The Hypnotic Eye

A charismatic hypnotist who runs a sensational stage show. He is calculating and manipulative, using post-hypnotic commands and the ‘hypnotic eye’ device to control volunteers. His performances blur the line between entertainment and coercion, driving the killings and fear behind the plot.

A determined detective who questions hypnotism as a legitimate explanation for the mutilations. He teams with Dr. Hecht to uncover the truth, following Desmond through the theater, coffee-house, and private apartment. His persistence helps expose the manipulation and save victims.

Dave's girlfriend who becomes entangled in the hypnotist’s schemes. She is chosen as a volunteer and is at times genuinely hypnotized, complicating her sense of reality. Her oscillation between awareness and trance propels the investigation toward its confrontation.

Marcia’s friend who is first drawn into Desmond’s hypnosis. She becomes a victim of the manipulation and, in a shocking turn, acts under coercion in dangerous ways, illustrating the real-world harm of hypnotic control.

Desmond's accomplice who manipulates victims and reveals her own mutilated face. Her line, 'As long as there are faces like this,' marks a ruthless commitment to the exploitation of bodies for Desmond’s show. She ultimately dies in a dramatic leap beside Desmond.

A psychiatrist and hypnosis expert who opposes on-stage hypnotism and serves as the rational counterpoint to the mystery. He collaborates with Dave to analyze the victims and the techniques used, grounding the investigation in medical science.

A minor yet intriguing figure in the cast, whose notoriety as an impostor adds to the film’s themes of deception and disguise. He appears in the world of con men surrounding the hypnotist’s stage.

A beatnik performer in the story’s milieu, contributing to the era’s cafe-culture backdrop. His presence underlines the film’s mid‑century setting and the crowd that surrounds the hypnotist’s world.

A real-world beatnik figure in the movie, reinforcing the cultural atmosphere of the beat generation. His appearance situates the plot within the 1950s counterculture context.