Cita a ciegas

Here's a Greek thriller with horror overtones which passes the time well without really breaking any new genre boundaries. I did think the computer device which enables the lead to see white outlines on a black background was a very impressive (if not very realistic) creation which allows for plenty of disconcerting (not to mention cool-looking) visuals. Things become a little muddled when this device gives the lead some kind of psychic link (yes, that again) with a killer for no apparent reason, so instead it skips over the technical aspects and just hopes the audience will accept the device at face value.

The film definitely appears to have been influenced by the Italian giallo movies, with a series of innocent women being stalked and gruesomely killed by a mystery killer with an unknown motive. The killer even has his own distinct methods like always wearing rubber gloves at the crime and using a scalpel, believing himself to be a doctor. The one thing the film lacks is a true explanation of the murderer's motives, and instead we just have to take him and his reasons at face value. The stalk sequences make good use of shadows and lighting to build up some impressive atmosphere at moments.

The film is pretty grisly without actually showing anything, instead cutting away at the last moment from the crime. It does have a hard edge and sleazy atmosphere which is to be expected, I guess, when your director is Nico Mastorakis, the director of the infamous video nasty ISLAND OF DEATH. A strong cast also do their jobs well and help to root the film in reality, as well as creating real sympathy for the characters. Joseph Bottoms (one of the lesser known of four brothers) takes the lead role and convincingly portrays a man coming to terms with his blindness - a scene in the subway where he fights back against a gang of thugs is great stuff. James Daughton only appears at the very end of the film as the killer but his performance is chilling nonetheless. Genre favourite Keir Dullea enjoys a cameo turn as a mad/genius scientist and seems to have fun with his part, although he is only on screen for about ten minutes. Also keep an eye out for the guy billed as "crazy old man" who enjoys hiding in women's bathrooms - one of the weirdest bit characters you're likely to see.

The rest of the cast are mainly women, and most of the unknown actresses end up being undressed or in the shower for obvious gratuitous reasons (amusingly one of these actresses was a then-unknown Marina Sirtis, better known for her starring role in STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. I bet she leaves this one off her resume...). Kirstie Alley has the thankless role of the lead's girlfriend but her character is totally superfluous to the plot, and the least the writer could have done would have been to endanger her in some way for an extra frisson. Popular blonde Lana Clarkson also has a fairly prominent role as a model who becomes a victim, taking a break from her usual "barbarian" type roles at the time.

There are a few minor moments in the film which resemble those in other popular movies (for example one scene is unmistakably reminiscent of REAR WINDOW) but BLIND DATE largely avoids the pitfall of becoming too clichéd. It does, howeve, offer plenty of realism and raw characters, some mild horror, a few shocks and plenty of suspense and atmosphere towards the end. The only thing missing is real excitement, thrills and chills.

This is an excellent film. The thing that struck me first was that this was a serial killer flick in which the police hardly figure at all, you see them once or twice from a distance. You have two stories running in parallel until finally, and inevitably, they cross.

The second thing that really got me thinking is that our agent of justice probably got the wrong man. The evidence we have is far too circumstantial and would have been thrown out by any right minded jury, if the judge had not already dismissed the case.

Was the real killer driving the cab from which Kirstie Alley's character fled?

The character of Jonathan Ratcliff is interesting because, whatever his virtues might be, he is also a stalker. And we discover that when he is blinded there is no physical reason for his disability. On some subconscious level he has chosen not to see, and when he is given a device which enables him to see, after a fashion, it is in black and white and works on the same principle as sonar, that is it reflects back the signals he sends. He no longer sees the whole picture, and neither do we.



The concept of blind Justice is on one level a reassuring one since everyone is equal irrespective of race, creed, power etc.. However, on the other hand, Justice is blind! This could mean that it cannot differentiate between the innocent and the guilty.

In the film the character of Jonathan Ratcliff is living out a fantasy, when at the end he is asked by the woman he has just 'rescued' what his name is he replies, 'A friend': like a guardian angel or a comic book superhero. He is a voyeur who has been forced to take a role, to follow a destiny and he shapes that destiny himself.

The film itself is well put together and there are some wonderful Hitchcockian touches, especially in the way it exploits the blindness of the central character and the limitations and possibilities of the electronic device that substitute for his eyes.

I rate this film 8 out of 10, very thought provoking.

Joseph Bottoms plays American Jonathan Ratcliff, living & working in Athens. His world is turned upside down when he suddenly losses his sight, but thankfully for him an electronic sonar device has just been invented which allows blind users to "see" (via very dated looking computer graphics) & he agrees to become the first person to try it. Meanwhile an unknown, gloved killer is murdering beautiful young women with a scalpel & it's only a matter of time before their paths cross. I'd never heard of this movie before, picked it up cheap on DVD from a charity shop, but once the name Nico Mastorakis appeared as director/producer on the opening credits my interest suddenly perked up (he made the infamous, one time "video nasty" Island of Death). I found this is to be reasonable attempt at making a giallo style psycho thriller. There's some good camera work going on during some of the more suspenseful sequences. Plenty of female topless nudity, including Kirstie Alley doing apparently her only ever topless on camera scene, though that's hardly a recommendation! Pretty tame in the gore department, only two onscreen kills, both bloody but brief. As already mentioned the computer graphics look very dated - even for 1984 - but it only adds to it's charm.

An average thriller about a stalker who goes blind after hitting his head on a tree while being chased by an angry boyfriend. He gets implanted with a chip that lets him see in vague computer graphic outline. Meanwhile a killer is experimenting on female victims. This film is nothing that special except for geeks, which should see it because it has Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: TNG's Diana Troy) topless in it. Oh and Kristie Alley has a nude love scene in it as well, but I'm not too fond of her.

Omega DVD extras: The films of Nico Mastorakis:part one-From the beginning to "Sky High" (for parts 2 and 3 you have to get 2 more of Nico's films..greedy bastard) ; 2 Music tracks; Filmographies; Bios; Theatrical trailer; Trailers for "In the Cold of the Night", "Sky High", "Bloodstone", and ".dot com for Murder"

My Grade: C-

Blind Date tells the story of Jonathon Radcliffe, who on recovering from an accident that left him without sight, finds himself an integral part in the mystery of a series of grisly murders in Athens.

Nico Mastorakis is one of the best cult film makers of the eighties, and its for movies like this that show why.

A brilliantly subtle Hitchcokian idea, but better, it is full of interesting scenes, if not suspenseful moments. The acting is good but is brought down by the performances of the killer's targets.

Not for everyone, but a real overlooked classic.

I only want to know what happened to the proposed sequel promised at the end, that says Jonathon Radcliffe will return in 'Run, Stumble and Fall.'