Julia's Eyes (2010)

Written by CinemaSerf on April 23, 2024

Failing eyesight runs in the family here as the blind "Sara" apparently takes her own life in the basement of her home, leaving sibling "Julia" (Belén Rueda) - herself with irreversible eye problems of her own - left to investigate just what happened. Everyone is convinced it was suicide, but not "Julia" and when she and husband "Isaac" (Lluís Homar) have to temporarily move into her sister's home she begins to piece together a puzzle that involves the specialist eye clinic they both attended, a mysterious boyfriend and some very sceptical police officers led by "Dimas" (Francesc Orella). The first hour of this is all pretty standard horror fayre, but once we've got past the character establishment and domestic squabbling stage, it turns into a decently menacing thriller with quite a compelling effort from Rueda as the increasingly panic-stricken character. Most of the sense of horror here is easily transferable to an audience if you shut your eyes and let your ears and the darkness do your petrifying for you. It's not for the squeamish either - needles, eyeballs, hospitals - not for the faint hearted! The end product here is an hybrid of a few styles and is hardly ground-breaking, but it benefits from taut direction at the end and a solidly fearful performance from a Rueda who looks as terrified as were were supposed to feel. I enjoyed this.