"Your blind sister hanging in the basement is probably not one of the final things you want to see before a degenerative sight disease takes your vision away too, but Julia (the stunning Belen Rueda) has little choice in this horror ominously presented by Guillermo Del Toro, but sadly not directed by the Mexican master of chills.
Despite all signs pointing to suicide, Julia decides to investigate what she intuitively feels is a murder case, but as her sight slowly weakens she uncovers the terrifying truth about Sara's death and the invisible man with a mysterious link who is stalking her, leaving a series of unexplained deaths in his trail.
There are some bizarre choices made by director Guillem Morales, who opts to keep the identity of Julia's carer a secret (of sorts) simply by chopping off his head (not literally) as soon as he enters the frame, while the film itself is far too long, despite Rueda's strong turn, and has an ending that fails to satisfy, prolonged by a humdrum murder-mystery plot that deteriorates quicker than her vision.
Still, the naturalistic settings, and the skilled use of his monster's shadow offers some menace, and he's not afraid to go for the big shocks either, which for the most part are carefully judged to notch up some kind of tension. In fact, they're the best bits, but you'll be waiting for some time before they arrive, and some will question whether they were worth seeing at all - it's not all bad for Julia, then." DW
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