Yellow Eyes (2026)

-Written by Whitney Scott Bain.

In Roger Corman’s 1963 The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, Ray Milland confronts preacher John Dirkes, who claims, ”...if thine eyes offend thee...pluck them out!” One should be so lucky after seeing Yellow Eyes. 

Hairstylist Julia (Nena Martins) and her husband, Brad (Michael Kunicki), inherit a run-down house where they begin to explore its contents, discovering a door with an eye. Brad decides to poke fun at it, but Julia’s sixth sense gets the better of her, running out the front door. 

The next day they return, where they discover below the floorboards a strange, paper-wrapped idol with yellow eyes that fascinates Brad.

Brad begins to examine the demonic idol a little bit too closely as it begins to absorb his mind, violently taking over his will and covering his hands with a thick, black oil—tasting the yellow eye’s secretions as it possesses his mind and spirit. He begins to recruit his best friend, and other people, to embrace the darkness of this ancient horror as it feeds on people’s desires and temptations, using their psyche against them—a yin and yang in demonology. This is what you want; this is what you get. 

Brad and Julia meet with the doctor (William Derrick III), who tries to explain Brad’s erratic behavior and physical transformation (i.e., his eyes turning yellow like a form of jaundice), but the Doctor is perplexed by his theories, trying to find a reason for it. 

Julia notices the odd, violent behavior and the strange hallucinations growing in Brad, realizing he’s possessed by an evil entity. Seeking help from a local preacher, Abbott Pennrose (Brian Rooney), who shows her sacred relics and a dagger in order to perform an exorcism—hoping to ward off the evil demon in Brad, sending it back where it came from. 

There are a lot of missed opportunities here, especially in the demonic mythology department. What was the idol’s origin? Its lore? Who brought it here? How is the demon supposed to be countermeasured once it’s out of the idol? 

Yellow Eyes has an interesting setup in the first act, but fails at its conclusion, losing steam in the second and the third acts. 

Take a movie like Them! from 1954. It starts off as a detective mystery and grows into a science-fiction film through the characters discovering a true horror. This is the template Yellow Eyes should have followed.

The scares are predictable and what we’ve seen before. The special effects are fair. Images are hard to make out sometimes, with some too dark, some too light. Director Jesse Korman would have benefited from the use of a light meter. The ending sets it up for a sequel it really doesn’t need.

Directed By Jesse Korman.

Written By Mickey Solis.

Starring Nena Martins, Michael Kunicki, William Derrick III, Brian Rooney, etc. 

3/10 = WORTH WATCHING, BUT YOU’VE BEEN WARNED