Greta Lee, whose nuanced performance in Past Lives garnered widespread critical acclaim, is set to step behind the camera for her feature filmmaking debut. She will both direct and write the screenplay for The Eyes Are the Best Part, a psychological horror film for Searchlight Pictures. The project is an adaptation of Monika Kim’s unsettling novel about the making of a female serial killer.
The novel has been described as a “terrifying tale of misogyny, Asian fetishization and cannibalism.” It introduces Ji-won, a struggling college freshman whose life unravels after her father’s affair leads him to leave the family. Ji-won then develops an “obsession with eating human eyes,” finding an “inventive way to satiate her rage and hunger.”
The book, published in June 2024, quickly earned critical notice. The New York Times lauded The Eyes Are the Best Part as “violent, smart, gruesome and wildly original,” adding that the novel not only pulls readers into “a horrific world of murder and cannibalism” but also critiques misogyny, explores Asian fetishization and stereotypes, and shares the experience of navigating two cultures, all while telling a “touching story of a family in turmoil.” It recently won the Bram Stoker Award for superior achievement in a first novel.
Read more: ‘Past Lives’ Star Greta Lee Says ‘Tron: Ares’ is “Culturally Relevant to Us Now”
The film will be produced by Matt Jackson and Joanne Lee through Jackson Pictures, alongside Lulu Wang through Local Time, and Dani Melia. Wang and Melia are known for their work on The Farewell and the Prime Video miniseries Expats. Kim will serve as an executive producer.
This directorial debut follows a period of heightened visibility for Lee. Before commencing production on The Eyes Are the Best Part, she is scheduled to appear in several upcoming projects. These include the Disney film Tron: Ares, Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite, the Kent Jones drama Late Fame alongside Willem Dafoe, and the fourth season of The Morning Show.
Searchlight Pictures’ senior VP of production, Taylor Friedman, and creative executive Daniel Yu will oversee the project for the studio. The project positions Lee as a significant new voice in genre filmmaking, extending her contributions to the cinematic landscape beyond acting.
