Open Your Eyes is a 2021 Canadian mystery thriller about a screenwriter who flirts with an attractive woman while experiencing strange events.
Written and directed by Greg A. Sager (Gray Matter; Kingdom Come; The Devil in Me). Co-produced by Sager and Gary Elmer, with the latter also acting as the director of photography.
The Matchbox Pictures production stars Ry Barrett (The Chamber of Terror; Lifechanger; The Heretics; Save Yourself), Joanna Saul, Suzy Giannakopoulos and Julianna Suzanne Bailey.
Plot:
Unable to cope with recent events, screenwriter Jason Miller (Ry Barrett) dives relentlessly into his newest screenplay in an attempt to avoid dealing with a traumatic experience.
Holed up in his apartment, his mental state teetering on the edge, he meets Lisa (Joanna Saul); his attractive neighbour from down the hall and a potential relationship begins to develop.
Jason burns the midnight oil to finish his script he becomes more and more intrigued by her as strange and mysterious things begin to happen in the building causing him to question everything.
With Jason’s mind unravelling, his life spinning out of control, we soon realize that things aren’t always as they seem as he struggles to hang onto the one thing he wants most – hope.
Reviews:
“The writing is so stiff and paint-by-numbers that it’s genuinely hard to gauge whether the two leads are doing a good job or not. Their line delivery is passable. They say lines that no human being would realistically say while reacting to increasingly silly scenarios in increasingly unbelievable ways.” Rue Morgue
“For a film shot with only three crew members on set and a sound person working remotely from a van, Open Your Eyes looks and sounds very good […] Despite the horrendously slow start and some pacing problems, Open Your Eyes is, overall worth a watch if you like psychological films.” Voices from the Balcony
Release date:
In the USA, Open Your Eyes will be released by Gravitas Ventures On-Demand, Blu-ray and DVD on June 1, 2021.
Technical details:
99 minutes
Aspect ratio: 2.35: 1
Trailer:
MOVIES and MANIA comment and rating:
Open Your Eyes plays upon some of the well-worn clichés of isolated, frustrated writers and then begins to subvert them with the introduction of another character and a possible blossoming relationship. Of course, all is not what it seems and the subsequent reveals are satisfyingly unexpected.
Unfortunately, the plot twists take a while to unravel – some trimming of the slow start would have improved the pacing – and some viewers may find that over 90 minutes spent with just two characters and a cat are too claustrophobic. That said, the acting by leads Ry Barrett and Joanna Saul is excellent and those with patience will be rewarded by the denouement.
