Customer Reviews

Close Your Eyes [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Close Your Eyes" is a supernatural thriller based on Madison Smartt Bell's novel "Doctor Sleep". When police detective D.I. Janet Losey (Shirley Henderson) visits a London hypnotist, Dr. Michael Strother (Goran Visnjic), to try to quit smoking, she discovers Dr. Strother's unusual gift: he sees what his patients see while under hypnosis. The London police are at an impasse in a child murder investigation. An apparent serial killer has abducted children, transfused their blood, and tattooed them with an occult symbol. D.I. Losey is charged with protecting a 10-year old girl named Heather who escaped the killer but has not spoken a word since. Losey convinces a reluctant Strother to assist in her investigation by hypnotizing Heather to find out what she remembers about her captor.

"Close Your Eyes" is an enjoyable supernatural thriller that plays for the "Da Vinci Code" audience as well. The murder investigation involves Rosicrucian alchemy, ancient heresies, and the occult, although these things are not explored in depth. Like most thrillers, the story isn't intended to be credible, except on an emotional level. And "Close Your Eyes" does build real suspense. The ending will undoubtedly be too far-fetched for some people. I found that it disappointed on some counts, but packed a nice punch on others. "Close Your Eyes" owes much of its success to its two lead actors, Goran Visnjic and Shirley Henderson. I like these two in every movie I see them, and they don't disappoint here. Both bring a distinct style to their roles, which is very appropriate and appealing in this film. "Close Your Eyes" has some tendency to rehash elements we have seen before, but it is a entertaining thriller nonetheless, and Goran Visnjic is a charismatic presence.

The DVD: The bonus features are nothing special. There are two featurettes and a theatrical trailer. "Cast & Crew Interviews" (8 minutes) consists of short interviews with actors Goran Visnjic, Shirley Henderson, Miranda Otto, and Paddy Constantine, in which they talk about their characters, and interviews with director Nick Willing and producer Michelle Carmada. "Behind the Scenes" is 9 minutes of unnarrated on-set footage taken during production. The theatrical trailer is long and full of spoilers. I've never seen anything like it. The trailer inexplicably tells the movie's entire story. Why anyone would want to do that in a trailer, for a thriller of all things, I can't imagine. Subtitles are available in Spanish.

***1/2

Written and directed by Nick Willing, "Close Your Eyes" (aka "Doctor Sleep") is a taut, highly effective British thriller that supplements its crime drama scenario with generous helpings of the supernatural and paranormal.

Michael Strother is a hypnotherapist who has returned to England with his pregnant wife and young daughter after seven years living in the States. Strother is asked by one of his patients, a policewoman named Janet Losey, to bring his professional expertise to bear on one of her most baffling cases, that of a little girl who's managed to escape the clutches of a serial killer but who has been rendered mute by the experience. Strother's involvement leads to complications not only with the highly skeptical police force who are less than thrilled at the prospect of having a hynotherapist working on the case, but with his wife as well who fears that any untoward publicity might reflect badly on her husband's career. Of even more concern is the fact that Strother's involvement might also be making him and his own family a target of the killer.

It would hardly be cricket to reveal much more of the plot here, so I'll just say that "Close Your Eyes" boasts a better-than-average storyline, intriguing characters, an effective back story involving Strother's past in America, and enough genuine suspense to help us ride up and over some of the inconsistencies and absurdities inherent in the material. And if the resolution comes out as a bit flatfooted - well, that doesn't wind up being too much of a handicap since weak endings seem to be just about par for the course when it comes to these types of films anyway.

The prime selling point of "Close Your Eyes" is that it makes us care about the characters, particularly Strother, who elicits our interest and sympathy from the start. Goran Visnjic and Shirley Henderson make an engaging crime-fighting team with just the right amount of unrequited sexual chemistry bubbling under the surface to add to the tension.

As a director, Willing frequently interrupts the narrative with free-floating flashes of dreams, memories and hypnotic suggestions, reflective of what is occurring in the minds of the characters. The effect is sometimes confusing but almost always effective in ratcheting up the level of mystery and feeling of dislocation necessary for the story. The film is a bit gruesome and gory at times, but the prime focus almost always remains on the character's interactions and the unraveling of the plot. This is a solid, well-crafted thriller.

Close Your Eyes is a taut and suspenseful thriller, twisting and turning effectively between the supernatural and the engaging mystery that drives the plot. The acting is flawless, with ER veteran Goran Visnjic giving a stunning and surprising portrayal of the dark and complex protagonist; a must-see for genre fans.

This psychological horror starring Goran Visnjic and made by BBC Films is basically in the same vein as Stir Of Echoes, but has a completely different story. It concerns a murder case involving an (or maybe a group of) occultists who are kidnapping children for evil purposes.
Goran's character is a hypnotist who is ropped into helping a female police detective question a young, now mute, girl(who was the last captive child but escaped)to find clues to the case;He's also suffering from insomnia (altering his sense of reality) and was involved in the drowning of his former patient back in the States.
To provide a change for themselves, the hypnotist, his pregnant wife and young daughter have moved to London and aren't finding life any more pleasant than back home.
It's a very hypnotic scary little film which i definately recommend.

'Close Your Eyes' is a stylish, suspenseful thriller which will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final riveting scene. What may be most effective about the film is the gradual build-up of suspense, transforming a standard serial murder mystery and smoothly propelling it into a highly original supernatural shocker.

Goran Visnjic is Dr. Michael Strother, a hypnotist specializing in helping smokers kick the habit. When detective Janet Losey, played by Shirely Henderson visits for a session, she discovers the doctor's gifts go well beyond putting people in a trance. As the mystery deepens, Losey enlists Dr. Strother in her investigation of a serial killer plaguing London. Strother resists at first, then realizes he might be the only one to solve a crime which may free him of trauma which has tortured him for years.

Some nice extras are included on the disc, including interviews with cast and crew and a behind the scenes look at the making of the movie. Horror and mystery fans alike have much to savor in this handsomely produced spooky outing.

Close Your Eyes (aka Doctor Sleep) has all the makings of a horror sleeper. I hadn't heard anything about it, and thought the DVD box looked interesting, so I picked it up. I'm used to renting bad movies that have great packaging, so I didn't hold out any great hopes for this one.

Surprisingly, this movie has some taut moments and manages to sustain a fairly creepy vibe throughout. There are some logic gaps in the story, and most of them have to do with police procedure, but even with those problems the movie ends up being very watchable. I was left a little unfulfilled by the ending, but overall it's a better than average thriller. Should have been a sleeper hit.

`Close your Eyes' released in '01 is an expertly crafted occult tale dealing with the possibility of transferring individual consciousness from one body to another, from the old to the young, from generation to generation thus achieving a form of personal immortality.

While conducting a hypnosis session aimed at curing police officer Janet Losey (Shirley Henderson) of her smoking habit, Dr. Michael Strother (Goran Visnjic) experiences a brief but vivid vision of a young blonde girl floating just below the surface of a body of water. He inadvertently mentions the girl to his patient after the session only to discover that she had been thinking of the girl. Her name is Grace (Claire Rushbrook) who just happens to be involved in an ongoing investigation dealing with a series of kidnappings and ritualistic killings of children in the London area.

Against his better judgement Dr. Strother agrees to assist in the case and hypnotizes the little girl who has been mute since her escape from her kidnapper. During the session the Doctor envisions a sinister, bald Crowleyesque individual surrounded by occultic signs and symbols. It appears black magick maybe involved.

Is there an evil sorcerer or black magician loose kidnapping children for some dark, unknown purpose? Does this evil person really exist and if he does will the psychic abilities of Dr. Strother be able to help find him before any more children turn up missing?

`Close Your Eyes' is one of those undiscovered gems that film fans love to stumble upon. The storyline is well thought out, the sets excellent and the film exudes an eerie, unsettling atmosphere absolutely perfect for the subject matter. As for the acting, Goran Visnjic is excellent. He is fast becoming one of my favorite actors. Another personal favorite is Paddy Considine who has a small but important role as Elliot, an occult expert who helps decipher some of the markings and sigils discovered during the investigation.

If you're in the mood for a good scare and a sleepless night give it a try.

"Close Your Eyes" is a film with no grand ambitions, other than to creep you out. The story is fairly basic: a reporter and a psychologist chase a serial killer around London hoping to catch him before he strikes again. A cat and mouse game ensues, the psychoanalyst becomes psycho, and the body count begins to pile up. Shirley Henderson nails the role in which she comes off as both depressed and filed with a hungry urgency. Her determination is never really explained, but we believe in it because Henderson is just that good. Her counterpart, Michael, becomes more paranoid as the plot advances. He, of course, has secrets to hide and investments to protect. His wife fills her role, cinematically speaking, to annoy and obstruct. The climax does deliver the creepy good, and you have to respect this film for laying it all on the line. Even if it does become too weird for its own good.

The film ultimately comes up a tiny bit short for me. Despite the bold characters and strong sense of atmosphere I had this nagging sense that I was watching a low budget made-for-TV movie. Or an episode of a crime solving TV show. For instance, something arbitrary leads directly to a groundbreaking, case breaking, revelation. . .just like in "Murder She Wrote" (in this case a spilled cup of coffee). However, much of the fun of these shows is that the viewer gets to play along at home. Here we are given no clues and no list of suspects. Instead we are asked to take the cat and mouse game as the whole source of entertainment. This has worked in other films ("Along Came a Spider"), and this one does go down pretty smooth, there just wasn't enough there. Maybe there should have been more dark corners of the subconscious and less newsroom politics. I also was not a fan of how Paddy Considine was saddled with a nothing role where he was stranded to play with his toys.

At the heart of "Close Your Eyes" is a very pure message. The villain of the film is somebody who is trying to live forever. They way that fact ties into him being a murderer is shaky, but that is beside the point. To die is natural. To have delusions of immortality makes you the sick one. Not that humanity will ever stop searching for the Fountain of Youth, just that it's better to spend your short life doing something actually enjoyable. In the end this film is still a lot of fun. It implements some cool special effects and the scares exist of a psychological level as opposed to a physical one. Contrivances are everywhere (Really, he knocks on the killers door?), but I didn't care. Even though I can't recommend this film I would never discourage anybody from seeing it. ***

CLOSE YOUR EYES is a compelling thriller that involves hypnotism and the occult. Dashing Goran Visnjic (ER, SPARTACUS, THE DEEP END) plays a smoke cessation hypnotist who is called upon the help penetrate the silence of a little girl who survived kidnapping by a dangerous serial killer. Shirley Henderson effectively plays the cop who lures him in with a blackmail threat to expose some tax evasion possibilities. Visnjic of course has a secret past, along with a very pregnant wife (the marvelous Miranda Otto from LORD OF THE RINGS). Evidence points to a centuries old philosopher named Paladin who believed the soul of man is hidden behind the eyes and can be transferred, almost in a computer-like fashion. This is where the plot gets a little muddled and murky, with a resolution that doesn't totally wrap things up. It's open-ended climax is also kind of a bummer, but CLOSE YOUR EYES is still a tense and atmospheric thriller, buoyed by good performances from Visnjic, Otto, Henderson and Fiona Shaw as an invalid writer.

Close Your Eyes is a creepy little film. And that is what it is intended to be - a creepy little thriller.

We have a hypnotherapist who can help people quit smoking. He and his family have just moved to London from the U.S. because of some problem which we are not immediately told about. During a session with a female detective, he accidentally reveals his ability to see into people's minds. She blackmails him into assisting her on a serial murder case where one young girl managed to escape from the killer. The kid's in shock and not talking and they need to catch the killer before he kills again.

It has a good pace, and excellent production values along with very good acting. It's not a big budget or big name picture, but frankly I find that blockbusters are usually lackluster. It's the workmen films that really deliver - and this does.

Check it out.