home. For a bit of equally hokey irony, they could have added...Not for the impressionable (the target audience).
Michael_Elliott
Hypnotic Eye, The (1960) *** (out of 4) Surprisenly effective horror film has Detective Steve Kennedy (Joe Patridge) investigating some gruesome cases where woman are self mutilating themselves in a wide range of ways. One day Kennedy and his girlfriend (Marcia Henderson) are watching a hypnotist (Jasques Bergerac) and his assistant work (Allison Hayes) and soon it becomes clear that they're putting some sort of spell on the victims. THE HYPNOTIC EYE isn't going to win any awards at the Oscars and I'd say a lot of people are going to be put off by it simply because it's a horror movie but if you're willing to give it a chance you'll be surprised at how good it actually is. Yes, there are still plenty of issues with the film but on the whole I thought it delivered just about everything you'd want from a film like it. As a horror fan, the pickings around this time were rather slim so it's refreshing to see a movie like this where it really goes for it all and delivers some effective chills. What was so surprising about the film is how graphic some of the images were when it came time to show the woman mutilating themselves. It's done in various ways including one setting her face on fire, another splashing acid in her face and another puts her face in a fan blade. Of course these images aren't shown in gory, graphic detail but the opening with the woman setting herself on fire was perfectly done and it really sets up everything else that is going to follow. The make-up effects of the mutilated women are pretty impressive as well. The cast offer up some good performances with both Patridge and Bergerac doing nice work and Henderson is good as well. Hayes is the name best remembered to horror fans and she's given one of her best roles here. I think there is one major flaw in the picture and it happens towards the end when we're treated to the hypnotist doing various tricks on people in the crowd and making them perform for the viewer. This long sequences happens towards the end and it really slows down everything going right in the story and it happens at a time when you should be getting to the ending. This sequence should have remained on the cutting room floor because what follows is a pretty good ending and a nice little twist.
mrb1980
In this surprisingly watchable chiller from 1960, a hypnotist Desmond (Bergerac) gets his entertainment by having beautiful young women disfigure themselves in pretty graphic ways—setting their hair on fire, washing faces with acid, drinking lye, putting their faces in fans—well, you get the idea. With all of this going on, the local police send a detective and a police psychologist out to solve the cases.This movie features undoubtedly the dumbest duo of police officers ever, detective Steve Kennedy and Dr. Philip Hecht. These two guys are such idiots that their incompetence is fascinating to watch. At first, they can't decide whether all of these disfigurement cases are related (duh!) and spend the rest of the movie trying—sort of—to catch the perpetrator.The many unintentionally funny scenes include Steve's girlfriend (Henderson) being kissed and groped by Desmond (while Steve blankly watches from a distance), the first hypnosis scene ("You are the meanest of all the dogs!!"), the beatnik bar scene, and the final scene at a theater, where the "secret" is revealed, but only after the audience is mesmerized into doing pretty outrageous things—like bad acting.Released during the hypnosis and beatnik crazes of the early 1960s, this bizarre movie is an interesting time capsule and stars cult actress Allison Hayes. Be sure and catch Hecht's (Guy Prescott) jaw-dropping closing line…it's guaranteed to leave you speechless.
