Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Open Your Eyes’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains some spoilers for the motion picture, ‘Open Your Eyes’.
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When a powerful personal crisis or traumatic experience arrives in our lives, our brains do something quite incredible. In that, they more or less slip us into a survival mode. Which allows for us to get through our daily motions whilst the worst is going on, all so that we can make it to tomorrow… when hopefully the crisis in question comes to an end. And when it does, we can finally slip out of that fascinating mental mode, so that we can begin to process what happened and recover from it and go on with our lives in a healthy and stronger manner. But while that is the norm for a great deal of us, not everyone gets to enjoy that textbook road to recovery when tough times come their way. Because for some folks, the crisis is extremely powerful in nature and really doesn’t seem to have an expiration date.
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To complicate matters further, they’re on their own, without a friend or a family member to help them along with kind words. So, they simply push ahead, with survival mode hanging around for an extended time and that can transform a person into an emotionally devoid zombie of sorts and being in its realm for too long can become a norm. Which in turn leaves the afflicted transformed and despondent when the crisis in question… eventually comes to an end. But what is scary for those folks, is that... in that moment, those dealing with extended survival mode sometimes wonder if this is going to be their life forever, and what might become of their mind if by chance it doesn’t end and well, that is a scary thought indeed… one that storytellers have no problem exploring, as evidenced by the new psychological thriller/horror feature, Open Your Eyes.

Now in this particular film we are introduced to a man named Jason Miller who is dealing with an interesting personal crisis, one that initially seems pedestrian in nature. For Jason is stuck on his latest screenwriting project and his creative block appears to be spilling over into his everyday life by way of strange sounds and hallucinations. But thankfully, he eventually gets his script going and just like that it appears as though his life is on easy street. For not only are the creative juices flowing, but a beautiful woman in his apartment complex, named Lisa, has taken an interest in him, a revelation that will change Jason’s life for the worse. Not because this woman is trouble in the slightest, but because there is something awfully familiar about her and that little nugget of familiarity is going to open Jason’s eyes to a terrible truth that he has been working hard to hide from… one that will change his life in a negative manner. 

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Which is a plot that initially seems to be more grounded in the fantastical instead of matters of the mind and the movie initially does little to convince you, that an exploration revolving around what long term survival mode does to the mind, is going to come into play. For the strange happenings around Jason’s apartment, truly make it seem as though this is a paranormal themed story, one where a strange spirit is trying to tell Jason something. Or that perhaps Jason has done something incredibly terrible and something otherworldly wants to make him pay for it and that leads to some fascinating homages to a couple of horror classics. Since those elements remind the viewer of The Shining and at times the more surreal elements of George Romero’s adaptation of The Dark Half. But while it is nice to enjoy a few cap tips to some of the greats, at its core this movie is indeed about how extended survival mode can be extremely unhealthy for our mental health.
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Because eventually, it is revealed that Jason is living in a fantasy world, one designed to keep him from coping with a horrible reality. Which we won’t spoil here because the twist is indeed, that good, and that out of left field. Instead, it’s best we focus upon what this revelation means for the character and the audience. Since it clearly points out that when we let survival mode take over, we utterly lose ourselves and go on a strange form of automatic that can be taken to the Nth degree and that is about as unhealthy as it gets. For whether we like it or not, we have to deal with our problems and our current situation, or it will never improve and we’ll never live life to the fullest or get anything that we want out of it. Which means it is up to us to break out of it when it has taken hold and fight hard to keep it at bay so we can finally move forward in life and that really is quite the unexpected message to find in a horror/thriller.

Simply because it is supremely hopeful and inspirational and designed to reach out to those struggling in the world right now and that’s just a rarity since these two genres tend to take a hands-off approach in such personalized matters. But it is there and oddly enough, it works, and it makes this movie a fascinating watch. One that might not be everyone’s cup of tea, since it is a slow burner of sorts, one that works toward its grand reveal. But that ending really does make the journey worth one’s while since it is filled with so many unexpected surprises and heft and well, if you’re in the mood to enjoy something that definitely keeps you guessing, while finding new ways to surprise you and inspire you, then give Open Your Eyes a look. Because this really is quite the refreshing motion picture, one that really does offer the viewer a unique experience.    

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