Blind Date (1984)

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Joseph Bottoms plays American Jonathan Ratcliff, living & working in Athens. His world is turned upside down when he suddenly losses his sight, but thankfully for him an electronic sonar device has just been invented which allows blind users to "see" (via very dated looking computer graphics) & he agrees to become the first person to try it. Meanwhile an unknown, gloved killer is murdering beautiful young women with a scalpel & it's only a matter of time before their paths cross. I'd never heard of this movie before, picked it up cheap on DVD from a charity shop, but once the name Nico Mastorakis appeared as director/producer on the opening credits my interest suddenly perked up (he made the infamous, one time "video nasty" Island of Death). I found this is to be reasonable attempt at making a giallo style psycho thriller. There's some good camera work going on during some of the more suspenseful sequences. Plenty of female topless nudity, including Kirstie Alley doing apparently her only ever topless on camera scene, though that's hardly a recommendation! Pretty tame in the gore department, only two onscreen kills, both bloody but brief. As already mentioned the computer graphics look very dated - even for 1984 - but it only adds to it's charm.

Here's a Greek thriller with horror overtones which passes the time well without really breaking any new genre boundaries. I did think the computer device which enables the lead to see white outlines on a black background was a very impressive (if not very realistic) creation which allows for plenty of disconcerting (not to mention cool-looking) visuals. Things become a little muddled when this device gives the lead some kind of psychic link (yes, that again) with a killer for no apparent reason, so instead it skips over the technical aspects and just hopes the audience will accept the device at face value.The film definitely appears to have been influenced by the Italian giallo movies, with a series of innocent women being stalked and gruesomely killed by a mystery killer with an unknown motive. The killer even has his own distinct methods like always wearing rubber gloves at the crime and using a scalpel, believing himself to be a doctor. The one thing the film lacks is a true explanation of the murderer's motives, and instead we just have to take him and his reasons at face value. The stalk sequences make good use of shadows and lighting to build up some impressive atmosphere at moments.The film is pretty grisly without actually showing anything, instead cutting away at the last moment from the crime. It does have a hard edge and sleazy atmosphere which is to be expected, I guess, when your director is Nico Mastorakis, the director of the infamous video nasty ISLAND OF DEATH. A strong cast also do their jobs well and help to root the film in reality, as well as creating real sympathy for the characters. Joseph Bottoms (one of the lesser known of four brothers) takes the lead role and convincingly portrays a man coming to terms with his blindness - a scene in the subway where he fights back against a gang of thugs is great stuff. James Daughton only appears at the very end of the film as the killer but his performance is chilling nonetheless. Genre favourite Keir Dullea enjoys a cameo turn as a mad/genius scientist and seems to have fun with his part, although he is only on screen for about ten minutes. Also keep an eye out for the guy billed as "crazy old man" who enjoys hiding in women's bathrooms - one of the weirdest bit characters you're likely to see.The rest of the cast are mainly women, and most of the unknown actresses end up being undressed or in the shower for obvious gratuitous reasons (amusingly one of these actresses was a then-unknown Marina Sirtis, better known for her starring role in STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. I bet she leaves this one off her resume...). Kirstie Alley has the thankless role of the lead's girlfriend but her character is totally superfluous to the plot, and the least the writer could have done would have been to endanger her in some way for an extra frisson. Popular blonde Lana Clarkson also has a fairly prominent role as a model who becomes a victim, taking a break from her usual "barbarian" type roles at the time.There are a few minor moments in the film which resemble those in other popular movies (for example one scene is unmistakably reminiscent of REAR WINDOW) but BLIND DATE largely avoids the pitfall of becoming too clichéd. It does, howeve, offer plenty of realism and raw characters, some mild horror, a few shocks and plenty of suspense and atmosphere towards the end. The only thing missing is real excitement, thrills and chills.

Director Nico Mastorakis had a moderately posh budget for once and was able to give this little techno thriller a nice glossy look, plus he proved somewhat prophetic when a few of his ideas regarding the central gimmick - a radar-like device that allows a blind person to 'see' via reflected sound - actually appeared in medical devices within a few years. Mastorakis, as usual, shows a good photographic eye for interesting backdrops, found objects, cityscapes etc. often from oddly skewed angles.Moreover, the movie is an underground legend among video geeks who pursue gratuitous nudity by female TV stars. Marina Sirtis has a brief but memorable topless appearance as a hooker and Kirstie Alley features in her only nude sex scene. Infamous murder victim Lana Clarkson co- stars as the object of a stalker.Beyond such prurient considerations, however, there is not a whole lot here that we didn't see fairly often in any 80s thriller. There are fights, car chases and foot pursuits (with the admittedly novel twist that one participant is a technologically augmented blind person). This was familiar stuff then and has gained no new freshness with age.

Blind Date tells the story of Jonathon Radcliffe, who on recovering from an accident that left him without sight, finds himself an integral part in the mystery of a series of grisly murders in Athens.Nico Mastorakis is one of the best cult film makers of the eighties, and its for movies like this that show why.A brilliantly subtle Hitchcokian idea, but better, it is full of interesting scenes, if not suspenseful moments. The acting is good but is brought down by the performances of the killer's targets.Not for everyone, but a real overlooked classic.I only want to know what happened to the proposed sequel promised at the end, that says Jonathon Radcliffe will return in 'Run, Stumble and Fall.'