BLIND Review–Stylish Slasher is More Than Meets the Eyes
Paul Grammatico
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Starring Sarah French, Caroline Williams, and Tyler Gallant
Written by Joe Knetter
Directed by Marcel Walz
There are several movies that pit the blind versus the sighted. Films such as Don’t Breathe, Hush, and Wait Until Dark deal with home invasion ending with different outcomes along with the terror and insane tension of two different perceptions. There are also several celebrity-obsessed films such as The Fan (1981 & 1996) and The Fanatic. These two genres, when separated, are, in terms of suspense, incendiary. When combined, explosive.
Sales Partners, in conjunction with Cut Entertainment Group and Uncork’d Entertainment unleashes a film that combines these two compounds of anxiety with the film Blind.
Faye (Sarah French) a retired actress who lives alone in the Hollywood Hills in total darkness. Although it is not clear how she became blind (a botched surgery?), she lives in despair and self-pity. Her friends Sophia (Caroline Williams) and Luke (Tyler Gallant) try to comfort her by taking her out hiking and to group therapy sessions that Luke organizes. But Faye still has difficulty dealing with her disability, pulling away, and wanting to live in isolation. Luke, who deals with being mute and vocalizes through a voice app on his smartphone, confesses to Sophia that he has feelings for Faye, but he thinks Faye is out of his league. While this is going on there is a faceless vagrant (Jed Rowen) in Faye’s midst who resides near her house. His face encased in a “Pretty Boy” mask, he prowls around her homestead, killing anyone that gets in the way of his obsession. Faye, her sight wrapped in blackness, is unaware of the menace that is at her doorstep.
Written by Joe Kettner and directed by Marcel Walz, Blind crafts a juxtaposition between fantasy and reality. This is abundant in Pretty Boy’s world where his mask transforms him into a young, athletic, handsome man when in reality he is a middle-aged, fleshy killer. His fantasy dances with Faye, who falls in love with him, is a stark contrast to the terror of the stalking he inflicts upon a woman who is unaware of his existence. This world of color, light, and darkness bumping against one another, is expertly brought to life by cinematographer Thomas Rist. Director Walz does a terrific job with the economy of shots along with the artistry of using color, light, and darkness to separate dreams, fantasy, and reality between the characters. A well-crafted endeavor by this crew.
Sarah French does a believable job as the distraught Faye dealing with the agony of being blind. Caroline Williams is great as the confidant of Faye and Luke. Her bluntness and headstrong attitude is a perfect counterpart to Faye. Tyler Gallant plays a challenging role as the vocally tested Luke, but his kind and shining countenance wins out as a highly likable character. Jed Rowen is a perfect cast choice as the faceless killer Pretty Boy. His muted performance with his physical presence, juxtaposed with the youthful mask, makes his performance all the more unsettling.
Despite some of the predicable moments in home invasion stalker films, Blind will make you very uncomfortable and will rattle you with tension, knowing that there is something around the corner in the darkness.
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BLIND
Summary
Blind will make you very uncomfortable and will rattle you with tension.
