Eye of the Devil (1966)

(On Cable TV, November 2022) A generations-old folk tradition, blood sacrifices for the harvest, an intriguing cast of actors, the last gasp of black-and-white cinematography at MGM—given those ingredients, it’s a surprise that Eye of the Devil falls flat. As amazing as it is to see David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Donald Pleasance and Sharon Tate share time in the same horror film, the rest of it often feels too mechanical to be interesting. I suppose that part of this may be due to better known The Wicker Man taking up similar themes just a few years later, or the atmospheric black-and-white cinematography being unable to rival the pop of colour. Niven is his respectable self as the owner of a vineyard who understands that the fate of his harvest is directly linked to him, while Tate makes a good impression in a first big-screen role. Still, the troubled production history of the film (with Kim Novak being replaced by Kerr three-quarter of the way in the production) is arguably more interesting than what we see on-screen.