THE EYES OF LURID MESS

THE EYES OF LAURA MARS (1978)
dir: Irvin Kershner

MAD #206,April 1979
w: Larry Siegel
a: Angelo Torres

There is a premiere party for the newest book by Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway), fashion photographer. It is there that she first meets John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones), who is approaches her to tell her he doesn't understand how she can glorify crime and violence.

Henry Fonda used to do commercials for View-Master

The next morning, Laura does her next photo shoot, involving models fighting among riots amid New York City. She sees visions of a murder about to happen and has her manager Ronald (Rene Auberjonois) call off the shoot. Laura knows someone has just killed Elaine Cassell (Rose Gregorio), who hosted the gallery where she had her party the night before, and rushes to the scene.

Laura gets there too late and is brought to the station as a witness. Somebody is committing a series of killings to get to her. She meets Neville again, who is the head detective. Her ex-husband Michael (Raul Julia) comes back in need of protection because he might be a suspect. Her driver Tommy (Brad Dourif) may also be a suspect because he reveals having a past criminal record.

Laura sees another vision through the eyes of the killer of two of her models as the next victims. At their funeral, Neville is investigating the case and while offering her police protection during the ride afterwards, they fall in love.

There's a party for Donald that Laura attends. She has to meet Michael, who's in some kind of trouble. Michael can't meet her there and the police are tailing her, so Donald acts as a decoy while she leaves separately, but Donald is killed before it's too late.

The parody removes how the audience is made to believe Tommy is the actual killer, when he is questioned, bolts, and gets shot down. Laura and Neville go away on vacation with her thinking the suspect has been caught and it is all over, yet someone comes after her through a hotel door. Neville breaks through a window in time. It is at their hotel that this happens, not her apartment as depicted here.

Neville turns out to have been the killer along, being the offended viewer at the beginning. He reveals he has a split personality and if Laura really loves him she'll do the right thing and shoot him.