Blind Alley

This little known film came as a bit of a surprise for me. Not knowing what to expect, I had the expectations of the usual Spanish horror fare, but what I got was something a little bit different. Its a very simple film, done in a very stylish way. The soundtrack and camera work was reminiscent of Italian giallo, so fans of this will be pleasantly surprised by what you get. The build up was very good and relies on solid tension and suspense, over character development. It all unfolds in a very satisfactory way that will please most horror fans. Don't go into it expecting something brilliant. Just be prepared to leave your brain at the door and go along on the ride of terror as our main character tries to find a way out of her dilemma.

Blind Alley is an apt title for this silly thriller that is not scary or even well thought out. It begins with a beautiful girl, Rosa(Ana de Armas) dancing in booty shorts and mini skirts at a photo shoot audition for some unknown reason. Next up, she is in a house cleaner's uniform talking with a coworker as they clean hotel rooms. On her way home she stops at a 24 hour laundromat with flickering lights, in the middle of the night, with no one around. A young man walks in and they seem to connect until he behaves strangely and she barricades herself inside the place as he taunts her. The storyline is not worth the paper it was written on. The one positive is Ana de Armas, a gorgeous young actress. The negative aspect is that Ana keeps her clothes on, which is a shame, because at least I would have one reason to recommend this film. Do not waste your time on Blind Alley.

I do believe this one could have provided a lot more and also, faster. Sure it doesn't even hit the 90 min mark, so I get it, they had to fill that little time, but come on, either go a more complex plot, or make a great short horror.

Reasons to like it? The story is not the worse out there, a lot of similarities with "ATM" even a little "Penny Dreadful", provides some interesting things but those never ending flashes just got me out of my mind! You can't show a flash of something that happened 5-10 minutes ago, it is just wrong! Let us think a little too, we're not all brain dead here. Scares? Can't really call them that, still, a little bit of tension does exist, but it is ruined by the "grand" finale, where everything is just too easy to anticipate.

So, all in all, for a lazy late night, it could work. But if you want something fun to watch, or share with some friends, don't let it hit your screen. Takes forever to get to its destination and then makes itself too obvious.

Cheers!

This movie has two things going for it. It has a pretty decent main setting of an all-night laundromat. It's NOT believable, if you know Madrid at all, that a laundromat would be that deserted late at night (it would be much more likely at 6 or 7 in the morning), but it's an effective setting nevertheless. The second is the lead actress Ana de Armas (Ana of Guns). She is first seen at a go-go dancing audition in a very short skirt and, good god, she is cute! It's a little less believable she has to work as a motel maid while waiting for her big break or that she is unlucky at love. Anyway, during her whole laundromat ordeal she is dressed in a pair of skin-tight yellow pants. It's very distracting. I don't know if it's because her ass is that mesmerizing or the rest of the movie is that boring--probably a little of both. Anyway, halfway through this I was checking the internet to see if she has ever appeared in a better movie.

I disagree that this movie is a giallo. It's way too pedestrian. It's mostly just a standard-issue psycho stalker movie. She meets a scary-looking street person and a handsome young stud in the laundromat. Guess which one she has to worry about? Still, they might have pulled this off, having such a good setting and muy caliente leading actress, but then Leanor Varela shows up. Now Varela is a good actress (and pretty muy caliente herself), but unfortunately she ushers in a whiplash-inducing plot twist and some bad CGI as the movie shifts from one rather tiresome horror movie cliché to a completely different but equally tiresome one (a la "From Dusk to Dawn"). It also goes from kinda boring to really stupid.

At it's best this could have been like the British movie "Creep", but it goes well off the rails even before its scant 75 minute running time is over. This is the kind of movie Hollywood OUGHT to re-make. Keep Ana and her yellow pants and the eerie all-night laundromat, throw out everything else. . .

Blind Alley was not what I expected, a claustrophobic slasher flick set within a lonely laundromat which goes in directions you will not see coming.

This Spanish made horror is made well, fantastic cinematography, thrilling from start to finish and extremely atmospheric.

With a brilliant cast across the board (Though minimal cast required) I found myself rooting for our heroine despite her being a very generic victim type.

What really sets it apart from the rest is the big twist at the end which alike the likes of Orphan (2009) I can confidently say I didn't see coming at all.

The films biggest flaw is its runtime, standing at only around 75 minutes long this damaged the film and due to its content felt more like a Tales From The Crypt episode than an actual movie.

Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed Blind Alley but it would have benefited overwhelmingly from an additional 30 minutes.

The Good:

Fantastic twist

Very well filmed

Great tension

Solid cast

The Bad:

Far too short

Pointless side plot