Blind Sun (2016)

If the extreme cold can make some crazy, the exact opposite is also true. I know; I go bonkers during the daily 100-120 degree, 6+ months here in Arizona year after year.So, since we're going through yet another gut-punching hot and humid summer, I wanted to watch a Horror-Heat-Wave movie and BAM!, coincidentally, the first category on my Shudder Online Horror Movie Streaming service is a group of Horror-Heat-Wave flicks. And the first one was one I hadn't seen and seemed the most interesting.Blind Sun felt extremely real for someone like us Phoenicians. They did an excellent job on how hot a desert town can get. It was almost too real for me. Well, the hot parts, anyways.Slowly, this all-but drifter turned house-sitter loses his mind in the heat. The house he's staying in is supposed to be very richy, despite the poverty town surrounding it, but the A/C keeps going out, the water is turned on/off and even the pool is a big no-no for the fact the town's rationing H20. As stated, it's a slow-burner, no pun and this man dives deeper and deeper into madness. Live one summer here in Phoenix, and yeah, you'll understand. While the final act went a little wacko for me, it was a decent movie to watch to know what the hot desert feels like.***Final thoughts: Oh, and just to clarify, our Phoenician summers are basically March through November with the first and last month somewhat pleasant, but still can be in the 100s.

A slow burn. I dare say it because here it's not a metaphorical cliché, it's the actual plot of this indie!Set in Greece in a near dystopic future, we follow Ashraf Idriss (Palestinian actor Ziad Bakri), an immigrant hired to house-sit a villa for the summer, ensuring its safety amidst rising hooliganism and brutality whilst personally suffering the oppression that attempts to counter the tense lawlessness of a heat-wave-baked world increasingly deprived of its primary resource: water. Sure enough, the standoffish Ashraf faces increasing threats, scared to be in the villa and afraid to act after having lost his papers to a racist cop, but what's a real menace and what results out of a slowly baking brain? Told through careful cinematography, editing, and sensibility that lean towards art-house minimalism, this first-time feature for Joyce A. Nashawati marks this Lebanese director as someone possessing tremendous flair for the deeply nuanced yet sharp socio-political allegory, the kind that lets one get away with more style then story.The horror classification given by some (see Shudder.com) is believable. The menace that looms throughout genuinely takes hold midway and brings us to chilling moments, both of real fear and psychological unease. There's an unsettling atmosphere that reigns, set both by an intriguing soundtrack and a keen exploitation of light in establishing either the threat of a sun-drenched world or of those lurking in shadows.A tense, unnerving visual treat with a disturbing end, my only complaint is that it's often too easy to forget just how water-deprived and hot a world Ashraf faces and it's never quite justified why he seems to suffer more than all. Watching his "burnout" is engrossing, but we never fully embark on his ride that leads to his solution, albeit we certainly do feel his relief afterwards (up to a point) for, though he's hardly the most likable and pet- friendly of fellows, he does earn our sympathy. Well worth a watch!

Almost nothing happens in this movie: * An immigrant guy takes a job as a housekeeper.* He sleeps a lot.* Goes to the pool once.* Water goes out and he gets his tools and fixes the pipes.* Goes into town a couple times.* He sees some shadows a few times.* Hears some unexplained footsteps.* Things get messed up in the house a couple times.* The cat dies.* He starts hallucinating a little bit it seems.* He burns down the house.The end.

If you are into fast action and high adrenaline movies, then maybe you will think that this one is not for you...and do not get me wrong, I thought I was one of these people too, until I came across Blind Sun. You owe it to yourself to watch it till the last minute...it does change something in you. This movie is a real thriller, unlike any horror tale, that keeps you continuously alerted and at the same time makes you realize how close we are to facing such issues on a global scale. Excellent movie, with an exceptional cast and director...you really feel the heat.