Blind Movie Review

How do you make a home invasion movie fresh?

Bryan Bertino's The Strangers offers a bleak and original perspective by reducing the motive to a simple "We did this to you because you were home." In Mike Flanagan's Hush, our hero is deaf and isn't aware of the invader's presence until it is too late. And Fede Álvarez's Don't Breathe flipped the roles entirely by making the invaders the unlikely victims to a sinister homeowner.

So how does German-born filmmaker Marcel Walz switch things up in his latest horror/thriller, Blind?

Our story centers on Faye (Sarah French), a beautiful former actress who's lost her vision after a botched laser eye surgery. Hopeless and depressed, Faye becomes a recluse in her Hollywood Hills dream house. Occasionally, and much to her chagrin, her blind friend, Sophia (Caroline Williams), and mute personal trainer, Luke (Tyler Gallant), who may or may not have a crush on Faye, get her out of the house and into the real world to acclimate her to life as a blind person.

But Luke isn't the only person crushing on Faye. There's another figure in a stoic, expressionless mask who will do anything to get closer to her. Even if it means eliminating anyone he sees as competition.

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Blind is this: This might be the first home invasion movie where the main character never fully realizes there's a stranger in the house with her.

Whereas Hush found our deaf hero becoming aware of the invader and fighting him off early on, Walz and screenwriter Joe Knetter have accomplished the opposite. By keeping our hero in total darkness for nearly the entire film, they've created a situational thriller that works in ways you wouldn't expect it to. Scenes of the main character going through her daily motions are made tense and uncomfortable as we become aware of things Faye is otherwise oblivious to. From a jagged piece of glass on the floor and Faye walking around barefoot, to our masked antagonist lurking in the shadows, there's a sense of danger in almost every frame. It's a combination of Walz's fluid direction, Thomas Rist's beautiful cinematography, and composer Klaus Pfreundner's swelling, moody score that constantly push the story forward, making this 88-minute film seem even shorter than it is.

And even though we are never given an action-packed altercation between hero and villain, when the two do finally confront each other, it's so nerve-shreddingly tense you'll overlook the lack of a big payoff.

Sarah French admirably carries the lead role and is likable from her first scene. It's a quiet, restrained, and raw performance that never falters. Supporting actors Caroline Williams (also serving as executive producer) and Tyler Gallant leave an impression as well, the latter of whom must perform silently with only the assistance of his cell phone's voice feature. It's an original take with some slightly untapped potential, but I appreciate the filmmakers for thinking of it and implementing it so well.

There are only a few areas where Blind stumbles. Our blind main character lives alone, yet there are lamps turned on and dozens of candles lit. Characters are killed with no real follow-up, which leads to the film's biggest crime of all: its lack of an ending. While the film can be forgiven for not delivering an expected altercation, I can't quite defend its abrupt conclusion. If a sequel is in the works, and I hope it is, it needs to continue right where this one left off and expound on some of the still-lingering questions this one fails to answer.

But, ending or no ending, this is an exceptionally well-done horror film that's just too good to turn a blind eye to.