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8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Very good unheralded American-style Gothic "giallo" film ., 21 October 2005
Author: rixrex from United States

This is a wonderful find for any horror film buff who can appreciate the slow-build of the typical "giallo" film, to which it compares stylistically, with a good dose of Gothic influence. Rather than load all of the budget toward the effects and skimp everywhere else, the film-makers opted to use the relatively unknown and overlooked talents of the best low-budget effects and pyrotechnics person in the business, Tassilo Baur. (I personally witnessed him put together special effects on a USC student film in 1981, on a budget of about $100 that looked like thousands. If you look carefully at the effects here, you'll see how well-realized they are for such little money.) Anyway, the effort in this gem was well-placed in the story, the direction and the acting. Overall good production values make this look as good as most studio stuff, and it's much more thoughtful. Great eerie locations and soundtrack add to the atmosphere. Fans of horror films that offer more than violence only for the sake of violence will appreciate this find. Recommended!

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8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Captivating blend of mysticism and horror, 3 April 2004
9/10
Author: signoret_crowe from United States

"Eyes of Fire" has a pretty impressive script to start out with. It lets the surreal events unfold in the most offbeat, unpredictable way, that you can easily view it several times and still discover things. The forest with its many "trees" is so vividly filmed; I never realized simple things like trees, bushes, and pure earth could be made so threatening!

The film is just drenched in atmosphere: The haunting sounds of the woods; the often off-kilter camera angles; and the excellent narration by a young lady with an accent so thick you could cut it with a knife! I loved listening to her.

The film has a logic and a language all its own. You have to pay attention to the film to appreciate all the developments of the highly "elemental" plot. This isn't a "brain candy" horror flick; you'll have to make an effort to understand certain things, but it's highly worth it.

My favorite performance in the film is Karlene Crockett as the fairy Leah. Many of the most beautiful moments in the film involve her, like where Leah crawls into a barrel with the children to keep out of the rain, and a rainbow appears beside it; and Leah playing joyfully in the field of feathers.

Then, of course, there's the dark scenes, like the ones where the grotesque figure in black roams the forest, sinking in and out of the ground; and Leah's numerous encounters with the elusive ghosts. I've heard people rag on the special effects, which are a mixed bag; but it's important to remember that this was 1983, and the filmmakers didn't have the budget of E.T. -- or anywhere near it. The effects serve their purpose, and are often quite creepy. They compliment the film, rather than overrun it like many films today.

This is a really great film to watch late at night; it has the atmosphere of one of those low-budget chillers network stations would show in the early morning hours before the age of the infomercial, only with more originality. I would rush out and buy this if it were released on DVD; for now I'll just have to settle for my Vestron Video copy. I think this little gem is a masterpiece in its own right; definitely thought-provoking horror, a genre that is too rarely explored.

My rating: 8.5/10

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8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Unique work of Americana horror, 17 November 2002
7/10
Author: Lawrence (LGwriter49@aol.com) from Astoria, NY

This unjustly overlooked movie, the first directed by Avery Crounse, ranks along with Pumpkinhead as one of the best examples of dark fantasy rooted in pure Americana. A period piece, it's set in the mid-18th century in the American colonies, before there was a United States, and is the tale of settlers encountering the supernatural in the form of a previously unexplored forest's resident evil spirit.

Narrated by one of the two young survivors of the weird encounter, it starts with the two being interrogated by the equivalent of district militia regarding the disappearance of their fellow settlers. The story begins with adultery committed by a minister, somewhat hammily played by Dennis Lipscomb, and a settler's wife, resulting in the cuckolded husband taking his children off into the forest where they meet up with a strange girl who shows them much they never knew before about the ways of the land.

Crounse gets his setting just right and also does a great job fusing the real with the fantastic--not always an easy thing to do. One of the absolutely critical ingredients in any fantasy film--whether high fantasy, sword and sorcery, dark fantasy or horror--is atmosphere, and in that this movie excels. The brooding forest scenes are superb, making the viewer feel that at any moment the trees could come alive and snatch you up right from where you're standing.

Aside from Lipscomb, the other actors are excellent. The momentum of the story is escape from a known evil to an unknown evil and that drives the movie to its strong finish.

Highly recommended.

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10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Those Blair Witch turkeys should be paying royalties!, 29 June 2002
10/10
Author: william turner (victimofmonsters@aol.com) from USA

Totally forgotten but excellent. Where's Anchor Bay when you need them? Blair Witch is a total rip-off of this film (among others). Eyes of Fire is actually scary. If you see an old copy of this movie, rent or buy it. It is a true original that deserves to be seen.

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8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
A horrifying film for such a low budget, 9 July 2003
Author: (eddy-28) from Lake Isabella, CA

This motion picture is perhaps the most bizarre film I have ever seen for such a low budget. The film itself brings out more horror than what you would think. The film is about a group of western pioneers set in the early American Frontier around 1750, who travel into an uncharted land and forest and are haunted by evil spirits living in the trees. Director Avery Crounse and his team of special effects rely on old fashion suspense, which is way better than some of the films we have today. Composer Brad Fiedel (who also created the score for James Cameron's The Terminator) conducts a fascinating Irish musical score. The all star cast including Dennis Lipscomb (WarGames), Guy Boyd (Jagged Edge), Will Hare (Back to the Future), Fran Ryan (The Sure Thing) and Emmy award winning actress Karlene Crockett all do a wonderful job at acting. It's a shame that this film isn't around anymore, it should be released to DVD and it's obvioius that films like The Blair Witch Project and Ravenous ripped off this film. Eyes of Fire is highly recommended for fans of early ghost stories.

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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Like a folk tale, 24 August 2000
7/10
Author: galensaysyes

This is a very low-budget movie about demons in the American countryside two hundred years ago. It has a lot of the feel of a genuine folk tale: for instance the demons steal into farmers' barns by night and suck milk from cows' teats. The shadowy unpredictability of their comings and goings is well caught and strangely unnerving. The movie is too academic, as if it had been made to partially fulfill the requirements of a Master's in American Folklore, and most of the performances would fit right into a small-town little-theatre production, but those qualities help to set the movie apart from others. It's rather like "The Blair Witch Project" set in period, but with real spirits and a real story. It doesn't always escape absurdity but it seems to be communicating somebody's real and unusual vision. That's no mean achievement.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Great Tale of Witch, Very Mystic, But With a Weak Conclusion, 19 April 2005
7/10
Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In 1750, in a French base in the American frontier, the teenager Fanny Dalton (Sally Klein) and two children are found alone by the French soldiers. Asked about their families, they tell an amazing story to the skeptical commandants. The lived in Dalton's Ferry, a place far from the frontier, where Fanny's father Marion Dalton (Guy Boyd) was a hunter and absent of home most of the time. The local preacher Will Smythe (Dennis Lipscomb) is accused of adultery with Fanny's mother Eloise Dalton (Rebecca Stanley) and Leah (Karlene Crockett), a powerful young woman who lost her mother when she was very young, accused of witchcraft and burnt in a fire, and the locals decide to hang him. However, Will is saved by his followers and they leave the town, being chased by the Indians and Marion. They reach a valley, where an evil witch and the spirits of ancient settlers live in the trees and haunt the newcomers. Leah enhances her powers and protects the children. "Eyes of Fire" is a great tale of witch, very mystic, but with a weak conclusion. It is a low-budget movie, the special effects are very poor, but the story is original and very creepy. I regret only the open conclusion, which deserved to be much better. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Olhos de Fogo" ("Eyes of Fire")

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
A spooky, richly atmospheric folk tale, nice eye for detail, 27 June 2001
10/10
Author: hippiedj from Palm Desert, California

Eyes Of Fire is one of those wonderful little discoveries that makes seeking out obscure films so much fun. I went in not expecting a lot and found myself absorbed in the story, the scenery (I lived in St. Louis at the time and was amazed to read in the credits it was shot in Missouri), and the overall unusual atmosphere. It's the ideal film for those who love folklore and creepy legends. While it won't scare you out of your wits, it is spooky enough that you can cuddle up with a cup of hot chocolate and get wrapped up in the story.

The story follows a group of settlers that were banished from their town for being accused of witchcraft, they endure dangerous travels (going down the river and being shot at by arrows was harrowing), and end up making their home in an abandoned house in woods full of Indian spirits. After realizing things are not going well, they cannot escape the wooded area and are tormented by strange figures that appear and suddenly disappear (the visuals are subtle yet extremely effective). Souls trapped in trees, swirling leaves, and a witch with glowing eyes that sinks into the ground add to the chilling story.

I'm not an expert in period detail, but I found the costumes, accents, and acting by all involved to be very good, if accurate. There were a few recognizable faces, but in general the fact that this was an unknown cast helps you believe in what you are seeing. This nice attention to detail, and the use of generally simple effects that work amazingly well keep this film at a nice spooky level. Like a folk tale, and if you accept it as that, you'll appreciate that it takes its time on the pacing of the story and uses that to its advantage. It may make a sudden stop at the end but does it wisely.

I've recommended this to history and folklore buffs many times, this is such a satisfying piece of storytelling. After all these years, I love to view it every once in a while and hope that more will discover this enduring gem.

I even have the poster for Eyes Of Fire and feel I've been very lucky to have been given the opportunity of seeing this film!

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
brooding, unique horror film, 27 April 2001
Author: thomandybish from Weaverville, NC

This singularly distinct horror film concerns a colonial minister, his married mistress, and a group of their friends and supporters who flee the wrath of the people in their village and travel via raft up the Hudson river to what will eventually be upstate New York, staying one step ahead of savage indians to settle in a strange valley. Strange, because it has already been settled by French settlers, all of whom have vanished, and because the bloodthirsty indians in the area won't set foot in it. Because of the lack of a scalping epidemic(not to mention a ready-made village all set to go), the party settles down to life in the valley, unaware that a decidedly evil entity is moving among them, embodied in a strange, dark-haired little girl found in the village alone . ..

The choice of setting(Colonial-era America)is unique in itself, but the strange concept, of a village that is home to an entity made up of the lifeforces of many beings who have died violently and that entity's seduction of most of the group, is unusual. There's a weird dis-ease in the atmosphere of this place, one that sets it apart from most films like this. Recommended for those who savor atmosphere.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Interesting atmospheric indie horror film (THE GUARDIAN PART 0), 15 July 2004
6/10
Author: Bryce David

I finally watched EYES OF FIRE and I have to say that it was good. Not great. Just good, certainly for a low budget independent movie. The story, about a bunch of quirky people cast out of an uptight colonial town and decide to live in a cursed area of the forest, was really captivating in some part, while slightly laughable in other parts. The project has a "Shakespeare in the Park" kinda feel to it. I'll let you decide whether that's a good thing or not. Speaking of Shakespeare, the dialogue was pretty good (the words and expressions used sounded authentic).

Some of the horror elements in EYES OF FIRE now look like something from your average MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGER episode, which is unfortunate because the rest is fairly good (acting, location, mood...). The really creepy moments in EOF was the woman finding the place with all the feathers. And the shots of the little indian girl with the "eyes of fire". But, in the end, if the nudity was removed from EOF, this would basically be a kid's film, which doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing but EOF is certainly not in the same league as the grueling Canadian backwoods slasher, RITUALS.

The only really bad thing in EOF is the ending (I don't think they had any idea how to end it) and the "surprised ending." Geez!

Thinking about EYES OF FIRE, I'm shocked to see how much of William Friedkin's THE GUARDIAN owes to this small budget horror film. In EYES OF FIRE, the evil element is a tree (sculpted with human faces on it, like a totem), guarded by a creature who looks like a walking tree, and who controls the spirits of the people it killed/possessed (shown as naked actors). The tree/devil tries to get the group's kids. This is basically the story in THE GUARDIAN, except that it takes place in modern times.

If you're into obscure horror films, like I am, make sure to check out EYES OF FIRE. It's an interesting, if not all too successful, atmospheric period horror film.

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