The Sandman is real. That’s the premise of Eye For An Eye, but where it gets its major thrust from begins in the opening scrawl which promises that Mr. Sandman - as he is referred to throughout this horror flick - only targets bullies.
With the promise that this monster will take a bully’s eyeballs and munch on them while they scream and cry, Eye For An Eye begins. It’s moody and atmospheric. Above everything else, though, the horror film is glorious, at once trading its dark atmosphere for a momentary lift of song and dance as a cheerleading musical moment kicks off the horror. That’s right: a musical! The moment is flashy, bright, hilarious, and - well - it ends in tragedy. Eye For An Eye is, after all, the feature debut from acclaimed music video director Colin Tilley.
And then the screaming begins as this surreal moment gives way to the swampy darkness in this Florida-set horrorshow. Eye For An Eye is truly unforgettable folk horror and it definitely delivers with great production values, a remarkably horrific new presence in horror, and a set of performances which provide one hell of a nightmarish narrative.
Co-written by Elisa Victoria and Michael Tully, Eye For An Eye tells the story of a New York teen trying to get over the sudden loss of her parents after a drunk driver takes them out. And the atmospheres - including the sounds!! - are all present to give the audience an immersive experience as she gets in over her head when she finds herself facing down the community’s ancient lore: Mr. Sandman, a supernatural figure which feels - wait for it - rather fresh and unconventional. 
Adapted from Victoria’s own graphic novel, the events in Eye For An Eye are wonderfully handled by the cast - even if some of the performances are a bit over the top - as Anna (Whitney Peak), moving from New York to a small Florida town to live with her grandmother (S. Epatha Merkerson), is a bit uneasy and makes a lot of mistakes in her transition from big city to small town. We feel all of that unsettling uneasiness as she goes about this life change, pushing the limits and falling in with the wrong crowd.
Isolated and in unfamiliar surroundings, she immediately settles in with a couple of local teens (Finn Bennett and Laken Giles), but when she becomes a bystander to an unforgivable act of violence, she finds herself ensnared by Mr. Sandman – the twisted soul of a tormented child who haunts bullies’ dreams before feasting on their eyeballs when they finally wake - and no amount of cooing and fun-sounding nicknames from her grandmother is going to save her from his lengthy reach across the dark swampwater to the heavily wooded shore.
Bullies beware! Eye For An Eye opens in select theatres from Ley Line Entertainment on June 20th.
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 101 mins
Director: Collin Tilley
Writer: WElisa Victoria; Michael Tully
Cast: S. Epatha Merkerson; Whitney Peak; Finn Bennett
Genre: Horror
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Distributor: Ley Line Entertainment
Official Site:
Release Date: June 20, 2025
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: Follows the story of Anna who grieves the death of her parents as she moves from New York to Florida to stay with her grandmother. She falls in with some other teens, but when she sees a grisly act of violence, she finds trapped.
