Shadows was a children’s supernatural anthology series that was produced by Thames Television for ITV between 1975 to 1978. The Eye, which originally aired on 1 September 1976, starred John Sanderson, Julia Lewis and Murray Brown.
I remember watching The Eye as a little kid back in Australia. It must have been on telly during school holidays and I was terrified by it. For years, I only remembered bits of it that were etched in my mind and it’s only recently I worked out the show’s name and that it was part of Shadows.
The story of The Eye
The story of The Eye centres on a young girl who is obsessed with figures from history including Napoleon, King Henry VII and Shakespeare. She has pictures stuck up on her bedroom wall and seems to be in a constant dream state.
Review verdict
I’ve got to say from the outset that I thought The Eye was verging on rubbish. It obviously scared the poop out of me as a child, but it did nothing for me now.
I’ve seen other episodes of Shadows and they were really good, great even. This wasn’t one of them.
Children’s supernatural horror shows are usually the best – they have to rely on the story and music to create the terror – clearly killing people with gore and mature themes to shock you isn’t going to make it on a show for kids.
For years, I remember this show as being creepy and drove me mad trying to discover its name. I could only remember a mosaic and a Greek vase in it.
I discovered from watching this now – probably 30 plus years later – that the story concerned a house haunted by a ghost of a Greek man called Stratos, who has something to do with the vase. But even now I’m not sure. It was all a bit muddle and mundane in parts.
The acting is probably the worse I’ve seen on the show but I’ll give it credit for creating a haunting atmosphere. And it is a kid’s show after all, so being a bit over the top is okay at times.
After 30 odd years waiting for The Eye, I’d have to say it was an anti-climax. Shadows is a fantastic series but this was a bit dull and just a bit too stupid for my liking.
