आइज़ ऑफ़ लौरा मार्स

Eyes of Laura Mars -- Horror/Thriller -- 1978

This is an old supernatural thriller of sorts from way back in the 70s'. It revolves around a female fashion/glamour photographer who lives to make crude photographic nudie art that sepcializes in scenes of violence. Some people find her "art" to be rather disturbing and horribly offensive. So someone decides to go around killing her friends and acquaintances. To make matters worse, Laura Mars can see the murders happening--through her own eyes!

Here's the breakdown:

The Good:

--Clever story, and fairly original. Adds a nice twist to the usual cops-hunting-murderer story.

--Good acting all around. Brad Dourif is creepy, Tommy Lee Jones is cool, Raul Julia is... kinda weird...

--Good atmosphere and cinematography all around, with some strong direction. The tense moments are generally pretty well done.

--Some nice, genuine, surprises throughout the film. It does manage to successfully keep you guessing just who the killer is.

Didn't Hurt It, Didn't Help:

--Contains a decent amount of fairly well-known actors including Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif (better known as Chucky from the Child's Play series), Raul Julia, and Rene Auberjonois (famous for his Star Trek: Deep Space Nine role). It was also co-written by John "Halloween" Carpenter.

--Quite a bit of nudity. She is taking pictures of naked "victims of violence" after all.

--Somewhat grotesque 70's music permeates here and there.

--Some decent character development and depth.

The Bad:

--Not quite as scary or riveting as I'm sure it was back in '78. This review being written in 2006.

--Some "logic" problems every now and then. For instance, when Laura Mars sees someone being murdered, that's all she sees--yet there are times when she seems to be able to move around, once even driving a car, with more competence than one would expect from someone who just instantly "went blind."

--Occasional dips in the quality of the atmosphere and writing.

The Ugly:

--The make-up used on the models in the 70's. Holy crap!

Memorable Scene:

--Nice climax to the film.

Fun Fact:

--The photographic art in the film is actually from professional "glamour" photographer Helmut Newton.

Acting: 8/10 , Story: 8/10 , Atmosphere: 7/10 , Cinematography: 8/10 , Character Development: 7/10 , Special Effects/Make-up: 7/10 , Dialog: 7/10 , Music: 6/10 , Direction: 9/10

Nudity/Sexuality: 5/10 , Violence: 6/10 , Gore: 3/10

Cheesiness: 2/10 , Crappiness: 0/10

Overall: 7/10

Finally, I would recommend this to hardcore horror/thriller fans or film buffs. John Carpenter or Tommy Lee Jones fans will likely enjoy it. The movie is not without its problems, small though they are, but may not be enjoyed all that well by many modern viewers.

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This 1978 chiller directed by Irvin Kerschner (RoboCop 2) and based on a story by John Carpenter, has Faye Dunaway as a fashion photographer who suddenly discovers that she has the ability to "see" through the eyes of a serial killer. All her premonitions of the murders are very accurate, and the victims are all people she knows. Soon it becomes apparent the killer is coming after her. Tommy Lee Jones is great as the police lieutenant/love interest (back when his face wasn't pockmarked with age), and the supporting cast (Raul Julia, Brad Dourif) is excellent. The movie's depictions of the murders were quite shocking for it's day, and it manages to keep us scared and in suspense throughout, though some of the scenes border on grotesque. Direction by Kirschner is tight, music is suitably eery, and the performances are overall impressive. A winner

"Eyes of Laura Mars" is a slow, flabby thriller that could have made MUCH better use of its intriguing (if not original) initial idea. Director Kershner shows some style and flair, but this movie needs tighter storytelling. I found the script, co-written by John Carpenter, clever and quite unpredictable (unless you're trying to find the identity of the killer strictly by guessing), and there are OK performances by the entire cast, but this film is ultimately defeated by its uneven, meandering pacing.

A 1970's supernatural thriller in which most of the positives for me had to do with its setting and time period. The on-location footage in the dirty streets of New York, the peek behind the scenes at fashion shows, and all the hair on these actors held some appeal. Tommy Lee Jones and Faye Dunaway are both reasonably good in their roles, and filling in a solid supporting cast are Brad Dourif and Raul Julia. It was fun hearing "Boogie Nights" by Heatwave and "(Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty by KC and the Sunshine Band, though I didn't think the track from Barbra Streisand fit in as well.

The premise of a woman who suddenly develops the ability to see through the eyes of a serial killer was a pretty good one, and it was amusing guessing what was going, but the film got weaker as it went, leading to a disappointing payoff. The murder mystery is rather tepid (and a far cry from giallo if you ask me), and then a howlingly cheesy romance develops between the two leads. There is never a hint about what might be the cause of the clairvoyant ability, and the big twist doesn't jive very well with the actions of the characters beforehand. It's not terrible as a little window into the 70's, but it's not very good either.

I saw Eyes of Laura Mars a few years ago and just watched it again very recently. I remembered it as being fantastic but upon watching it again I was a little disappointed. It's a solid film, by no means bad, it's just nothing all that special.

For the past 3 years or so I've been totally hooked on giallo's and this film plays in a lot of ways like an homage to those Italian thrillers. Touches here and there remind you of Dario Argento (obsessive mirror imagery, Laura's visions etc.), Lucio Fulci, Sergio Martino and Mario Bava, such as the model settings and murder scenarios. While this film scores heavy on style (and music, though I find this soundtrack a bit hokey, but generally OK) it just lacks the magic that the best giallo's seem to have. The plot, while intriguing enough, is not nearly played out to it's full potential. There are gripping scenes here to be sure, but the film drags quite a bit and nothing virtually happens for a long period of time.

For seasoned giallo fans, we know the killer is most definitely gonna be the most unlikely one, and for a lack of suspects, I didn't find it hard to figure out who was guilty, but there's pretty much no logic to support it (but that's a giallo trademark, a pro rather than a con actually). For me, the problem is that this film doesn't have the same trashy feel and atmosphere as the best Italian thrillers it seems to be imitating. In a lot of ways I like this film, certain scenes are truly gripping but there's simply something lacking. Being a huge fan of John Carpenter, I can't help but think what he could have done had he directed this. He came up with the story and shares the credits as the writer of the screenplay and what's more, he loves the Italian giallo films as well. His own homage to the genre; Someone's Watching Me, the little known TV film was terrific and you could see that he definitely had the feel for the genre and could easily translate it to American settings. I don't feel that Kershner, as good a director as he is, has the same love for the genre as Carpenter.

I recommend watching it, it scores on a number of levels.