The trailer for Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) is enough to give you a glimpse (haha get it) at just how cool it is—a different kind of cool than any John Carpenter movie, and cooler than any other Irvin Kershner film (she says authoritatively, even though the only other Kershner film she’s seen is The Empire Strikes Back). Perhaps it’s because the filmmakers lean into the chic, beautiful European giallo vibes? I don’t know. But with the intersection of art, sex, and violence on the streets of New York, all set to the tune of Michael Zager’s disco banger “Let’s All Clap”? Sign me the eff up.

The cast, obviously, is to die for: Raul Julia, Brad Dourif, Tommy Lee Jones, Rene Auberjonois, and of course the brilliant and mmm, let’s say fiery Faye Dunaway. And whomever was responsible for using the work of the provocative fashion photographer Helmut Newton as a proxy for Laura Mars…well, I hope they got a raise because it was an inspired choice. It gives the entire proceedings an air of authenticity; Ms Mars’s photos are stunning, and we believe they’d cause the establishment to question what kind of a degenerate would create such art—if they’d deign to call it that. Overall, it’s a stylish thriller that predicts the slasher cycle that was about to begin over in the sleepy little town of Haddonfield, Illinois and it’s still asking relevant questions about depictions of violence in art and media.