Alice Oscura – Featured Writer
Sightless is a psychological thriller written and directed by Cooper Karl based on his 2017 short film of the same name. Madelaine Petsch (Cheryl Blossom from the CW Series Riverdale) stars as Ellen Ashland, a former professional violinist. She is attacked by a mysterious assailant and is left blind. But nothing is like what it seems, and Ellen starts doubting her sanity and wonders if her other senses are beginning to betray her. Her only contact is a caretaker named Clayton (Alexander Koch) hired by her brother who works overseas.
Petsch is no stranger to drama and intrigue having to deal with loads of it on Riverdale. And she definitely doesn’t disappoint her fans in this one. The actress is literally in one setting for 90 per cent of the movie but through brilliant use of facial expression she projects her terror in not being able to see and being overwhelmed by her other senses, especially her hearing. The character is intelligent but is still suffering from the trauma of her attack. Ellen then hears some mysterious goings on in the neighbour Lana’s (December Ensminger) apartment through the vents and becomes convinced that she’s in danger.
At first the audience is not quite sure if Ellen is slowly losing her mind due to the stress of the situation that she now finds herself in, or if something more sinister is going on. Through some stunning visuals and camera angles we are entertained by a few jump scares. The intrigue doesn’t stop in this film and it connotes an almost Hitchcockian atmosphere with undertones of Rear Window and the 1967 psychological thriller Wait Until Dark starring Audrey Hepburn, in which she stars as a blind woman being terrorised as well.
I was impressed and I have to say that I was mostly influenced to watch the film because of Petsch. The twists and turns are satisfying and highly entertaining. You are not going to want to miss this one. Thrillers do not get enough love in my opinion and I think it important to support the handful of them that put their best foot forward, and where you can clearly see some heart went into it.
Alice’s Score: 6.5 out of 10
For my review of erotic thriller Lost Girls and Love Hotels you can click here. And for more thrilling film reviews you can like and follow Redmangoreviews on Facebook here.
Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump.
I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers’ curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. You can find me as Dark Alice Reviews on Facebook, my Instagram is alice_oscura and my Twitter handle is @lise_veliz2. For more on me you can click here.