EYES BEHIND THE STARS (1978)

A photographer and his model are on a photo shoot in a forest when they get the feeling they are being watched. The feeling becomes so strong that they decide to cut their session short and leave. Later, when they develop the photos they took, they discover what looks like alien creatures in the background.

That's about the first 20 minutes of the film. The remaining 70 minutes follow a journalist and a ufologist as they investigate the disappearance of the photographer and model. They encounter government agents who are determined to stymie their investigation and suppress the UFO story. Along the way, Martin Balsam turns up as a police inspector.

Though its storyline presages "The X Files" by fifteen years, EYES BEHIND THE STARS is a dull, muddled mess of a movie. The ending makes little sense, even though I watched it twice just to be sure I hadn't missed something.

ITEM: If your film takes place in England, the cars should not be left-hand drive nor should be driven on the left side of the road.

ITEM: The foley artist did not do a very good job. For example, in one scene where the characters cross a lawn, it sounds like they're walking on gravel.

ITEM: For the English-language version, another actor dubbed Martin Balsam's dialogue--though Balsam was clearly speaking English.

ITEM: The aliens are dressed like deep-sea divers.

ITEM: When the fashion model turns up in the woods in a catatonic state, the police bring her in for questioning rather than taking her to the nearest hospital.

ITEM: The journalist comes to believe that someone he trusts is in cahoots with the government agents, but can't figure out who it is. The mole's identity, however, is painfully obvious.

ITEM: Our intrepid journalist and ufologist take the model (quite effortlessly) from the government facility in which she is being held. Since she is catatonic, the reporter brings in a psychic to read her thoughts. The sub-plot is extraneous and goes nowhere.

ITEM: It's never explained what the aliens are doing here, let alone why the government agents are working in cahoots with them.

ITEM: On several occasions, different characters pronounce UFO "yoo-foe."

ITEM: The opening credits state that writer/director Mario Gariazzo (as Roy Garrett) is a certified ufologist. The closing credits insist that the film is based on real-life events.