My favorite time of the year is Halloween… so here are some ‘Blind’ Horror films that you might want to check out.

Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972)

The Blind Dead (1972-1975)

I first came to know this series as the Spanish Evil Dead series, because their second film, Return of the Evil Dead was the official USA title. This is confusing as it the title has nothing to do with Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series.

I bought the DVD boxset from Synapse Films, that came in a shape of a coffin. It contains all four films: Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972), Return of the Blind Dead (1973), The Ghost Galleon (1974) and Night of the Seagulls (1975)… all directed by Amando de Ossorio, and all revolves around The Blind Dead, a cult of blind, undead Templar Knights who hunt humans for their blood.

If you had to start, I say try out the first film, this was the one that started it all, and remains one of the most interesting films of its genre.

Please note that sometimes the longer cuts (or director’s cut) of the film are only in Spanish, so you’ll have to read subtitles if you care for an uncensored version of the film. Personally speaking, I don’t mind the dub version at all.

Synapse has upgraded their films to Bluray, and as much as I would like to upgrade, since I moved, I have taken a vow to not collect as much. Besides, I thought the coffin boxset was very nice and am content in the packaging and special features.

Double Blind (2024)

Double Blind (2024)

I quite like this Irish horror film. I believe it was completed and released a few years ago, but didn’t really make it to the USA until last year. I’ve never heard of it until this year, but I have to say I wish I had seen it earlier. The budget is somewhat low, but it’s definitely doesn’t feel like a B-Movie.

The story reminds me of a German film called Das Experiment (2001), which was remade for the US market in 2010 called The Experiment. In that film, it’s a controlled prison experiment, and things goes haywire and the paid volunteers may have to pay with their lives.

In Double Blind, the paid test subjects agreed to take some drugs. The drugs have some side effects, like if you fall asleep, you’ll die. Trapped in a laboratory lock-down, group has to find a way to stay awake long enough so they can find a way to reverse the drug’s deadly side-effects.

I think my biggest complaint about the film is that I didn’t really like any of the characters. The worst character is that former religious girl. I can’t find any sympathy for her. The annoying talkative girl… well that’s just her character: to be annoying. The two lads, I couldn’t care less. Even the main character, played by Millie Brady, I find her very mean-spirited. I know we’re supposed to relate to her, but I didn’t. The problem is, if I didn’t care for these characters, then why would I care if they die one by one?

Don’t Breathe (2016)

Don’t Breathe (2016)

I really like Don’t Breathe, directed by the same guy (Fede Álvarez) who directed the remake of Evil Dead in 2013.

I’ll set you up with the story: some criminals are casing out a house and they targeted this blind man’s home. So they break into this blind guy’s house… except it turns out he’s incredibly dangerous. Think of this as the evilman’s version of Daredevil.

As the story goes on, you find out that he has secrets that he doesn’t want anyone to know (like something in the basement!). It’s a pretty fun ride and I love it. I bought the Bluray and recommended the film to friends and family.

Five years later… we got Don’t Breathe 2, which wasn’t quite as good. The problem is that the blind man is not a good guy, except the second film tried to turn him into a hero. You get back story like he was a former Navy SEAL and he has a daughter, living in Detroit.

BONUS

Blind (2020)

Blind (2020)

I remember hearing about this movie during the pandemic. It’s about a blind actress, living by herself. There’s a stalker and it’s supposed to be scary… except this is the wrong film. The more I looked into it (I tried watching the film for free on YouTube), could I be confusing this Blind with a movie called Hush. In Hush, it is about a deaf and mute writer, who is isolated in a cabin with a masked killer stalking her.

Finally, I think I have figured it out. There is another film called Sightless, that also came out in 2020. In this film, an attacker caused the main character to go blind. Now she’s paranoid that the attacker could be hiding in plain sight (excuse the pun) to finish the job.

Between Blind, Hush, or Sightless… I didn’t ‘see’ any of these films, so I honestly can’t recommend any of them.