EYES OF FIRE
dir. Avery Crounse, 1983
90 mins. United States.
In English.

MONDAY, JANUARY 6 – 10 PM
SATURDAY, JANUARY 18 – 10 PM
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22 – 7:30 PM

Set in the 1750’s, EYES OF FIRE follows a group of colonial pioneers who narrowly escape persecution after their preacher (Dennis Lipscomb) has an affair with a married woman. Exiled from the small settlement, they make their way deeper into the wilds of future-America, haunted by the spectral threat of attack by Native Americans, until they find their way to a valley the natives avoid due to superstitions about the sinister nature of the land.

A sort of Protestant riff on AGUIRRE: THE WRATH OF GOD and potentially the first “western horror” hybrid film, EYES OF FIRE is a startlingly original and effective independent film that slipped largely under the radar on release in the early 80’s. It conjures a genuine sense of dread and tackles its colonial subject matter in a surprisingly modern way, and boasts some deliriously good and unsettling low-budget practical effects.

Showing in a less-than-stellar VHS rip but losing none of its potency, this was a real Thanksgiving horror treat.