LOW-BUDGET SCARES WORTH SEEING by Ernest Barteldes

Directed by Nick Willing starring Goran Visnjic, Fiona Shaw and Shirley Henderson

I wasn't expecting much of "Close Your Eyes" when I walked into the theater. After all, it is a two-year-old, zero-budget French-English film(originally titled "Doctor Sleep", after the novel by Madison Smartt Bell) that presumably only reached our shores after its lead, Goran Visnjic, became a star in his own right through his regular appearances on ER.I must say that as the movie unfolded, however, I was both surprised and amused by its quality, which has all the elements of a good thriller coupled with some intelligently crafted scary moments that I hadn't seen in quite a while.

The movie begins unpretentiously enough. Visnjic plays Michael Strother, an European-born hypnotherapist illegally working in England. While treating homicide detective Janet Losey (Shirley Henderson), who is trying to quit smoking, he is able to see - through a telepathic gift he doesn't seem to glad to possess - a drowning girl inside the woman's hypnosis-induced dream. Losey immediately recruits Strother to help Catherine (Fiona Shaw), a nine-year-old girl who, after having escaped a kidnapping by a serial killer and returning with strange tattoos, has become incapable of speaking. Her testimony is essential if the Yard wants to nab the assassin before he strikes again.

Strother is reluctant to help, but he is blackmailed into it after Losey threatens him with deportation (he is in Great Britain on a student visa) if he does not collaborate. To make matters worse, he has to keep his very pregnant U.S.-born wife (Miranda Otto, in a small but important role) in the dark about it. The doctor has his own traumas - he helped a man back in the States overcome his fear of water, and the patient ultimately celebrated by jumping into the freezing waters of a lake early in April - a swim he never came back from. The press feasted on the scandal and ultimately destroyed his career - even though the authorities acquited him. Of course, this being London, the paparazzi are quick to track Strother down and put him on the cover of the local scandal sheets, putting his own life in jeopardy as the killer now has access to the man's address from every newsstand in town.

As the investigation goes on, we learn that the killer has links with a strange cult based on the philosophy of an obscure scientist who was burned during the Inquisition after claiming to have found the key to immortality. There are a few scary moments generated by clever camera work which made those in the audience around me gasp quite a few times (I noticed that my date for the evening, a thirty-something Chinese journalist, had her eyes closed during a couple of gory scenes)and I must confess to being startled at times. In one dream-like sequence, Strother sees himself being overpowered by a face he'd seen when he first met Catherine - the unnamed character(no spoilers here) wants to drain his blood. The scene is shot in disturbing, noir-like darkness as we barely glimpse the faces of the doctor and his assailant.

Sadly, the plot has a few holes. For instance, after having a child kidnapped from inside the home, her parents would be clever enough to start locking the door, correct? Not in this movie. You are always expecting something bad to happen to the family. The actors do a good job. Visnjic wears a dirty mop of hair that goes along with a pale, haggard face evoking his despair and loss. Fiona Shaw, despite her virtually silent role, convinces us she'll be screwed for life... or at least for a sequel if this one is successful enough. This is a flick I can surely recommend, especially if you are a purist who enjoys films in which the actors do more work than the special effects director - which is maybe why so many critics from the established press - mostly focused on blockbusters these days - panned it. Just ignore them - what do they know anyway? Happy viewing.

For more information on Close Your Eyes: http://www.firstlookmedia.com/films/closeyoureyes

Ernest Barteldes is an ESL/Portuguese teacher and also a freelance writer based on Staten Island, NY. He has contributed to publications such as The New York Press, Brazzil.com, The Village Voice, Gaytoday and other publications.