Spanish psychological thriller about a woman investigating the mystery of her twin sister's murder, produced by Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth).
"When a young woman, suffering from a degenerative eye disease, discovers her sister hanged in the basement of her house everything points to suicide. Itched by other suspicions, Julia (Belén Rueda, The Orphanage) intuitively feels this is a murder case and embarks on a dark journey where the emanating light is literally fading to a flicker at the tunnel’s twisted end. As Julia begins to uncover the terrifying truth about her sister’s death, her sight deteriorates, blurred between a series of unexplained disappearances, deaths and her own struggle for survival." (Official Synopsis)
Spain makes some of the best horror movies in the world right now (see RECs 1 & 2 and The Orphanage) because its film-makers aren’t afraid of lavishing technical finesse on genre flicks. So it is with Julia’s Eyes, a Guillermo Del Toro production with gorgeous, inky-blue cinematography and The Orphanage’s phenomenal Bélen Rueda in the title role. For the first hour, as Rueda investigates her blind sister’s suicide while worrying about own fading vision, director Guillem Morales nudges greatness.
Like the ‘giallo’ films of Dario Argento – brilliantly twisty Italian thrillers that revel in their lurid unlikeliness – the film shows Julia encountering all manner of creepy suspects (the squinty next-door neighbour with a hunchback, the janitor whose name means ‘Twilight’) in all manner of darkened corners. There’s a terrific subterranean chase lit only by mobile phone and camera flash, and a great scene in a changing room full of witchy blind women, although the way the film equates sightlessness with spookiness veers towards uncomfortably close to offensive.
Come the halfway mark, however, Morales can’t decide between Hitchcockian suspense and outright horror, and the film gives in to its heroine’s hysteria. For reasons best known to the scriptwriter, Rueda finds herself alone, blind and helpless in a house she suspects has claimed two lives already. It’s the set-up of a forgettable slasher, rather than something this sophisticated, and though it pays off with some suitably creepy moments, the film never quite manages to claw its credibility back, ending up less than the sum of its excellent parts.
By Matt Glasby, Flicks.co.nz
It's overlong but Del Toro acolyte Rueda brings some much atmosphere and suspense that you'll barely notice.
A fascinating, broken-backed picture full of riveting twists and dubious psychology.
Evocatively underlit scenes and subtle digital effects nicely mimic Julia’s failing eyesight. Combined with the more gothic elements — creepy houses, stormy nights and distorted camera angles — the overall effect is pleasingly chilling.
Edge-of-the-seat viewing from start to finish.
Pulls off at least one must-see: a virtuoso sequence evoking Julia’s blindness, with nearly every shot locked onto Rueda’s face.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 2nd Feb 2012.
Release date: February 2nd 2012.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
