Disturbing, R-Rated 70s Thriller Sees Evil Before It Happens

By Robert Scucci
| Published 1 hour ago

If you ever found yourself wondering what it would be like if a Precog from Minority Report made a living shooting smut, 1978’s Eyes of Laura Mars has the answer you’ve been looking for. We’re not getting the sci-fi treatment here, however, but rather a neo-noir murder mystery centered on exploitation and sensationalism, anchored by a screenplay written by John Carpenter and directed by Irvin Kershner. As the mystery unravels, so does the film’s titular protagonist, who finds herself caught between her controversial occupation, an escalating criminal investigation tied to the deaths of her friends and colleagues, and a pool of suspects who are just a little too close for comfort.

Never afraid to go fully mental with its premise, Eyes of Laura Mars checks off all the boxes for a compelling psychological thriller, and it’s largely thanks to the on-screen chemistry between Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones.

A Suspicious Amount Of Precognition

Eyes of Laura Mars tells the tale of its eponymous heroine (Faye Dunaway), a fashion photographer who’s made quite the name for herself with her risqué images. Her work centers on staging violent scenes involving assault and exploitation, often echoing the kinds of compositions you’d expect to see in crime scene photography. Laura’s work is the talk of New York City, and she lives the high life, especially now that her photography book The Eyes of Mars is about to hit shelves.

The night before her book release, Laura begins experiencing disturbing visions. She witnesses murders, but from the first-person perspective of the assailant committing the crimes. Nightmares alone wouldn’t be cause for alarm, but Laura quickly realizes that these visions are tied to real events. She’s watching her friends and colleagues get killed, without knowing whose eyes she’s actually seeing through.

After crossing paths with Laura, Lieutenant John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones) is tasked with investigating the grisly murders before the killer strikes again. He suspects that Laura’s ex-husband Michael (Raul Julia) may be involved, largely because the timeline of his return to New York City lines up with the rising body count.

What troubles John most is how many images from Laura’s upcoming book bear a striking resemblance to unpublished crime scene photos connected to murders that haven’t yet been solved. Either Laura is blacking out and killing people herself, or she possesses some inexplicable ability to witness murders moments before they occur. As John and Laura grow romantically involved and the killer escalates, Laura begins pushing everyone away, realizing she no longer knows who she can trust.

Neo-Noir Beats And A Classic Twist

If you’ve spent any amount of time watching psychological thrillers, you’ll likely clock the guilty party in Eyes of Laura Mars before the credits roll. That doesn’t make the film hack or derivative, but it does rely on a logic that many modern, second-rate thrillers have turned into a familiar template for cranking out neo-noir mystery fare. Even with what I’d consider a fairly predictable third-act twist, the film remains engaging, especially during Laura’s violent visions, when she knows another one of her friends is about to be killed and she’s powerless to act quickly enough to stop it.

Tommy Lee Jones’ portrayal of Lieutenant John Neville stands out because the clear conflict of interest between his growing affection for Laura and the case itself threatens to cloud his judgment. John is aware of this and remains committed to solving the murders, even as his investigative instincts become compromised. For all he knows, he could be dating the killer, unknowingly putting himself directly in harm’s way.

Faye Dunaway’s take on Laura Mars walks a fine line between a hysterical damsel in distress and a woman who’s had enough and is ready to take control of the situation. It’s a performance that adds depth to a character who could easily fall apart under a more one-dimensional approach.

Eyes of Laura Mars is equal parts glamorous and violent, but what really pulled me in is how it leans into classic slasher beats without ever fully committing to that lane. Most of the violence happens off screen, allowing the mystery to take center stage while the tension remains intact. Things only get worse before they get better in Eyes of Laura Mars, and you can see for yourself by streaming the title for free on Tubi.