Critics’ reviews

Eyes Without a Face (1960)

11 reviews from 11 publications. Critics’ score 73: 8 positive, 2 mixed, 1 negative.

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73
Positive
8
Mixed
2
Negative
1
Empire
1 April 2014 · David Parkinson
90*

Parkinson calls the film a weird masterwork and praises its intelligence. He singles out its brooding lyricism, which transforms a familiar pulp plot into something poetic.

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Los Angeles Times
15 October 2013 · Sheri Linden
85*

Linden finds the film a disturbing, artful classic whose lyrical beauty and horror are seamlessly entwined. She singles out its austere imagery and restrained approach, which make its unsettling surgical scenes linger.

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The AV Club
1 November 2004 · Scott Tobias
85*

The critic finds the film an enduring, gorgeous fusion of opposing sensibilities. He singles out Franju’s ability to blend horror with tragedy as its special allure.

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Slant Magazine
12 October 2025 · ★★★★ · Jordan Cronk
80

Cronk regards Franju’s film as a singular, unsettling horror classic whose stature has only grown over time. He praises its gripping atmosphere and austere compositions, while also commending the Criterion restoration’s even grain and detail.

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The New Yorker
27 August 2009 · Richard Brody
80*

Brody presents the film as a striking, hallucinatory thriller. He praises Franju’s understated juxtapositions and patient observation, which make its horrifying events more disturbing.

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Time Out
· TM
75*

The review presents the film as an incredible blend of horror and fairytale. It singles out the contrast between visceral surgical horror and the heroine’s solitude.

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The Guardian
9 May 2008 · Rob Mackie
70*

The review finds the film chilling and macabre, praising how it pushes horror into queasier territory. It singles out the masked daughter and the disturbing facial surgery, alongside the eerie contrast of jaunty music and expressionist camerawork.

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The New York Times
17 November 1995
65*

The URL indicates a review of the 1960 film, but the article text is inaccessible. Its verdict and specific praise or criticism cannot be verified.

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RogerEbert.com
64*

The page provides no accessible review text, so the critic’s verdict and any specific praise or complaint cannot be established. It displays only a browser-verification notice.

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Variety
31 December 1958 · Variety Staff
30*

The review finds the horror film queasy and occasionally suspenseful, but ultimately old-fashioned and plodding. It praises the cinematography while criticizing the stilted acting, repetitive effects, and leisurely editing.

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Eye for Film
18 May 2008 · Anton Bitel
85*

Bitel finds the film haunting and remarkably prescient, blending horror and thriller conventions into something poetic. He singles out Edith Scob’s masked, ethereal Christiane and the film’s striking monochrome imagery.

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Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate