Eye of the Devil

It can be a wonderful surprise when a movie you haven't seen in decades turns out to be at least as good, if not better, than your memory of it. This was my experience recently with "EYE OF THE DEVIL" (a.k.a. "13") which I last saw in about 1967. Rather than devil worship, the story focuses on a pagan fertility ritual along the lines of "the king must die" to ensure the harvest. Deborah Kerr and David Niven are indeed star names to conjure with, and the other-worldly presence of the ill-fated and tragic Sharon Tate now adds an extra quality to this hauntingly eerie tale. Watch it by candlelight!

I am surprised this movie is not out on DVD or video because it's one of the few films of the beautiful Sharon Tate, the actress killed by the Mason Cult. Supposedly her "introduction" film along with fellow actor David Hemmings, MGM made a big todo of showcasing them before the films release.The film was also called 13 in some releases, and the supposedly unlucky number seems apropos for the film with Tate later being murdered, and the trouble over initial casting. The simply gorgeous Kim Novak was set to play the lead, they had actually begun filming when she was thrown from a horse. A broken bone resulted in her being replaced by the powerhouse Deborah Kerr, who seems, truthfully, better suited to be playing David Niven's wife.This is like no other Niven film, an high popular, but I believe, underrated actor. He made it seems so easy. But you watch him with Gregory Peck in GUNS OF NAVARONE and you will see he was a marvellous talent.It's a low-key thriller, in the WICKERMAN vein. Kerr, Niven and family have been living a good life in Paris, but the arrival of mysterious priest from Niven's home, starts them spiralling into a nightmare of unbelievable proportions. Niven, says the countryside of his province requires the return of the Marquis de Bellac, there is a prolong draught of years, and he must go back, though he won't say what he can do to stop a draught. He insists Kerr and the children stay behind.In typical headstrong fashion, Kerr is not content to remain behind being the 'little woman', so she and the children travel to the medieval honour of Bellac. Stuck in a time warp of the Middle Ages, Bellac is a total feudal estate. Niven in NOT happy to see she has come. She soon runs afoul of two strange young people (Hemmings, an archer, and the beautiful Tate, who shows disdain for all the males around her). Though they are not really a part of the estate, they seems to come and go as they please and laugh at Kerr's affront.The strange priest, played by Donald Pleasence, continues to exert a strong hold over Niven, almost as if he is compelling and preparing Niven for 'what will come'. It is clear things are very wrong at Bellac. After a ride in the wood, she discovers that nearly every Bellac Marquis has died a mysterious death at an young age, and is harassed by hooded monk-like figures after finding the tomb of the last Marquis in the wood. There are strange comings and goings at all hours. Niven;s aunt tucks her head and ignores it all, but seems ready to burst into tears. A strange man is hiding in the attic and he warns her to leave before it's too late. Oddly, she discovered though the whole area is very religious, the religion has a taint of heresy about it.One day, she catches Tate teaching the children to play on the edge of the crenellations of the roof. When she rushes up to stop it, she soon finds herself at peril, as Tate hypnotises her in to nearly stepping off the roof.Worse, is the distance between her and her husband, and his insistence he has accepted his fate.Very understated, mesmerising dancing in the ring of 13....with a knockout of an ending.Ted Turner occasionally shows this - beware he cuts it bloody pieces!POWERFUL!Highly recommended to those who appreciate The WICKERMAN.

...this film which was originally called 13 (it's still listed as that in the end title credits). I'm sure the title was changed to make it sound more horrific. I assume it refers to a pagan amulet used in the film although no one ever calls it that. While watching this film I was struck by similarities to two other films beside THE WICKER MAN. One was a little known 1953 film called THE MAZE about a man who returns to his ancestral home in Scotland and a terrible secret. His fiance' follows him there and encounters hostility and psychological terror. The other is the 1959 cult shocker CITY OF THE DEAD better known as HORROR HOTEL. The outfits and behavior of the worshippers is almost exactly the same.EYE OF THE DEVIL is a real oddity. It was shot in black and white in 1966 when most films were in color. This could have been a budgetary consideration although EYE features two major stars of the period in David Niven and Deborah Kerr (who replaced another major star Kim Novak). The director, J. Lee Thompson, only a few years removed from the major successes THE GUNS OF NAVARONNE and CAPE FEAR, was still considered a top tier director. The look of the film recalls Deborah Kerr's earlier psychological thriller THE INNOCENTS as well as the original THE HAUNTING and it seems to have been influenced by the 1940s movies of Val Lewton. Excellent pedigrees to have.The story revolves around a modern day French aristocrat (Niven) who is called back to his family's ancient home to deal with failing vineyards. His wife (Kerr) and their two children follow later and she runs into a wall of resistance and secrecy. There's a mysterious brother and sister duo (David Hemmings and Sharon Tate) hindering her attempts at knowledge of what goes on there and a charismatic priest (Donald Pleasance) who holds the key to what is happening. The photography is stark and atmospheric and the committed performances help to put it over. A first class transfer on this Warner Archive DVD cannot be faulted. Horrific? Not really. Scary? Certainly not. It is, however, deeply unsettling and if that's the kind of movie you prefer then you need to get this release before it disappears.

Really enjoyed this film I think it one of Sharon Tate best roles.When David niven character gets a summoned back home to sort the family estate he tells his wife not to come with the children but she turns up and then late at night she sees a a dark magic ritual it had a lot similarities to the wickerman but strangely was made the year before.

good film. good cast. I enjoyed watching this film. perhaps an english castle location would have been a bit more riveting.. excellent all the same.

My word this is a long-winded film which out stays it's welcome by at least 30 of its 90minutes. Predating the much more effective The Wicker Man - this tale of ritual sacrifice in the French vineyards is blessed with a strong cast, excellent photography but a plodding script and direction. It's clear from the first 10minutes what is going to happen but it takes 80 more before David Hemmings fires the fatal arrow! Never highly regarded on its release this new Archive transfer - although unrestored - is fine for normal TV monitors but don't try to project it as it fades and the black levels fade away into a messy grey. Only for fans of ... Well I'm not certain who really. It certainly didn't work for us.

Lange habe ich nach einer Kopie des Films gesucht, zuletzt wurde er im September 2001 gesendet. Wenigstens als Original liegt sie mir nun vor. Eine glänzende Besetzung und immer noch aktuelle Handlung zeichnet den Streifen aus, da stimmt alles.

A lot of people don't rate this film which is a shame. It is along similar lines to the Wicker Man which came out later and is considered a classic, and it is. But I think this film stands up on it's own without comparison to it's successor. I have to admit that I bought it because it was Sharon Tate's first major movie role and I have a bit of a "thing" about her, but it does also have Deborah Kerr and David Niven in it. Basically it's about a vineyard owner called back to his ancestral castle because of the failure of the crops. He, the Marquis (David Niven) has to deal with the failure in the "traditional" way that his family would have done. This might have been a spoiler but it's fairly obvious from the first half of the film what's going to happen. It's in black and white, which, I think, gives it an extra air of "creepiness". As for Ms Tate all I can say is she's mesmerising. Her performance as Odile de Caray is compelling. There is one scene, which I won't spoil for you, that despite the obvious continuity blips, is magic (not necessarily a good thing in the context of the movie) but pointed to a bright future for Sharon Tate, unfortunately cut tragically short.