User Reviews

I was able to see this movie in my American Literature class this year. At first I wasn't able to tell when the movie was made because it was aged so very well. The black and white, older quality of film gives it a spooky look, and the movie can sometimes be abstract, but so was the story. If you have not read the story, it is narrated by a man who is somewhat a nurse for a sick old man in the 1800's. The old man for whom he cares for is said to have a "cold" eye that bothers the caretaker. The caretaker come into the old man's room every night, and takes a lantern to shine on the old man's eye, becoming fascinated by it. The caretaker finally decides that he can't take the eye any longer, and kills the old man by suffocating him and later dismembering him. The next day, the police show up at the narrator's home, asking about a noise disturbance that the neighbors had told the police about. The caretaker then gradually becomes extremely paranoid about the police, while the sound of the beating heart of the man grows, which he can only hear. As the sounds grow louder and louder, he tried to keep his cool with the police who are oblivious to the murder, until he finally breaks down and confesses. The entire film has a strange soundtrack throughout the short film, which includes the beat of a heart. I would strongly suggest reading the short story before watching the film. For me, it brought the story to life and made it much, much spookier than I had originally expected.