The visuals of noir can be an effective tool when used well in horror. Horror, as a genre, heavily relies on camera angle, perspective, and play between shadow and light to code the visual language of a film. The more controlled tableaus of noir, with even inkier shadows and bright beams of light, can seem radical and shocking in a contemporary horror landscape. Horror is so driven by frenetic editing and sweeping shots—360 spins or shaking handheld camerawork—that a gentler touch with very controlled framing can really stand out.

Nicolas Pesce, in his debut film as writer/director/editor, really plays on clever references to the history of the genre. The Eyes of My Mother is the story of Francisca. As a young girl, she witnesses the brutal murder of her mother by a total stranger. Her father forces her to take over the day to day housework on the family’s farm, but also gives her free reign to use whatever skills her mother, a former surgeon, taught her on the murderer chained in the family barn.