In Theaters and Digital

A lot can happen in a week . . . especially when you are being spied on.  This is the reality-twisting gut punch that is Eye Without a Face, the new thriller from Writer/Director Ramin Niami (Somewhere in the City, Babe’s & Rickey’s Inn and Shirin in Love).  It turns out everything can be found online, whether we want it there or not.  Alt. Shift. Homicide.  Or not?

Eye Without a Face makes its intentions clear from the start.  From the opening frame, viewers are invited to read into both the title and situation as they both unfold.  This is a world where everyone sees everything.  It is, of course, our world and, thanks to all the cameras on our phones and computers, we are constantly being watched.

Some hackers get off on their spying.  Henry (effectively portrayed by Dakota Shapiro) does it for the company.  They are his friends.  He would never make money off of them or their activities, but he can’t stop himself from tapping into their lives and watching them as they go about their business . . . whatever that may be.

Eye Without a Face, thanks to some crisp cinematography from Tara Violet Niami, is both mesmerizing and claustrophobic, giving even the viewer a sense of being watched.  We are, after all, watching all of this madness unfold.  To not look over our shoulder while Henry opens his own computer is to deny our own humanity.  Someone is always watching, right?

The trajectory of this thriller is downright spooky, giving me the creeps as Henry, with a cold glass of milk in his hand, goes about his daily ritual of “watching” his girls as they awaken, undress, shag a stranger, learn English, and so on.  That’s right, our lead character has hacked into the webcams of several unsuspecting young women and his voyeuristic behaviors are now habitual.  He can’t stop, won’t stop.

Henry thinks he is their guardian angel, tearing up when they are lonely and so on.  It’s not pretend for him.  It’s his life.  Heavily medicated and obviously suffering from some sort of PTSD, Henry rarely leaves his apartment.  When he does, memories of his abusive childhood come creeping back in, filling the void cast from the city lights.  He is truly alone, making our emotions bunch up as he continues his spying when he returns back to the apartment.

Written and directed by Ramin Niami, Eye Without a Face takes its Rear Window leanings and incorporates a whole bunch of modern tech into its murderous gears when this agoraphobic and anxious young man in Los Angeles discovers that one of the women he spies upon might just be a killer!  Or is there something else at work here?  Spellbinding and on point with surefooted style, Eye Without a Face is a solid genre offering for those who like to have their views shaken up.

Featuring performances from Luke Cook (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Katy Keene), Vlada Verevko (Beauty and the Beast), Rebecca Berg, Ashley Elyse Rogers, Evangeline Neuheart, Sarah Marie, and a hypnotizing score from Charlie Clouser, Eye Without A Face will be available On Demand and Digital August 10 from Gravitas Ventures.

Who watches the watcher?

MPAA Rating: Unrated
Runtime: 98 mins
Director: Ramin Niami
Writer: Ramin Niami
Cast: Dakota Shapiro; Luke Cook; Vlada Verevko
Genre: Horror | Thriller
Tagline: Alt. Shift. Homicide.
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor: Gravitas Ventures
Official Site:
Release Date: May 10, 2019
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: August 10, 2021.
Synopsis: An agoraphobic young man (Henry), living with a Youtuber and struggling actor (Eric), hacks the webcams of young women, and suspects that one of them is a serial killer.