Clarissa Johal: Frightening Friday-The Eyes Have It

Friday, March 21, 2014

Frightening Friday-The Eyes Have It

The Omega Man 1971
Anthony Zerbe as Matthias
The eyes are the windows of the soul...
I've always felt that. Change the eyes and everything about the person changes. When I was a kid, I remember seeing a movie that freeeeaked me out. (Well, there were several, my parents didn't believe in babysitters) It was the 1971 version of The Omega Man based on the 1954 novel, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. The concept was simple: humanity had been wiped out by a plague which turned the population into nocturnal, vampire-like, albino mutants. The plague's only survivor spent his days patrolling the deserted city and hunting and destroying those infected. For a seven-year-old, the concept of being the last "non-infected" human should have been horrifying. But it wasn't. What gave me nightmares for the next three months were the eyes. The albino mutants had white eyes. And to my 7-year-old psyche--white eyes just weren't right.

By today's standards, the 1971 version of The Omega Man is ultra-cheesy. But I still can't watch it. Yes, yes, laugh away. The eyes still freak me out. I've seen probably almost every horror movie imaginable and consider myself pretty impervious. But once they start messing with the eyes, I get a little uncomfortable.

Defiance 2013
Tony Curran as Datak Tarr 
*Oddly enough, when I looked up stills of The Omega Man, the one I posted above looks a lot like Datak Tarr from Defiance, played by Tony Curran.
Who I happen to think is kind of hot, in a perverse kind of way. Go figure.


2 comments:

Heather R. Holden said...

Eyes changing can definitely be unsettling. I love the fact that a seemingly minor change like this can still be a major indicator that something's off. I must admit, it's a trope I like to utilize in some of my projects, haha...

Clarissa Johal, Author said...

I've been tempted to buy some freaky contacts and wear them out and about, just for fun. My diabolical sense of humor... Thanks for stopping by, Heather :)