EYES OF FIRE

Director: Avery Crounse

1983, 90min.

 

“The biggest holy grail of all folk horror films.”
— Nathaniel Thompson, MONDO DIGITAL

Cinestudio Fright Nights are becoming the hot place to spend Friday nights for friends, couples, and fans of horror films rarely seen on the silver screen. Before The Blair Witch Project or The Witch, there was Eyes of Fire, a surreal thriller set in the 1750 New England wilderness. A shady preacher (Will) is nearly lynched for his liaisons with a married woman (Eloise) and Leah, who may or may not be a witch. When the preacher and his odd crew of followers look for a new place to start a settlement, the Shawnee warn them not to go into a valley haunted by Indigenous spirits. Ignoring their advice, the group claims the valley, but are soon terrified by pagan visions and highly unusual deaths. In a pitched battle between the spirits of the past and the settlers, can Leah’s magical witchery rescue the innocent and send the demons (human or nor) into the inferno of Hell? “ambitious, atmospheric indie feature is an offbeat treat for horror obscurantists!” Dennis Harvey, San Francisco Bay Guardian.