🔍 Synopsis

After losing his wife, Craig (Aaron Stielstra) relocates into a new house with his mute daughter, Jennifer (Eleonora Marianelli). Their strategy for a new life is interrupted when Jennifer suffers from nightmares where a dark figure emerges from her closet. As the disturbances worsen, Craig also starts having nightmares about an entity called “The Blind King,” a presence that is equally sinister. To protect his daughter and find the truth, Craig investigates the origin of the nightmares, resulting in a confrontation with the sinister being.

🏆 Awards & Recognition

The Blind King is a relatively unknown film and has not received any major awards, however, it does deserve recognition for its unique designs and psychological horrors.

🎭 Cast & Crew

• Aaron Stielstra as Craig
• Eleonora Marianelli as Jennifer
• Désirée Giorgetti as Susan
• Sofia Pauly as Helen
• David White as The Blind King

Co-author Riccardo De Flaviis and Lorenzo Paviano also wrote the script with the Director Raffaele Picchio, who is known for Morituris. Sr. Picchio also directed the blind king.

💡 Personal Insights

In its core, Aaron Stielstra’s The Blind King serves as a supernatural thriller that is deeply rooted in grief and trauma. This served as a resource for Aaron Stielstra’s riveting performance as the father attempting to protect his daughter from the horrors of the world while struggling with his own grief. Eleonora Marianelli’s performance as Jennifer captures the fear and fragility of her character exceptionally without even talking, relying entirely on her acting.

Although the film does succeed in establishing an appropriately unnerving tone, other viewers have taken issue with the pacing and technical detail of the film as it relates to the budget. Still the film manages to bring a refreshing perspective to the subgenre by means of focusing on the psychological monopoly a parent suffers due to the loss of a child and the extreme actions one may take in order to protect them.

🌍 Cultural Significance

Within the horror genre of film, The Blind King serves a purpose of trying to demonstrate how a personal tragedy can manifest into an external issue which many societal cultures share. Every society has its own fears and the film captures tragedy, the unknown, loss and parenting fear through the struggle of a father against internal and external demons.