Movie Review – Julia’s Eyes

One of the best horror movies for 2011 !

…although the movie was released in 2010

Guillermo del Toro produces and Guillem Morales directs Julia’s Eyes with both the star (Belén Rueda) and cinematographer (Óscar Faura) of  The Orphanage in tow. The Spanish has been churning out some excellent horror-thriller’s of late. You can expect more posts on Spanish movies soon.

This is a Spanish horror where Julia, a woman suffering from a degenerative eye disease, finds her blind twin sister Sara hanged in the basement of her house. Julia decides to investigate what she feels is a murder case, entering a dark world that seems to hide a mysterious presence. As Julia begins to uncover the terrifying truth about her sister’s death, her sight deteriorates further, until a series of unexplained deaths and disappearances cross her path. The film stars Belén Rueda and Lluis Homar.

Julia’s Eyes is scary as hell and occasionally (and effectively!) shot from Julia’s POV (point of view), a style reminiscent of Cloverfield, REC and its American shot for shot clone, Quarantine. The director really knew how to generate tension and capitalize on the storyline. For example, Julia’s degenerative eye disease was used slyly here both on a narrative and visual standpoint. The blinder she got, the higher the stakes and thicker the suspense became. Shot from Julia’s POV, the dark and blurry surroundings really communicated the terror effectively. I totally dig the Gothic vibe and stylish canvas of the movie.

Without spoiling it for you, my favourite scene in the entire film is right at the end – freeze, frame by frame shots of horror action sequence. Where the light from the flash of camera goes off, you see horror action, interspersed with darkness. Best scene ever!!!

…Did i just spoil it for you?

Cumi: I wonder who will play the buxom protaganist when Hollywood clone’s this..