Enjoyable and suspenseful chiller/thriller. The opening scene - a stranger whose identity is suppressed from the waist up, with only a pair of stylish cowboy boots and a pair of well fitting jeans; worn by a young nicely built male figure to tittilate the viewer's curiosity; leaving the cinema and wandering the evening streets.
The viewer is given an insight to this figure's obvious tastes for the darker/seedier side of life by his viewing and reading material. Hinting at the mind within, perhaps giving us some clues that his interests may go further than the drives of a red blooded male.
A young blind woman "Sarah" is staying with her relatives in beautiful manner house. Her Aunt and Uncle obviously very well heeled "refined" and certainly a class above the "riff raff" or "gypsies" in surrounding areas, were accommodating and concerned for Sara's condition (being thrown tragically from a horse earlier causing the blindness).
The only real initial hint to the horrifying events that later transpire is with Sarah's relatives, early in the movie, who happened to drive past this "stranger" on his evening walk in their stylish wealthy car hitting a puddle and splashing his "stylish" boots as a consequence(which obviously were his pride and joy) ....but was this really the trigger? Either way, it certainly seemed to seal the unfortunate wealthy occupant's fate and perhaps gave this apparent drifter the extra motivation he may have been searching for to find a target to focus on and "hit out". Or were they already selected?
The booted stranger's obvious contempt of the wealthy is evident his in scratching of this same car's paintwork on another occasion. This petty revenge for his boot splash from their expensive merchandise would have surely satisfied him? But apparently not....His revenge/hatred is later to be unleashed in full shocking and cold blooded fury in one foul sweep within their own beautiful home. Leaving only Sarah unscathed to live within the same house blissfully unaware of being amidst a literal slaughter house....until her shocking discovery!
In blind terror (literally) she needs to escape, but this is hard when the killer returns to locate his identity bracelet that fell off his wrist during his rampage! One victim, barely alive, in his last moments manages to direct a hysterical Sarah to the bracelet not a minute too soon before "Mr Boots" arrives on the scene. And here is where the movie REALLY gets going. A cat and blind mouse hunt which keeps the viewer transfixed from then on!
MOVITATION:
The movie seems to leave you wondering what the real movitation of the apparent "stranger/murderer" in the stylish cowboy boots REALLY is.... Is "he" an unemployed drifter? A lone psychopath without any reason other than cold blooded urges? Or is there much more to it? A background we don't know about fueling an already inwardly enraged or even "Deranged" mind? Someone who may have been fully employed and giving no outward indication of what murderous feelings lay within and simply seethed and obsessed for years before finally acting out...
Inner hatred and contempt of the wealthier classes? Feelings of bitterness/revenge against his superiors? particularly those who spoke down to their workers?
Sexual frustration/class frustration and perhaps been a victim of Sandy's light flirations, further fueling his anger?
Could the horse incident have been part of it? Sarah blinded by falling from the horse and the horse being shot because of her becoming handicapped? rather than the apparent "broken leg". Being a stable-hand and probably a love for horses, could that too have influenced this murderer's hatred towards these people?
Or did he so value his boots to such a pathological extent that the idea of those of a "higher class" driving past and causing them to become wet and dirty, further influenced his already growing anger at people he felt were out of his league/class?
Or a combination, mixing in with an already sick mind?
One can only wonder!
DISAPPOINTMENTS:
The ending mainly! A surprisingly exposed and blunt ending, after such a well done suspenseful build up, one would have hoped for the climax to be just as effective...yet somehow it left one somewhat flat. At least it did for me to a point. And perhpas few too many "coincidences" one might say, particularly for the more cynical viewer, but so well done throughout most of the movie that it could still keep you pretty spellbound. Mia's performance was, I think, outstanding. All in all, the movie has repeat value! You can certainly watch it more than once.
REAL SPOILER, DON'T READ IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO KNOW THE MURDERER'S IDENTITY:
If you watch the movie carefully, take note of the stable-hand in the early scenes. One of the workers in Steve's stables. A young, rather attractive young guy with longish light/medium brown hair. You'd almost miss him if you didn't focus and have good face recall! Notice the name Steve calls him as he's coming out to meet Sarah...you just catch it, but he says no more as he's side tracked towards Sarah as she gets out of the car.
Then make the comparison with name on the bracelet that is later found in Manner House and then the face identity revelation at the end ;-)
The viewer is given an insight to this figure's obvious tastes for the darker/seedier side of life by his viewing and reading material. Hinting at the mind within, perhaps giving us some clues that his interests may go further than the drives of a red blooded male.
A young blind woman "Sarah" is staying with her relatives in beautiful manner house. Her Aunt and Uncle obviously very well heeled "refined" and certainly a class above the "riff raff" or "gypsies" in surrounding areas, were accommodating and concerned for Sara's condition (being thrown tragically from a horse earlier causing the blindness).
The only real initial hint to the horrifying events that later transpire is with Sarah's relatives, early in the movie, who happened to drive past this "stranger" on his evening walk in their stylish wealthy car hitting a puddle and splashing his "stylish" boots as a consequence(which obviously were his pride and joy) ....but was this really the trigger? Either way, it certainly seemed to seal the unfortunate wealthy occupant's fate and perhaps gave this apparent drifter the extra motivation he may have been searching for to find a target to focus on and "hit out". Or were they already selected?
The booted stranger's obvious contempt of the wealthy is evident his in scratching of this same car's paintwork on another occasion. This petty revenge for his boot splash from their expensive merchandise would have surely satisfied him? But apparently not....His revenge/hatred is later to be unleashed in full shocking and cold blooded fury in one foul sweep within their own beautiful home. Leaving only Sarah unscathed to live within the same house blissfully unaware of being amidst a literal slaughter house....until her shocking discovery!
In blind terror (literally) she needs to escape, but this is hard when the killer returns to locate his identity bracelet that fell off his wrist during his rampage! One victim, barely alive, in his last moments manages to direct a hysterical Sarah to the bracelet not a minute too soon before "Mr Boots" arrives on the scene. And here is where the movie REALLY gets going. A cat and blind mouse hunt which keeps the viewer transfixed from then on!
MOVITATION:
The movie seems to leave you wondering what the real movitation of the apparent "stranger/murderer" in the stylish cowboy boots REALLY is.... Is "he" an unemployed drifter? A lone psychopath without any reason other than cold blooded urges? Or is there much more to it? A background we don't know about fueling an already inwardly enraged or even "Deranged" mind? Someone who may have been fully employed and giving no outward indication of what murderous feelings lay within and simply seethed and obsessed for years before finally acting out...
Inner hatred and contempt of the wealthier classes? Feelings of bitterness/revenge against his superiors? particularly those who spoke down to their workers?
Sexual frustration/class frustration and perhaps been a victim of Sandy's light flirations, further fueling his anger?
Could the horse incident have been part of it? Sarah blinded by falling from the horse and the horse being shot because of her becoming handicapped? rather than the apparent "broken leg". Being a stable-hand and probably a love for horses, could that too have influenced this murderer's hatred towards these people?
Or did he so value his boots to such a pathological extent that the idea of those of a "higher class" driving past and causing them to become wet and dirty, further influenced his already growing anger at people he felt were out of his league/class?
Or a combination, mixing in with an already sick mind?
One can only wonder!
DISAPPOINTMENTS:
The ending mainly! A surprisingly exposed and blunt ending, after such a well done suspenseful build up, one would have hoped for the climax to be just as effective...yet somehow it left one somewhat flat. At least it did for me to a point. And perhpas few too many "coincidences" one might say, particularly for the more cynical viewer, but so well done throughout most of the movie that it could still keep you pretty spellbound. Mia's performance was, I think, outstanding. All in all, the movie has repeat value! You can certainly watch it more than once.
REAL SPOILER, DON'T READ IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO KNOW THE MURDERER'S IDENTITY:
If you watch the movie carefully, take note of the stable-hand in the early scenes. One of the workers in Steve's stables. A young, rather attractive young guy with longish light/medium brown hair. You'd almost miss him if you didn't focus and have good face recall! Notice the name Steve calls him as he's coming out to meet Sarah...you just catch it, but he says no more as he's side tracked towards Sarah as she gets out of the car.
Then make the comparison with name on the bracelet that is later found in Manner House and then the face identity revelation at the end ;-)