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Title: Faceless (2004) Starring: Helmut Berger, Brigitte Lahaie, Telly Savalas, Christopher Mitchum, and Stéphane Audran Director: Jesus Franco Rating: Unrated Runtime: 99 minutes Avg. Score: 4 Submit Comment Hits: 20

Review of Faceless

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Comments for Faceless

• Posted on 2008-01-20
  The eyeball scene, that's all I have to say.
  
  This is a pretty wierd French horror flick from Jess Franco, arguably his only good movie. I was going to take off 1 star for the putrid music but the eyeball scene.......dude........the eyeball scene......that was sweet......
  Score: 5
• Posted on 2007-02-11
  Pointless
  
  I can't see why people gat so worked up about Jess Franco...this shallow remake of "les yeaux sans visage" is chock full of 80's grue and sharp suits with padded shoulders. It drags in lots of places, and poor old Telly obviously fimed his bits in a day somewhere else. Having said that Chris Mitchum is great, astonishingly like his father but with a career running at only 5% that of Dad, he is likeable, full of charm and holds this together.
  Brigitte (phwoar!!)Lahaie is up to her usual standard and at least she keeps her clothes on in this one!.
  Great viewing with a meat feast pizza.
  Score: 3
• Posted on 2005-07-20
  JUST FOR HORROR FANS
  
  If you're a real horror fan and especially a one of Jess Franco - this movie is for you. It's rather rare and little-known, has decent special make up effects, pretty poor acting and Caroline Munro as one of the stars. If all this is what you collection is missing - this movie is for you. So the good thing about this flick - you can say to someone: "You know, I've got Jess Franco's Faceless". The bad thing you probably won't want to watch it for the second time. Sometimes it seems the director falls into too obsessive and unnecessary erotomania and the movie gets too exploitative. Acting is bad and characters sometimes look silly. But it may be parts of this film's charm. Go ahead if you like B or C horror of 80-s.
  Score: 3
• Posted on 2004-12-22
  Pure Eurotrash schlock
  
  Jesus "Jess" Franco is a director that's sort of a secret amongst serious horror film fans. If you're the type of casual fan of the genre who thinks that "Friday the 13th," "Halloween," and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" are the best films the horror industry ever made, you have never heard of Jess Franco. If you think the "Leprechaun" franchise constitutes the apogee of the horror genre, you have never heard of Jess Franco. If you think collecting Wes Craven and John Carpenter films are as far as you need to go to balance out your DVD collection, you have never heard of Jess Franco. I don't mean to give the impression that Franco is the best directorial talent ever seen in the field, because he definitely isn't, but I have found that knowledge about some of this man's films is one of the best ways to distinguish the novices from the veterans. His highly regarded--at least in some quarters--film remains "Vampyros Lesbos," a fascinating take on the age-old vampire legend. If you don't feel up to a vampire film, give his 1988 Eurotrash epic "Faceless" a shot. Whatever you decide to do, Jess Franco might just surprise you.
  
  Although it's not saying much, I would rank "Faceless" as one of the best Franco pictures I have yet seen. The story concerns one Dr. Flamand (Helmut Berger), a plastic surgeon of some repute who has a sister he loves deeply. One day, on the way to the car with this sibling and his depraved female associate Nathalie (Brigitte LaHaie), a disgruntled former patient with grotesque facial scarring caused by a botched surgery flings a vial of acid at the good doctor. Flamand, being a wily sort of fellow, manages to avoid the vitriol. His sister, however, catches the fluid full in the face and collapses in a steaming heap. Her disfigured mug inspires the doctor to embark on a radical new experiment in plastic surgery, one requiring him to peel a face off a healthy woman in order to graft the skin onto his sister's skull. Unfortunately, Flamand doesn't possess the necessary skills to perform such a delicate operation. With Nathalie at his side, the doctor approaches Professor Orloff (Howard Vernon) with the problem. Orloff can't help, either, but he knows someone who can: Dr. Carl Moser (Anton Diffring), a former plastic surgeon with links to the Third Reich knows how to do the surgery. He in fact performed one during the war. Flamand's problem seems to be solved.
  
  Before Moser can work his magic, Flamand and Nathalie must find the right face for the transplant. Enter fashion model and party girl Barbara Hallen (Caroline Munro), who disappears into a holding cell in Flamand's clinic to await the arrival of Moser. Regrettably for Flamand, Barbara's father Terry (Telly Savalas) quickly learns his daughter is missing. Hallen uses his vast wealth to hire a private detective named Sam Morgan (Chris Mitchum) to go to Europe and track down his daughter. It doesn't take as long as you would think for Morgan to catch on to Flamand's trail, thanks in large part to Nathalie foolishly using Barbara's credit card in a village nearby. While Morgan formulates a plan to infiltrate Flamand's clinic and thus hopefully find Barbara, Moser turns up and attempts a surgery with another woman. Big mistake. Apparently, the procedure requires just the right conditions to work. The first operation ends in a big, bloody mess. While Flamand attempts to soothe his increasingly despondent sister, Moser plans another surgery. One thing about those European doctors: they never give up despite living in countries with socialized health care. It goes without saying, or it should, that Morgan eventually cracks the case wide open. The only thing I want to know is this: what the heck did Telly Savalas's character say on the phone at the end of the movie? And what was up with his voice?
  
  "Faceless" is a lot of fun because it is trashy, depraved, and gory. In other words, it provides everything I look for in this type of film. Franco tries hard to present an "elegant" film, but it's obvious from the start we're watching pure Eurotrash schlock. The cheesiness of that opening "classy" song (which frequently reappears at critical moments throughout the film) had me rolling on the floor before a single character marches onscreen, and the actors' outfits and hairstyles are the height of '80s excess. There's also something special about adult film star and B-movie horror actress Brigitte LaHaie strutting around in fancy clothes while acting out her character's depraved cravings, cravings director Franco allows full and gratuitous vent in the film. Throw in plenty of gore--including the icky operations shown in gooey close-up and a huge drill bit passing through a body--and "Faceless" is sure to deliver the thrills. While it might surprise some to see Telly Savalas in the film, remember that he often made low budget European flicks. He played, for example, the ominous butler in Mario Bava's "Lisa and the Devil." As for the beautiful Caroline Munro, her presence always adds luster to a low budget film.
  
  The DVD version of "Faceless" comes with a nice picture and audio transfer and a handful of extras. Trailers for "Faceless," "Virgin of Nuremberg," "Flesh for the Beast," and "Bronx Warriors" grace the disc. Also included for our viewing pleasure are stills, two commentary tracks, and interviews with Franco, Munro, and Chris Mitchum. Munro's comments about working with Franco, her modeling career, and her screen career are worth a watch. I recommend "Faceless" to anyone just embarking on a Franco viewing excursion. Watching this film before "Vampire Lesbos" wouldn't be a bad idea, either, since this one is more accessible. Enjoy!
  
  
  
  
  
  Score: 5
• Posted on 2004-10-04
  Overrated
  
  So far I'm batting less than 500 with Jesus Franco movies that I have bought. His movies are certainly not for everyone but some of them are true guilty pleasures. I love Vampiros Lesbos and Sadomania. I even love selected parts of Tender Flesh. Other Franco films also have their great moments. On the other hand, some of his movies really suck. Faceless is somewhere in between the two extremes. I bought it because of some of the glowing customer reviews and because I like Caroline Monroe and Brigitte Lahaie, etc. Unfortunately, in this movie they were never used to their potential. Although they were both older when this movie was made and clearly past their prime, they were both extremely beautiful women and yet they never get naked or even close. Unlike other Franco movies with rampant nudity there are only glimpses of minor actresses and then only briefly. Veteran actors Telly Savalas, Anton Diffring, and Howard Vernon appear in this movie and all appear old and extremely frail. Franco's wife Lina Romay appears briefly for about 30 seconds but looked good. Helmut Berger is an esteemed plastic surgeon who runs a clinic near Paris for treating aging rich women to restore their youthful appearance. Brigitte is his loyal and homicidal assistant. His beautiful sister gets hit in the face with acid by a disgruntled former patient. Recognizing that he is in over his head on this one, the good doctor hunts down Diffring, an escaped Nazi doctor from the holocaust who has done this kind of work before. They grab Caroline to donate her face. Her father is tycoon Telly Savalas who hires Chris Mitchum to find her. That's the plot. This movie promises much but then fails to deliver. It never actually gets to where I want to go. It only tantalyzed me with thoughts of what might have been. The best part is the actual operation itself right at the end. It actually felt more like a Jean Rollin movie except without the beautiful nudity.
  Score: 2