Director Marcel Walz’s latest horror film Blind is set to release during this year’s FrightFest. The festival is one of the United Kingdom’s largest genre film festivals. This year, it is going digital in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic and will feature 24 films in total as well as short film viewings. Walz’s Blind secured a position on their 2020 schedule. Here is everything we know about the film so far.
The first official FrightFest occurred in 2000. It premiered the popular horror parody film Scary Movie, Dario Argento's Phantom of the Opera, and Hideo Nakata’s Ringu 2. Every year since it began, FrightFest has set the tone for which horror films are destined to make a huge impact on both the genre and the box office. It has expanded beyond London in recent years, with festivals in the United States and Glasgow as well. In 2020, they're going beyond their in-person screenings and entering the digital realm, following in the footsteps of others like Etheria Film Night. In past years, other legendary genre filmmakers such as George A. Romero, Guillermo del Toro, Don Mancini, and Tobe Hooper have been in attendance for screenings of their own films at FrightFest.
In 2016, Marcel Walz’s film Blood Feast premiered at FrightFest’s 16th annual festival. Four years later, his latest horror film, Blind, is slated to make its debut at the same festival. On July 31, 2020, the official trailer for Blind released, and garnered the attention from fans of the genre for its bizarre and unsettling plot.
Blind Release Date
FrightFest will occur digitally in 2020 and will run from Friday, August 28th until the end of the month. All 24 films will be shown during this time period, but Blind is slated for release on Saturday, August 29th at 6:00PM. It is likely that the time specified is for the Western European time zone, so for those wanting to watch the premiere in the United States, that means Blind will show at 1:00 PM EST, 12:00 PM CST, 11:00 AM MT, and 10:00 AM PST. Blind will also officially release in the United States on November 6, 2020.
Blind Cast & Characters
Blind stars Sarah French as Faye, the main character who faces an unnerving amount of trauma throughout the film. Jed Rowen portrays Pretty Boy, a masked stalker who preys on Faye. Other cast members include Caroline Williams as Faye's close friend Sophia, Tyler Gallant as Luke, and Thomas Haley as Officer Jacobs.
Blind Plot Details
The film follows Faye, a former actress who gave up her career after losing her sight due to complications during laser eye surgery. As she continues to live in Hollywood and regain a sense of normalcy in her life, she is entirely unaware of the stranger living in her basement. Due to the fact that Faye and Sophia are both blind, Pretty Boy does not have to wait until dark to make his appearance. The trailer revealed that he takes it upon himself to keep Faye safe from paparazzi, but also intends on hurting anyone who gets in the way of pursuing her as a love interest. Like other films featuring a blind main character such as The Eye (2008), audiences can anticipate a heart-wrenching story of how Faye has been impacted by her inability to see. Blind features an array of unsettling and disturbing moments of stalking. Due to Faye's inability to see, audiences are faced with witnessing her stare into the eyes of the man who is stalking her without any knowledge of his presence.