A tense psychological thriller, Julia Eyes is another example why the Spanish have become the kings of quality horror cinema.

It is also a film that reminds us why we should be afraid of the dark and the eerie inhabitants found within it. In the case of Julia’s Eyes, the darkness equates to blindness, with lead character Julia (Belen Rueda) suffering from a degenerative eye disease which increases with stress.

Rueda (who also starred in The Orphanage) does a great job as Julia, convincingly portraying the blind sequences while giving a master class in “scared out of your wits” acting.

When her twin sister is murdered (she also suffered from the disease), Julia swipes away any suggestion of suicide and investigates the death, to the chagrin of her psychiatrist husband (Boris Ruiz) and local authorities. Of course she is right (no spoiler here), but how do you investigate a killer who doesn’t want to be seen, especially when blindness is upon you?

Such is the twisted beauty of Julia’s Eyes, with murder mystery and spook story meshing to make a creepy movie experience, yet unfortunately one where logic is blind to reason.

As is often the case with these kind of mystery thrillers, the big answers to its plot questions cannot match the superb horror mystery which director Guillem Morales lays out in the first two acts. Yet while there are many loose ends in its story, Morales presents Julia’s Eyes with entertainingly tense moments, rich atmosphere and a very nice use of darkness, which in itself becomes a character.

Morales often has his camera play the part of the antagonist, stalking his victims while remaining in the shadows. Other times we view the story through Julia’s perception, cloudy and uncertain which is around the corner.

Its great POV filmmaking, coupled with numerous moments that creep up on you and fill you with dread, leading to a guessing game of “Who is lurking in the shadows?”

Yes, the big reveal and its motives do disappoint, and stops Julia’s Eyes from becoming the classic it deserved to be. But nagging plot points aside, Julia’s Eyes is fine, thrilling horror cinema.