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Blind Innocence Review
Image Credit: Lucas A. Ferrara
Loading...Blind Innocence Review
Lucy Murray-Watson– Mary
Stuart Wolfe-Murray– The Father
Directed by Hugo Andre
Screenplay by Hugo Andre
Produced by Lucas A. Ferrara and Red Blazer Productions
Rated TV-14
Runtime– 21 minutes
Watch Blind Innocence for free on Tubi and Plex
Blind Innocence, written and directed by Hugo Andre, is a moody, atmospheric short thriller about a little girl named Mary (Lucy Murray-Watson) and her father (Stuart Wolfe-Murray) living out in the woods in the middle of nowhere. Mary spends most her day alone at her home while her father is out “hunting for meat.” Mary is told multiple times not to go beyond the gate and into the woods because bad things await her there. What are those “bad things?” Mary’s father never says.
One day, Mary’s father leaves to “go hunting” but doesn’t return in the late afternoon/early evening like usual. Where did her father go? Did something bad happen to him? Mary hunkers down and waits for her father to return, trying not to let bad thoughts enter her mind. He’s just late. It’s no big deal.
And then something starts knocking on the door. Mary tries to see what’s outside through the window in the door but she doesn’t see anything but endless darkness. What the heck is outside the door? What keeps knocking? Mary could open the door and find out, but she thinks better of it and waits for the morning where it will be light outside.
The next morning, Mary opens the door and finds her father on the ground, injured and bloody. What happened? Mary tries to wake him up but he won’t stir. She tries to drag her father’s body into their house but he’s too big. Mary eventually wraps a rope around her father’s arm and manages to pull him inside. It’s at this point that Mary’s father wakes up. Mary tries to help her father with a pillow and some water. She tells her father that she wants to go look for help. Her father tells her not to go.
Mary decides that her father needs help and she will go beyond the gate and into the woods to find it. She feels like she must. What other choice does she have to save her father?
I won’t reveal what happens to Mary in the woods as the short film does contain a nifty twist that you won’t see coming. I will say that the ending is both thrilling and thought provoking. I do kind of wish that there was a little more to the ending (like a minute or two), but that yearning for more is why the ending is so damn good. It makes you wonder what the heck happens next.
The first ten minutes or so of Blind Innocence are moody and weird. Who the heck is this little family out in the woods? Why is this father so protective of his daughter? What is out in the woods that Mary needs to be protected from? And just what the heck is the time period are these people living in? Is it the late 1880’s? The early 1900’s? Why are they alone? The bedtime story that Mary’s father reads to her is strange as hell as it only seems to exist to reinforce his “don’t go in the woods” admonishment. And then you start wondering about the wooden carousel toy thing that Mary’s father is either building or fixing out in his workshop. What the heck is the deal with that?
The tension becomes unbearable when Mary’s father doesn’t come home and she’s left alone essentially in the dark. While you don’t doubt that Mary is resourceful in her own way, what the heck is this little girl going to do against roving marauders or monsters or whatever all by herself? And what the heck is knocking on her door?
The house out in the woods and the actual woods are serene and peaceful but there’s also a sense of malice in the air. You don’t understand it, you don’t know why it’s there, but you do notice it in the background. The more that malice becomes apparent the more terrifying it becomes. That malice will unsettle you.
Lucy Murray-Watson is nothing short of fantastic as Mary. She’s in just about every scene in the movie and manages to carry the story. You worry about her because she’s just a little girl all alone out in the middle of nowhere and you root for her for the same reason. You don’t know how she will succeed but you hope that she does. Murray-Watson also has a screen presence that you just don’t expect to see from such a young actor. Just an amazing performance.
And Stuart Wolfe-Murray does a great job as Mary’s father. You know that he’s concerned about his daughter’s well-being but you don’t know why beyond being her father. You’re never quite sure if you can totally trust him. Why won’t he tell Mary what’s going on out in the woods? Why does he keep her at home all of the time? What is he protecting her from? There are times where you think Wolfe-Murray’s father character is just a world weary parent who has been through God knows what sort of trauma (where is his wife, Mary’s mother? Why is he Mary’s only parent now?) and there are times where you think this guy is just a weirdo. Awesome stuff.
Blind Innocence is a terrific short film that you should absolutely check out. Moody, atmospheric, and unsettling with two outstanding performances, Blind Innocence is 21 minutes of cracking good entertainment. You won’t be disappointed.
See Blind Innocence. See it, see it, see it! Blind Innocence is currently available to stream for free on Tubi and Plex
So what do we have here?
Dead bodies: None.
Explosions: None.
Nudity?: None.
Doobage: A zoom in on a door, door knocking, door locking, a bedtime story, wood sawing, hacksaw hooey, small carousel toy building, vegetable growing, a hand wound, hand wound cleaning, off screen meat hunting, general serenity, general boredom, hair brushing, darkness, more door knocking, attempted body dragging, rope, gate opening, running, mud touching, a big twist ending that you don’t see coming.
Kim Richards? Feared.
Gratuitous: a house out in the woods in the middle of nowhere, a candle, bedtime storytelling, woodworking, short person trying to reach a flower pot that’s high up, a book called “Blind Innocence,” and weirdness.
Best lines: “Any meat today, father?” “Not too bad at all. Just a scratch.” “Father? Father, is that you?” “Father, please use your hands!” “You mustn’t go out there!” “Protect the child. Protect the child.”
