Review: Julia’s Eyes (Los ojos de Julia)

Director: Guillem Morales

Cast: Belen Rueda, Lluis Homar, Pablo Derqui

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 112 minutes

Plot: When Julia (Rueda) discovers her blind sister has hanged herself, she suspects foul play. Suffering from the same degenerative disease, it is only a matter of time before Julia loses all sight herself. As her vision slowly fades, she becomes convinced that her sister’s killer may also be waiting in the shadows for her…

One of horror’s oldest tricks is to manipulate what the audience sees: movements in the shadows, killers rushing through the background, shapes and faces at the window. It’s a game the genre has been playing since the early days of German Expressionism, and it’s something that will continue to shock and scare viewers.

With JULIA’S EYES (or LOS OJOS DE JULIA), director Guillem Morales has taken on an approach of his own, manipulating the film’s visuals to reflect the impaired vision of protagonist Julia (Belen Rueda). By doing this, Morales has created a unique atmosphere and sense of audience empathy. He has also made use of the environment around him, creating terrifying visuals from the objects that surround us everyday. The effect is staggering, and Morales has succeeded in creating a claustrophobic and effective horror film.

In addition to the visual aspect, a slow-burning narrative helps develop the film’s undeniable atmosphere. Much of this may be attributable to producer Guillermo del Toro; viewers familiar with THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE (2001) and THE ORPHANAGE (2007) will recognise his influence immediately.

As the story does develop, Morales pulls some good scares out his bag of tricks, often through a strange collection of images – CCTV monitors, camera flashes, and even discoloured blinded eyeballs provide genuine scares. But as Julia’s condition worsens and her sight becomes increasingly limited, Morales makes a bold move in placing the audience firmly in his protagonist’s place. For a substantial perios, we see only as Julia does; no other characters are visible, and our vision is reduced to her surroundings. The suggestive and creative camerawork that delivered the scares in the first half of the film revert to tight framing, only allowing us to see what Julia is able to physically engage with. The sense of confinement achieved by this is both affecting and unnerving, and when our vision becomes that much clearer, what is waiting for us is in fact that much more disturbing. The performances are also of note here, all contributing to an unsettling atmosphere. Particular mention must go to Pablo Derqui, who shines in his eerie role.

For all this innovation, the film may be overlong, and with the tentative pace of the plot, it may leave some viewers impatient. Also, a few of the plot twists are not entirely coherent, though they do work to maintain that creepy feeling.

However, JULIA’S EYES is indeed a triumph. Though it drags behind a movement in Spanish horror cinema – largely engineered by Del Toro himself – the movie remains original and unique. And though it may owe something to THE ORPHANAGE et al, it’s arguably the best of the bunch. Morales is clearly a director on whom we should keep an eye, that much should be blindingly obvious.