‘Eye for an Eye’ Review: Mr. Sandman Is Coming for You

Brendan Jesus

4 months ago

An eye for an eye is one of my favorite principles. Theoretically, it’s terrible for the natural order; someone steals from you, you break their hands. Something about the tangibility of giving yourself justice is bittersweet. Elisa Victoria took this idea to terrifying heights with their graphic novel Mr. Sandman. Another principle I’m fond of is, “If you want it done right, then do it yourself.” That’s exactly what Elisa Victoria did.

Eye for an Eye follows Anna Reeves (Whitney Peak), a tortured soul implanted directly into Florida’s wetlands from the busy streets of Brooklyn. Anna’s parents recently passed away in a tragic car accident that left Anna in the custody of her blind grandmother, May (S. Epatha Merkerson). Things start strong as Anna makes quick friends with Julie (Laken Giles) and Shawn (Finn Bennett). A grotesque act of violence unwittingly throws Anna and her friends into the sights of a truly terrifying being.

Anna Reeves: A Tortured Soul in Crisis

I haven’t had the opportunity to read Elisa Victoria’s Mr. Sandman, and if it’s anything like the movie, it’s going to be a page-turner. Elisa Victoria and Michael Tully adapted Mr. Sandman into a well-written, finely tuned somatic nightmare. Eye for an Eye tells a tale as old as time: someone was wronged, and their spirit longs for wicked revenge. Each character feels fully fleshed out, with their intentions fitting for their respective actions. Every character has its distinct intricacies, but Anna, understandably, is the most fascinating among the bunch.

Anna, as stated earlier, is a tortured soul. Part of her wants to blame herself for being alive while her parents died in the car crash. She spends her evenings prone on the floor, listening to affirmations and therapeutic videos. These videos are meant to ground Anna and remind her that it’s okay to be alive and that she’s HERE. Once Mr. Sandman is on her tail, she must take herself to a headspace somewhere between being present and dissociated. This beautiful back and forth continually makes Anna question everything about herself.

Mr. Sandman: A Terrifying Creature Design

What steals the show is how director Colin Tilley and cinematographer Robert Leitzell capture Mr. Sandman. The creature design itself (prosthetics by Lone Wolf Effects) is truly haunting. At points, it seems as if we’re haunted by its appearance through the use of a practical, digital puppet creature. Mr. Sandman occasionally has incredibly fluid movements, while at other points, he has herky-jerky, almost J-horror-like movements.

Mr. Sandman, as we’re told in the opening title card, takes his victims’ eyes (his victims are bullies whose names are etched into his tree). This originally had me slightly worried. If the creature has one specific way of dispatching its victims, it could corner the creatives into one singular way of crafting their horror. I was pleasantly surprised by how wrong I was. Mr. Sandman creates specifically crafted nightmares straight out of his victims’ subconscious.

Stellar Performances and Tight Pacing

Eye for an Eye is a unique take on modern-day folk horror. While some of the dialogue was too expository for its good, and I wish there had been less use of digital effects, the final product is substantive and stylistically impressive. Everyone on screen brought their A-game, and nothing seemed to be left on the cutting room floor. Even for its nearly hour and 40-minute runtime, it’s tightly paced and doesn’t drag for a second. You’re going to want to keep your peepers peeled for this one.

Eye for an Eye: Release Date and Where to Watch

Eye for an Eye hits select theaters VOD on June 20th.