Guillem Morales/Spain 2010/112 mins

Going blind is a fear that many people have, and the onset of blindness is the subject of Guillem Morales’s latest film, Julia’s Eyes. Produced by Guillermo del Toro, this engaging thriller unveils the true cost of going blind, and what happens when a killer is thrown into the mix as well.

When Julia’s (Belen Rueda) blind sister Sara commits suicide, Julia becomes convinced that the death is suspicious and sets out to find her sister’s killer. Aided by her husband Issac, she attempts to discover just what happened to Sara, while dealing with the same degenerative eye condition that blinded her sister and the attentions of an unknown stalker who will stop at nothing to protect his identity.

Morales’ eerie new thriller takes inspiration from such classics as Wait Until Dark and Dario Argento’s Terror at the Opera, where a blind and a temporarily blinded character fight to survive against an unseen and unknown killer. But what makes this new film so effective is its very simple and old-fashioned feel, as the special effects, complicated plot twists and setting are all stripped down to the bare minimum. Most of the action takes place inside one house, a house that the characters are familiar with but not completely comfortable in. This very basic setting gives the film a highly original edge, as rooms that the characters would normally take advantage of, such as a living room or a bedroom, lose their familiar and welcome draw. When sight is taken out of the equation, the home becomes a prison, or a terrifying labyrinth of dead-ends, wrong turns and fatal falls. The purpose of this film isn’t just to scare, but also to psychologically menace and question the important senses that we take for granted, as what can be more frightening than the sudden onset of blindness, is to be trapped in a shroud of darkness that there’s no way of knowing when, or even if you will see again. Although a little slow at points, and slightly too long, Julia’s Eyes is an unsettling journey into blindness, vulnerability and mistrust that effortlessly blends into a modern detective story.