Visions troubles

My review was written in November 1992 after watching the movie on Worldvision video cassette.

Deborah Shelton of Brian DePalma's film "Body Double" steps up to the front ranks of sexy stars of unrated videos in "Blind Vision", a Hitchcockian thriller directed by her husband, Shuki Levy. Interesting picture could become a solid rental for home video fans of this popular genre.

Lenny Von Dohlen has an actor's field day as the deeply disturbed protagonist, working in a menial job but developing a crush on the beautiful, inaccessible Shelton. She lives across the way from him and he observes her (with various boyfriends) by way of a telescope trained on her window.

Suspense mounts when Von Dohlen goes nuts and stabs one of her studs to death after watching a torrid encounter. Robert Vaughn pops up as a mystery man from Shelton's past whom the police tag as the perfect murder suspect.

There's more killing and a few nifty plot reversals en route to a tragic ending. Levy and co-scripter Winston Rickard pour on the Hitch references which help propel the narrative rather than stick out as mere homages.

Top-notch supporting cast fills out roles like dogged cop (Ned Beatty), kindly landlady (Louise Fletcher) and gregarious buddy at work (Stoney Jackson).

William Dalton is an insignificant mail-room employee by day, and by night spends his time with his camera and telephoto lens spying on Leanne, who lives in the apartment opposite, and who just happens to be a secretary in his office block. He has built an entire fantasy world around her, and is horrified when he sees her making love to Greg, another employee of the company, one evening in her apartment. As Greg leaves he is murdered and his wallet is stolen. A few days later, William gives Leanne a lift home, and she subsequently brings a birthday cake from the office for him. He is not there, so his landlady lets her in. She sees the camera pointing in her windows and she finds Greg's wallet in a drawer.

So, is he just a sad loser living in a fantasy world? ... or is he a dangerous killer?

Closing credits indicate the film's release was 1990, not 1992.

Despite being inspired by (you could even say 'ripped off from') "Rear Window", and having a lot in common with a number of other erotic thrillers, I found "Blind Vision" to be suspenseful, well-acted, and even clever. Unlike "Rear Window", the photographer in this case is truly a voyeur, and he isn't recovering from an injury. Nor does he witness a crime, as such, but he does observe abusive behavior which precedes a crime. We are left guessing as to whether the abuse and the crime are related. It is even possible that the photographer himself was involved, which could not have happened in "Rear Window".

"Blind Vision" is not quite the nail-biter that "Rear Window" is, but it is more complex than its famous predecessor and, in my opinion, more intriguing. There is an original plot twist that elevates the film above the standard fare in this genre. But it is subtle, and you have to think about it. (I do not refer to the ending, which is also surprising.)

There is an even stronger resemblance to a Brian de Palma film called "Body Double", which was made six years earlier, and also stars Deborah Shelton. If you liked that film, you will probably like "Blind Vision". I think "BV" is slightly inferior, but it is better than the low rating leads one to expect.

Ha ha blind vision. What ya funny name. Get it get it get it????