The Eyes Have It

This week I have begun watching the third season of the HBO western drama Deadwood. Like the previous two seasons, this show continues to be immensely entertaining thanks to the compelling characters, gorgeous cinematography and excellent scripting (often sprinkled with prolific and creative swearing); last night however, I was treated to a scene that as you know is near and dear to me...yet another eye gouging.

An addition to the cast this year was former USC football star and veteran stuntman Allan Graf (looking quite dapper above). He plays Captain Turner, the bodyguard to George Hearst, and quickly becomes and adversary to Dan Dority. If you have not seen the show and have no idea what I am talking about, please do yourself a favor and start renting it today.

Without going into too much detail, since I don't want to spoil it for those of you who actually would like to follow the show, let's just say that this particular Cap'n finds himself in a brutal fight which leads to permanent tunnel vision for one of those involved. While not the best looking of eye effects that I have come across, the actor does a great job selling the discomfort of this climatic blinding. If you are interested in watching it, please click here.

I also happened to catch an extended promotional trailer for the '70s film The Gore Gore Girls directed by the Godfather of Gore, H.G. Lewis which had one of the more drawn out eye scenes I know of. I don't know if that is floating around, but the promotional clip is tasteless enough that I'll let you readers hunt it down for yourselves.

I also have been lent a film by a friend who appreciates my ocular obsession. The film titled Dead Meat was floated my way with the promise of two eyeball scenes...so I guess there is more to come. Until then...

Same to same,

Capt. Hendry

An Eyeful of Gore

The other night I watched a great little Japanese gorefest called Meatball Machine. The film plot is roughly summed up thus: aliens are overtaking people and turning them into gruesome cyborgs that fight their battles for them...obviously. The transformation scenes were really well effected (reminiscent at times of some of the stomach-churning scenes in John Carpenter's The Thing) and they climaxed with those crossed discs being forced into the host's eye sockets (see image).

I am not sure that there are any other on-screen mutilations that make me twitch, squirm, grit my teeth, and utter forced exclamations like "Erg!" more than eye damage. Its not that I can't watch effects involving the eyes, but in the massive backlog of decapitations, dismemberments, eviscerations, broken limbs, crushed craniums, pulled teeth, slices, dices, rips, tears, burns, scrapes and peels, it is the eye effects that really stand out and can be quickly recalled. I think this is probably true for most people. Whether it is our aversion to touching our own eyes, the fluid-filled consistency of these organs, or the subliminal horror instilled by the thought of the negative space in our skull an empty socket creates: who can say. The point is, eye mutilations create colorful conversations, so here are what I consider my top five in film:

5) The Terminator - While not the most visually graphic of effects, there is something about Schwarzenegger's unfeeling performance as he cuts out his own eye that reinforces how unstoppable he is supposed to be in this robotic role.

4) Meatball Machine - This is one of those situations where you know what is coming, and you can't help but wonder with morbid curiosity how much will be shown. Well...a lot is. It is the sheer carnage of this effect that I find unique. This effect goes above and beyond a poke or a pop...it is just plain destructive.

3) Zombi 2 - A split door jamb, a pair of zombie hands, and a woman's head are a recipe for disaster in this classic by gore godfather Lucio Fulchi. Like Meatball Machine, it is more about the length of time and inevitability of the outcome that makes this effect a winner.

2) Thriller: A Cruel Picture - The one-eyed heroine of this film, honored by Quentin Tarantino in the Kill Bill duology, does not don the patch from the beginning of the film. The scene where she loses her optical orb is rumored (and confirmed by the film's actress) to have been filmed using a real corpse at a medical institution. The act itself is very fast and tightly cut by the editor, but you inevitably end up watching it over and over trying to decide if it is real or not.

1) Un Chien Andalou - While originally I was going to put this at number four, I bumped it all the way to the top after rewatching it here for the first time in at least five years. Even seeing a lower res clip on the computer I still felt serious tension in my shoulders, I was cringing, and I made two exclamations despite myself. Another situation where reality is more effective than illusion, this surrealist film sliced a cow eyeball for the camera. It feels real...I guess it is real...and after almost eighty years, it hasn't been topped in my opinion.

So if you feel ready to stomach them, put on the Pixies' tune Debaser, hop on Netflix, Youtube or Google video, and start organizing a jaw-dropping/eye-popping film festival for you and your good friends.

Same to same,

Capt. Hendry