Eyes Without a Face: Skin & Masks

Eyes Without a Face explores the importance of the bodily form to the ability to empathise and connect to others. Christine, left with a scarred face after a car accident, lives a secluded life, forced to wear a mask, lest anyone sees her damaged face. This mask, however, proves to be more of a hindrance to her interactions and stands as a metaphor for how others in the film stop treating her as an independent human.

The film also highlights the sensory impact of horror involving skin. Skin is the barrier between our interior and the world; it is the liminal space between ourselves and others. Disruption of this space is particularly horrifying, especially when it involves the removal of skin, as Christine's father does in the film.