The Hypnotic Eye (1960)

What could be driving various beautiful young women to mutilate themselves? What do they all have in common? Could it be the devilish hypnotist Desmond (Jacques Bergerac) and his mysterious assistant Justine (the 50 foot woman, Allison Hayes)? A skeptical detective (Joe Patridge) becomes personally involved when a friend (Merry Anders) becomes the latest victim, and his own girlfriend (Marcia Henderson) falls under the spell of the hypnotist.As with other movies from the era, this originally came complete with a gimmick designed to lure people away from their TV sets and into the theatres. In this case, that would be "Hypno-Magic". Overall, the movie is pretty amusing, with the suave, handsome Bergerac doing a fine job of taking centre stage. The makeup effects are fairly good for the time this was made, and some of the methods of self mutilation are a hoot, even if we don't see all of them: flammable shampoo, lye cocktail, face pressed into fan blades, etc. One has to wonder if Herschell Gordon Lewis was somewhat inspired by this one when he made "The Wizard of Gore" 10 years later.The cast keeps it watchable, particularly the striking Ms. Hayes, who does have a (not terribly surprising) twist in store for us right near the end. The filmmakers also get some credit for not over explaining things; for example, not giving us a back story for Desmond and Justine. The movie takes a brief detour into beatnik culture at the start of the second half, showcasing poet Lawrence Lipton and bongo drummer Eric Nord. Jimmy Lydon plays an emergency doctor, and in another doctor role the real life "Great Impostor" Fred Demara is cast."The Hypnotic Eye" is agreeable goof ball entertainment for people looking for a vintage "shocker".Six out of 10.

When a series of strange self-mutilations against women occurs throughout the city, the police investigator assigned to the case worries a big-shot hypnotist is responsible and tries to keep his girlfriend from falling under his spell and becoming another victim.This here was a fairly entertaining if somewhat slightly flawed effort. The main crux of this one is the fact that there's just as much of a mystery angle as there is a horror angle, almost to the point of that being the film's interest rather than the horror since the mutilations take place before the film starts with us getting involved at the most recent attack while the majority of the film takes focus on the police trying to find the cause of the attacks with little effort before stumbling onto the whole affair at the end. This isn't bad at all despite the change in tactics because the mystery is handled nicely with a rather shocking reveal late in the film that makes it a lot more shocking than expected. The few attacks shown are quite gruesome and graphic for the time-period, with one being quite shocking overall. Coupled with a bevy of attractive women and a rather healthy viewpoint of hypnosis and it's effects, this one isn't all that bad.Today's Rating-PG: Violence.

Something weird is happening. Reports are coming from all over town that beautiful young women are mutilating themselves--and no one, even the women, know why. The police are baffled and the trail leads to a stage hypnotist who MIGHT be giving women some sort of hypnotic suggestions to injure themselves! But why? What's all this about anyway? This is one of those films where you just need to accept the premise and go with it. Sure, you can't do evil things like this with hypnosis (I should know, as I have training in hypnosis and WOULD use it for evil if it was possible!). But, ignore this and watch this interesting little horror-suspense film--a film far better than I expected. That's because although it is a low-budget film with a cast of lesser-known actors, the script is exciting and creepy. I also liked the William Castle-style of direction--with the hypnotic eye! Just be warned--it might be a bit too creepy for small kids. Still, it's a dandy horror-suspense film.

My 10/10 rating of course only applies if you're totally into B-movies from the era of poodle skirts and pompadours; other people will find "The Hypnotic Eye" worthless. A previous reviewer said that this movie is practically impossible to find. Fortunately, I can tell you exactly where to find it: the 1950s/1960s horror/sci-fi section in Movie Madness, a video/DVD store in Portland, Oregon.Anyway, here's the plot. Perplexing magician Desmond (Jacques Bergerac) is hypnotizing young women with an "eye" and getting them to mutilate themselves; for example, one woman sets her hair on fire. Naturally, a detective starts investigating, and discovers more than he bargained for.Overall, it's the average campy flick from that period. The only other cast member whom I recognized was Allison Hayes, better known as the 50 Ft Woman. As for Jacques Bergerac, he also appeared on "The Dick Van Dyke Show", and as a villain on the old "Batman" TV series. Speaking of anything, why's his character named "Desmond"? I only know that name from "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" and from Desmond Dekker (RIP). The things that we see in life.