We take many things for granted, especially our senses—particularly during an alien invasion. P. Patrick Hogan’s Blindsided takes us into the world of the visually impaired when survival instincts kick in.
Maria (Crystal Loverro) is a blind, low-vision schoolteacher living alone, awakened from a deep sleep when a violent crash rips through her neighborhood in the middle of the night. Her worst fears are confirmed. It’s the sound of an alien spaceship, and what follows is its inhabitant emerging and making a feast of the bystanders below. The gunshots lead to screams, and there is nothing anyone can do.
“…its inhabitant emerging and making a feast of the bystanders below.”
I’d be lying if I said I’d never seen a story like Blindsided before. Filmmaker P. Patrick Hogan takes the experience of disability and an alien predator to a new level. Rather than turning the screen black and letting the sound tell the story, Hogan gets in tight on Crystal Loverro’s face and gives us only a sliver of her surroundings. We instantly get the sense of experiencing blindness while allowing Loverro to act through Maria’s facial expressions.
Hogan packs an extraterrestrial punch in this 8-minute short film, but elevates the alien genre to an all-new level.
For screening information, visit the Blindsided official website.
"…packs an extraterrestrial punch…"
