Director: Domiziano Cristopharo
Year: 2015
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Psychological
Plot:
Arriving in a remote villa, a man and his blind wife try to acclimate to the new surroundings so he can be closer to work, but as she lives there alone during the day finds something off about the place and eventually comes to discover a terrifying secret that puts her life in danger.
Review:
As a straightforward erotic genre effort, there's a lot to like here. As expected given that and the background info on the creative crew, the films' copious sequences showing off the assets of its main star generate a fantastic amount of fine work allowing that to take place. From steamy showers designed to showcase the water falling off her body, walking around the house in ill-fitting clothing that lets everything fall out, or simply dressing down to the point of practically being naked for the most part, this aspect of the film comes off incredibly well with the later scenes involving their sexual activity coming to pass in rather overt means to ensure the film has plenty to enjoy in that regard.
As well, the simple enough setup at play here comes off far better than expected. With the main character's blindness being a central point here involving her being aware that there's something wrong inside the house but being unable to do much about it, this brings about just as atmospheric a setup here as does the scenes of her roaming throughout the house trying to find something to find the source of a strange noise disturbing her. Once the initial setup gets put into place and we realize the true danger present, this leads into a highly enjoyable and tense finale where the real twist ending allows it to come off with a fine touch, giving this one a lot to like about it.
There are some drawbacks to be had with this one. One of the biggest issues here is the films' rather stilted and overlong pace, where it feels much too long even at this eighty-minute running time. Far too much of this one is spent on the mundane day-to-day activities of her going through the house trying to figure out the layout of everything or just trying to relax from the stress of everything which works well enough on its own but is played at far too slow a speed to be as effective as it should. Had these scenes been given a bit more life or energy or even just played at a faster tempo while on-screen, the tension would be far more effective and the film feeling faster.
As well, there's also the somewhat flawed storyline at play here where the concept of what's going on doesn't make much sense. The whole idea of moving to the house in the countryside where he's hiding a secret from her from the very beginning is completely glossed over until the very end where a bizarre explanation involving the truth about their wedding is revealed. Concerning a double-cross involving their supposed identity and a mysterious blackmailer that comes out of nowhere to try to make the whole situation come together just doesn't work and the whole thing just comes off as confusing and underwritten with the value here opting for visuals over the story. These are the flaws that end up holding this down.
Overview: ***/5
A generally solid effort with a lot to like even though there are some drawbacks that bring it down somewhat, this one carries itself well enough to be highly worthwhile and enjoyable despite those issues. Give it a look if you're a fan of these erotic-tinged genre efforts or appreciate the creative crew, while those turned off by the style or approach should give it caution.
Comments
Post a Comment