Customer Reviews

Faceless

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm surprised that Faceless isn't more well-known, considering it's a strong entry in the Euro trash-horror sweepstakes. Before viewing, I thought it was a remake of the influential French film Eyes Without a Face, but it's actually an original screenplay with parts that bring to mind Franju's movie and director Jess Franco's The Awful Dr. Orloff. This 1987 release was unusual for Franco in that he finally has a decent budget to work with, courtesy of producer/writer Rene Chateau.

The story revolves around the "Clinique des Mimosas," a medical buiness run by the twisted Dr. Flamand (Helmut Berger) and his lover Nathalie. Nathalie is played by French ex-porn star Brigitte Lahaie, whose nearly emotionless performance brings a "creepy nurse" quality to her role. The clinic specializes in...well..let's say a rather unorthodox kind of plastic surgery. The doctor and Nathalie keep track of their patients voyeur-style by watching them on a bank of six video monitors. Add to this an Igor-like assistant named Gordon with shaved eyebrows, and you've got all the ingredients for a chilling story.

Telly Savalas plays a rich businessman whose daughter Barbara, a model with a penchant for cocaine, turns up missing. Barbara is played by Caroline Munro, veteran of many sci-fi and horror films such as Starcrash, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and the gorehound clasic Maniac. She was even a "Bond girl" in The Spy Who Loved Me! Private investigator Sam Morgan (Chris Mitchum, Robert's son) is hired to search for Barbara and finds a trail that eventually leads him to the clinic.

The world of Faceless is filled with glossy, reflective surfaces and an atmosphere of rich decadence. There seems to be a subtle commentary on wealth, superficial beauty and the ugliness beneath the surface (and behind closed doors), but I may be overanalyzing a bit. At any rate, you do get a stylish, gory film with some weird erotic moments. The locations are effective: the doctor's luxurious, wood-paneled sitting room with expensive paintings on the walls, the neon-lit excess of Paris strip clubs at night, and the barren sterility of the real-life clinic building where most of the horrors take place. Franco fans will also appreciate Howard (Orloff) Vernon's appearance as a minor character named, of all things, Dr. Orloff!

I would have given Faceless 5 stars if it wasn't for the disappointing conclusion. In his interview, though, Chris Mitchum mentions some dialogue missing from the final version that would have changed the meaning of the ending completely. It's a minor drawback, however, considering how well the film delivers the goods throughout. The only other thing I disliked was the horrible George Michael-esque song that was repeated at least four times during the movie.

As usual, Shriek Show comes through with nice packaging and extras. The DVD cover is reversible, and the pamphlet inside has a lengthy interview with Caroline Munro complete with filmography. The disc's special features include interviews with Munro, Chris Mitchum and Jess Franco. The director also provides audio commentary along with Franco regular Lina Romay, who has a small part in Faceless as Dr. Orloff's wife. I would say this DVD is a worthwhile purchase for lovers of bizarre horror, and obviously a requirement for Franco fans.

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!

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......

Well, a Jess Franco film, with Brigitte Lahaie, and its not rated, I was kind of expected a porno with that mix-up. But this was actually a totally different Franco film. Its a mystery/horror/thriller.

When this film opens up, we are shown the beautiful night-time streets of France during Christmas time. The first thing that confuses me though, is why does the opening title card say ""LES PREDATEURS DE LA NUIT""? I know thats the French title, but why would they leave it like that in the American DVD? But alongsides that, we see Dr. Flammand (Helmut Berger), Nathalie (Brigitte Lahaie), and Flammands sister Ingrid (Christiane Jean) strolling around Paris one night. But when a former patient of Flammand shows up with a scarred face, she throws acid at the doctor, but misses him and hits his sister full force in the face, resulting in severe burns and scars.

So this doctor continues on a quest, kid-napping the most beautiful models in Paris and holding them in these chambers in the basement of his clinic. He has TV monitors in his private suite, where he can occupy the women 24/7. Flammand quotes the girl in the farthest chamber as "Perfect". That "perfect" girl in the film is Barbara Hallen, daughter of Terry Hallen (Telly Savalas). Terry is an ecentric businessman in New York. He becomes suspicios of his daughters disappearence, so he hires his friend from the war Sam Morgan (Chris Mitchum) to travel out to France in hopes to bring Barbara back to New York for Terry. So Morgan sets out to France on a private jet, starting out at the morgue.

Meanwhile, Flammand & Nathalie consult Dr. Orloff on opinions to who can do the operation on Ingrid's face. He suggests Dr. Karl Moser, a Nazi doctor. So they sent in all the way to Spain, Moser agrees to come to Paris to help preform on Ingrid. But the doctors mental henchman Gordon ends up scratching Barbaras face while he ravages her, resulting in Flammand needing a quick replacement. So they kidnap Melissa who works at a club "Megatown". Well, after Nathalie seduces her for whatever reason, she is put on the operating table with the help of Moser. But, the operation fails because her skin was too flexible, and ends up being torn to shreds.

Meanwhile, Morgan investigates the photo-op (Marcel Philipot) from the night Barbara disappeared. That conversation ends up in Morgan fighting a random body building guy (Tony Awak) by kicking him in the balls.

With Melissa dead and Barbara still scratched, they go to a club where they find actress Florence Guerin showing off some killer dance moves. Once again, Nathalie manages to lesbo-seduce her to the clinic, where she is then put on the operating table, leading to a very squeamish conclusion. Morgan manages to sneak into the clinic after a suspicious talk with Flammand, where he encounters the henchman. The henchman pows an axe right into a fire extinguisher, blinding him. Morgan then impales him on metal hooks randomly hanging on the wall. He walks across the hall and finds the locked up women. He goes in the furthest room to unstrap Barbara, but Nathalie finds them and locks Morgan in with her. The doctors even stretch it by cementing them into the room, leaving them gasping for air.

Now the doctors all toast over the sucess of the operation and getting away with it all. They all toast to a new year and drink.

But back in New York, Telly Savalas' character gets one last message from Morgan, which exactly quotes "If you don't hear from us in 12 hours, send in the marines (BEEP) (BEEP) (BEEP)", so Telly Savalas soon becomes suspicious of a day without messages, so he picks up the phone, says something in French to his office attenant, then bringing us to the films end. (What he says translates to ""Jenny, get me on the first flight to Paris"" if you were wondering)

Faceless has got to be one of my favorite European films. It has great gore, and I loved the music in this film. I own the rare soundtrack 7" LP so I can even listen to the films music whenever! They also play great music in the club scenes, which inclide "Just Imagination" and "Crystal Eyes" (Crystal Eyes for whatever reason wasn't listed on the end credits.

I was kind of disappointed in the films end, but it sort of leaves you up in the air, where you don't know how it really ended. There is the hope that if Telly Savalas finds the chambers fast enough, he can find some sort of clue showing that there is another room behind the brick wall, and hopfully finds his daughter & Morgan alive. If you ask me, hes gonna kick the three doctors asses either way. So I love Faceless.

I give it a 5/5

I bought the Euro Trash: Triple Feature last year and that's how I saw this bizarre but great French horror flick. It has a pretty nice 80's atmosphere but don't expect any scares, however what this film has is tons of gore. If your familiar with Jess Franco's work then you would know that he specializes in exploitation, sleaze and low budget horror. Director Jess Franco made a lot of duds during his career, but in his filmography there are several hidden gems and Faceless is definitely one of them!. True to Franco's style, the film is trashy and sleazy throughout but it's the eighties atmosphere that sets this film apart from the majority of Franco's films, as Faceless takes in trashy eighties pop and themes of vanity, which ensure that the film is always obviously a product of the eighties. The film begins with the disappearance of a model named Barbara Hallen. Her father hires a private detective to find her, and while on her trail in Paris; the detective eventually makes his way to a private clinic where strange experiments have been going on. The not so good doctor who has a sister with a permanently disfigured and burnt face from a crazy woman who threw acid on it in a previous scene, decides to fix his sister's face and he's using skin from young women to do it!.

The film's biggest plus point is the scenes of gore! there are things such as a needle in the eye, a drill through the skull, a chainsaw decapitation and numerous surgery sequences which are well done, and I'm sure that alot of gore hounds will love it. The cast is also a standout element of the film, as Franco recasts Howard Vernon in the role of Dr Orloff, and we've also got performances from the likes of Telly Savalas, Anton Diffring and Jean Rollin's beautiful frequent collaborator Brigitte Lahaie. The story isn't massively strong, but it's not bad either as Franco strings a few different threads together and that, along with the gore and nudity going on throughout, tends to ensure that the film is always interesting. The film itself is also good for quite a few laughs; Chris Mitchum's (he played the lead detective) encounter with the muscled bodyguard named "Doodoo". The inexplicable presence of a drag queen in Helmut Berger's clinic, a joke Franco spontaneously made up on the set, even Helmut Berger looked a little disturbed after entering the room (Franco probably didn't tell him who or what was in the room). An electric doll (the stand-in for a body) that runs wild due to some electric failure, with its teeth clappering up and down like wild. Why fix it? Just keep it in the movie. No one will notice.... The music that Franco has chosen is pretty awful but then again it doesn't distract the viewer from this wonderfully cheesy french horror flick, I highly recommend this to fans of European horror, check it out.

THIS IS AN OFTEN OVERLOOKED LITTLE CLASSIC. THAT WONDERFUL STYLE OF DEATHS WITH IMAGES OF GORE AND WONDERFUL MAKEUP. THE CLASSIC STYLE MAKEUP THAT STICKS WITH YOU. A WOMAN IS BURNED IN THE FACE AND SHE AND HER BROTHER AND HIS WIFE INGRID WILL DO ANYTHING TO BRING BACK HER BEAUTY.

THIS FILM HAS EVERYTHING A HORROR FAN COULD WANT. GORE, MURDER, BLOOD, SEX, TONS OF NUDITY AND A TWISTED LITTLE PLOT. THE FILM ITSELF DOES HAVE HOLES IN THE STORY BUT IT'S A PICTURE ABOUT EXPERIMENTS, MURDER, NEEDLES BEING STUCK IN THE EYE. HEADS BEING SAWED OFF, SKIN BEING PEALED FROM THE FACES, RAPE, FORE PLAY, AND JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING.

LONG BEFORE HANNIBAL LECTER EVER TORE THE FACE OFF OF AN INNOCENT GUARD THERE WAS DR. KARL HEINZ MOSER A NAZI DOCTOR THAT LOVED TO TOUCH AND REPLACE BEAUTY AT ALL COST.

WOMAN THAT ARE BEAUTIFUL ARE KIDNAPPED CLOTHES TAKEN FROM THEM AND HELD NAKED, HOSTAGE TO THE DOCTORS THAT WANT TO PLAY WITH THERE LIFE'S. FROM SEX TO MURDER, TO A BRUTE IGOR LIKE SLAVE THIS MOVIE PUSHES THE BEAUTY OF SKIN, IT PUSHES THE CLASSIC FEEL OF RETRO HORROR CINEMA THAT I MISS SO MUCH.

IF YOU LIKE THAT CLASSIC HORROR CINEMA OF THE 70'S THEN THIS MOVIE WORKS, IT'S A PURE FUN RIDE INTO GORE AND MAKEUP BEFORE CGI KILLED EVERYTHING.

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.

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.

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.

Dr. Flamand (helmut berger) kidnaps beautiful women and cuts their faces off in experiments for his sister. His beautiful assitant (Brigitte Lahaie) helps abduct the women , one a fashion model played by genre favorite Caroline Munro. There is a descent amount of gore , not like the package plays it up to be. telly savalas has a small role. The extras are cool but the interviews go on forever and the still gallery is poorly set up.This is jess franco's best movie , but if you've seen anything else he directed that's not saying much.