Eye of the Devil (1966)

 ☆ ☆ ☆

Eye of the Devil (1966) – J. Lee Thompson

I thought I had possibly stumbled upon an unheralded horror film from the mid-60s, starring David Niven and Deborah Kerr (with Sharon Tate and David Hemmings in minor roles) – and I had but despite its promise, the film suffers from poorly managed pacing that somehow undercuts any shocks or horror.  There is still some ominous and spooky ambience here and some echoes and previews of other better known horror films.  For one, having Deborah Kerr in the lead and sometimes in peril but always very anxious really does evoke the classic (and better) film The Innocents (1961) based on Henry James’ Turn of the Screw. For another, the plot that finds David Niven returning to his ancestral castle because the grapes have died on the vine for a third year in a row and he must perform a certain pagan rite to salvage things really does foreshadow The Wicker Man (1973 version please), also a much better film.  Although Hemmings also seems to have a role in the rite in question (along with a bunch of eerie hooded men and Donald Pleasance as the head priest), it isn’t quite so clear how Tate is involved (although she may be a witch). The black and white cinematography on location at Chateau de Hautefort in Dordogne, France is pretty fab and the proceedings are thereby provided with a suitably gothic flair. But all in all, this is a missed opportunity because somehow the suspense and forboding that should have been there in spades have somehow dissipated with the loose plotting and somnambulant pacing.