Julia’s Eyes (2010) Review

How original for me to be watching ANOTHER IFC film? What can I say, I am hooked! Julia’s Eyes is directed by Guillem Morales, who as of yet, only has a few film shorts under his belt. This would be his first big picture, and fortunately for him, it’s noteworthy. Starring Belen Rueda as Julia, and produced by makers of The Orphanage, Julia’s Eyes is a story of suicide and murder, and most importantly, darkness.

We open on a woman in her home, in the dark, seemingly terrified of an unseen force that follows her into the basement where a noose and stool are waiting. Sara begins to hang herself, but she refuses to let the malevolent spirit watch. Then suddenly the stool is kicked over by someone else. Julia, Sara’s twin sister, sensing something is the matter and her and husband Isaac discover the body. But Julia doesn’t believe that Sara would do something like this, and a pursuit to uncover the truth ensues. Like any other murder mystery, the path is filled with different characters and hidden clues. But Julia’s struggling with another foe; her vision. Like her sister, Julia suffers from a degenerative disorder, and with the added stress of investigating a murder, she could trigger a blindness attack any minute.

I have to say I expected a lot from what I saw in the trailer. Unlike the last movie I watched that Guillermo Del Torro presented (Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark), Julia’s Eyes was much better. The character Julia was fantastic. Filmmakers are hard pressed to create a character as watchable as Julia, and then have an actress hold her true to form. You want someone you care for, fear for, and root for. As for her villain, when finally revealed who the mystery murderer was (won’t say!), it was not as shocking as I had hoped for. I would never say I can catch a twist in a movie just by the trailer. In fact I am very easily surprised when it comes to a plot twist. But this one I had pieced together early on. There was something about the film that left me feeling like it was just on the brink of excitement but didn’t make it over the hump. I loved the way the movie played off blindness, and what the world is like for blind individuals. It was a great choice of a setting for a thriller. You don’t have to create the darkness when the character lives in it.

My Savage score reigns in 3 out of 5 with just enough juice to feel thrilling. While the Gore score splashes in at 3 out of 10, but you didn’t need more than that. If you already enjoy mystery murders and want to try out a new Spanish director who I believe is on to something, than have a look through Julia’s Eyes and I think you’ll like what you see.