The Faustian bargain on its own is a great, compelling plot with plenty of room for metaphor and personal touches. Angel Heart, Needful Things, and even the Two-Face plotline of The Dark Knight all incorporate something of the story, proving its malleability, but it rarely pops as well as it does when applied to Hollywood. The very best example may or may not be Mulholland Drive, but Starry Eyes does an admirable job of diving headlong into the parallels between acting tryouts and selling one’s soul for material benefit, but it does so with the clinical restraint of a different David.
Sarah (Alex Essoe), as fed up with her passive-aggressive roommates as she is with her job as a waitress at some third-rate Hooters knock-off in downtown LA, catches wind of tryouts going on for a new horror movie called The Silver Scream, and decides to audition. Certain she has failed to impress the producers, she retreats to the bathroom and, in a fit, reveals to no one but the viewer the dark undercurrent of her ambition by ritualistically pulling out large chunks of her own hair. Well, almost no one, because one of the producers happens to wander into the bathroom, and is so impressed by her “commitment” that she hires Sarah for The Silver Scream on the spot.
Something is amiss. Essoe is great throughout, bringing dimension and humanity to a character that could have easily become a cypher or a caricature, but the movie’s greatest strength is the way it creates sympathy for her even when it’s clear that Sarah is almost entirely to blame. Shades of The Brood and Videodrome seep into the film as Sarah’s ambition, her repressed anxiety, and her body slowly blossom into...something else. Cushioned in a warm 80s vibe a la Ti West’s The House of the Devil, replete with a throwback synth score and a mood equally inspired by the “Satanic panic,” the movie plays less like a slow-burn than a long build-up to an ending that will more than satisfy gorehounds and body-horror fans.
-Brian L.
Archival details
- Original URL
- https://metallifestyle.weebly.com/curtains-movie--tv-reviews/a-belated-31-nights-of-horror-night-eight-starry-eyes
- Recovery source
- live-weebly
- Recovery date
- 2026-07-22
- Stewardship polish
- 2026-07-22
- Preservation status
- restored
- Missing assets
- None recorded
Preserved by Bloodsoaked Media · The Archives