Eyes of Fire (1983)

A preacher is accused of adultery and he and his followers are chased out of town and become stranded in an isolated forest which is haunted by the spirits of long dead Native Americans.

Director:

Avery Crounse

Writer:

Avery Crounse

Stars:

Dennis Lipscomb, Guy Boyd, Rebecca Stanley

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Lipscomb	...	Will Smythe
Guy Boyd	...	Marion Dalton
Rebecca Stanley	...	Eloise Dalton
Sally Klein	...	Fanny Dalton / Narrator
Karlene Crockett	...	Leah - Queen of the Forest
Fran Ryan	...	Sister - Calvin's Wife
Rob Paulsen	...	Jewell Buchanan
Kerry Sherman	...	Margaret Buchanan
Caitlin Baldwin	...	Cathleen Buchanan - a Child
Erin Buchanan	...	Meg
Will Hare	...	Calvin
Ivy Bethune	...	Rachel
Mike Genovese	...	Interrogator
Bret Pearson	...	Luther
Rose Preston	...	Indian girl

Storyline

A reverend, Will Smythe, and his followers are chased out of town after Smythe is accused of adultery and polygamy. Joined by a rugged woodsman, Marion Dalton, who wants his cheating wife, the group ventures into a valley, where dwells an ancient evil spirit. As members of the group start to disappear, the witch-bred, insane Leah must discover how to thwart the spirit.

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Plot Keywords:

forest | native american | tree | folklore | witchcraft | 

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Taglines:

The Secret is sleeping in the trees

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Genres:

Horror | Western

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cry Blue Sky

Filming Locations:

Missouri, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,600,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Elysian Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Eloise Dalton: She's crazier than a rat in a brandy keg!

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Connections

Referenced in The Blair Witch Project (1999)

User Reviews

Very good unheralded American-style Gothic "giallo" film .

This is a wonderful find for any horror film buff who can appreciate the slow-build of the typical "giallo" film, to which it compares stylistically, with a good dose of Gothic influence. Rather than load all of the budget toward the effects and skimp everywhere else, the film-makers opted to use the relatively unknown and overlooked talents of the best low-budget effects and pyrotechnics person in the business, Tassilo Baur. (I personally witnessed him put together special effects on a USC student film in 1981, on a budget of about $100 that looked like thousands. If you look carefully at the effects here, you'll see how well-realized they are for such little money.) Anyway, the effort in this gem was well-placed in the story, the direction and the acting. Overall good production values make this look as good as most studio stuff, and it's much more thoughtful. Great eerie locations and soundtrack add to the atmosphere. Fans of horror films that offer more than violence only for the sake of violence will appreciate this find. Recommended!