The film had its world premiere on March 8, 2014 at South by Southwest and features Alexandra Essoe as a hopeful young starlet who finds that fame's price is not always easily paid.

Sarah's prospects at stardom look grim until she takes an audition for a film called The Silver Scream, held by the powerful production company Astraeus Pictures.

Sarah again agrees to these demands, and after being told to open herself up to the potential to "transform", she experiences extreme euphoria and undergoes a trance state, during which she notices that the casting director is wearing a pentagram-like necklace.

They argue over exchanging sex for film parts until Erin turns on the kitchen lights and sees Sarah's disfigured face.

She returns to her apartment and kills Tracy before putting on the presents that Astraeus left her: a black gown, a long brunette wig, and a silver pentagram necklace.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Starry Eyes pokes Hollywood's seedy underbelly to produce a refreshingly original horror story led by a breakout performance from Alex Essoe.

[9] Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com gave the film a score of 3/4 stars, writing that it "may leave you feeling hopeless, but its bleak vision of masochistic perfectionism is clear-eyed, cogent, and devastatingly unsettling.

"[10] Richard Culpers of Variety praised Essoe's performance and wrote: "Though it’s a tad overcranked in the final furlong, the sheer energy on display and a devilishly compelling plot ultimately win the day.

"[11] In their review, Fangoria remarked that "[Directors and writers] Kolsch & Widmyer are clearly attuned to the pitch black nature that consumes Sarah but, like the alluring score, there's something stirring in her eventual transformation of living through an actor's worst cosmetic nightmare and still forcibly taking what she wants.