Eyes Without a Face

The horror classic from French film director Georges Franju tells the story of a grief stricken doctor who is desperately trying to find a way to cure his daughter, who was horribly disfigured in an automobile accident. His solution is to kidnap young girls who look similar to what his daughter use to look like, surgically remove their faces and graft them onto his little girl. It’s a twisted tale and, for 1960, it can be pretty gruesome to watch, particularly in the surprisingly gory surgery scene that details just how the doctor removes his victim’s face. The film is more than a cheap thrill, though, thanks to Franju’s inventive directorial style, the gorgeous photography of Eugen Schüfftan (The Hustler) and the haunting image of the mask the daughter wears to hide her face to the world.