See No Evil (1971)

A great 2nd act, 31 March 2006

Finally! I've been looking for this movie for years. I can remember seeing See No Evil when I was much younger and it scaring the pants off me. It's not that the movie is hard to find or out-of-print or anything, but I've never known the name. I recently purchased the DVD as a blind buy and, to my surprise, it's the movie I've been looking for.

As I could have predicted, the film didn't live up to the lofty expectations I've placed on it over the years. The film starts much slower than I remembered. Now I'm one of these people who generally can tolerate the slowest moving films, but the first third of See No Evil is just painfully slow. Nothing happens and it seems to be going nowhere. I was also let down by the ending – or should I say the lack of an ending. The film just ends. I would have appreciated a little insight into who the killer was. He's just some guy as far as I could tell. I'm not one of those who needs to be spoonfed plot points to determine what's going on, but give me a clue about identity, motivations, and such.

The middle portion of See No Evil, however, is as good as I remembered. It's full of several tense moments and striking visuals, justifying my purchase of the DVD. The whole notion of a blind girl not knowing that those she shares the house with have been brutally murdered all around her is horrifying. The scene where the camera slowly pans to the other side of the blind girl's bedroom, revealing for the first time her dead cousin, is a real highlight. And Mia Farrow is great in the lead role. I really believed she was blind and I could really feel her terror as the movie progressed. It's an excellent performance from a terrific actress.

Even though See No Evil didn't evoke the same reaction it did during my childhood, I'm glad to have finally rediscovered this movie after so many years of searching.

6/10