Sightless

Sightless
Official release poster
Directed by	Cooper Karl
Screenplay by	Cooper Karl
Based on	Sightless by Cooper Karl
Produced by	Kaila York Rick Benattar Nigel Thomas Todd Y. Murata
Starring	Madelaine Petsch Alexander Koch Bibhuti bhusan Behera December Ensminger Lee Jones
Cinematography	Andrew Jeric
Edited by	Don Money
Music by	Phillip Lober
Production companies	Particular Crowd Headlong Entertainment
Distributed by	MarVista Entertainment
Release dates	September 2, 2020 (2020-09-02) (Dances with Films Festival) September 29, 2020 (2020-09-29) (United States)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Sightless is a 2020 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Cooper Karl, based on his 2017 short film of the same name. The film stars Madelaine Petsch and Alexander Koch.

The film had its world premiere at Dances with Films Festival on September 2, 2020. It was released digitally and on demand on September 29, 2020, by MarVista Entertainment.

Plot

Ellen, a former violinist, is cared for daily by Clayton. Under Clayton's guidance, she starts to get adjusted to life without sight. She starts to point out oddities in her apartment, such as a window that she cannot hear outside noise from and repeating car alarms at 11:02 a.m. Clayton reassures her that it is all normal and even brings home a pet bird for her which is initially depicted to be green, but which she is told is light blue. One night, she hears a woman's distressed voice. She initially perceives the woman to be in her apartment, but realizes that the noise is coming through the vent. The following day, she decides to invite her neighbor for tea and leaves a sticky note on her neighbor's door. The neighbor shows up and says her name is Lana. Ellen grows more suspicious of Lana and her husband and accuses Lana of lying to her when Lana claims she is 48. When Ellen touches Lana's face she feels a wound with stiches and is alarmed. Lana reacts by warning her to trust no one and rushes out of Ellen's apartment upon the arrival of her abusive husband in the elevator. Ellen, worried, contacts Detective Bryce, who sends Officer Neiman to check in on her neighbor. Bryce reports back that Lana has a history of illness, she doesn't have stiches, and her real age is 48.

Ellen expresses her perceptions and doubts to Clayton, who starts to show a romantic interest in Ellen. Later that day, when Ellen is alone in her apartment, she hears the elevator ding and approaches who she perceives is Lana. After the person does not respond to Lana, she believes it is the husband so she quickly retreats back into her apartment. The husband appears in her doorway and accuses her of being a paranoid bitch. Clayton rushes over to comfort Ellen and at the same time, confesses his feelings to Ellen. Ellen turns him down declaring that she is in need of a caretaker that she can trust, not a boyfriend. After Clayton leaves, a person enters her apartment. Ellen believes it to be Clayton. The person attacks her and she is reminded of her attacker from that night. She manages to grab a phone and call 911, when suddenly the attacker rushes her and she passes out. She is awaken by a paramedic who claims she has no wounds on her neck. Detective Bryce shows up and reassures her that after Clayton left her apartment, no one else entered. Detective Bryce lets Ellen know that her friend Sasha, who was swindled by Ellen's ex-husband, is the prime suspect in Ellen's attack. Feeling that she cannot trust her own perceptions and is unable to reach anyone in the outside world, Ellen decides to commit suicide. She writes a letter to her brother, Clayton, and Sasha, then jumps from her balcony.

Ellen awakens on the floor of a soundproof room. She realizes that the car alarms and outside noises were all coming from a speaker system and that the high-rise apartment she believed she was staying in was fake. She climbs back into her apartment and explores the hallway outside only to realize that she is unable to escape. She reaches out to Lana again, who tells her that this is home. Clayton arrives to cook Ellen dinner. Ellen realizes that all of the people she had interacted with since her attack were all Clayton, dressed up differently. Ellen, fed up with the deception, knocks Clayton unconscious and makes a run for it. Ellen comes across Lana who says their only hope of escape is by using the vent in Clayton's room. Lana also confesses that she helped kidnap Ellen and that she is Clayton's sister.

Clayton once again captures Ellen and confesses that after his mother's death, his father kept him captive in the basement for 3 years during which time, Lana played Ellen's music for him, thus resulting in his obsession with Ellen. Ellen again knocks him unconscious and opens the vent, but realizes it is too small to escape in. She feels around and grabs a vial which she recognizes to be the same substance that took her sight away. She runs back to the apartment, followed by Clayton, and sprays it into his eyes. Upon seeing Clayton disabled, Lana guides Ellen to what appears to be an exit to the outside world. Six months later, Ellen prepares to go onstage to the sound of an elated crowd, as an assistant asks if she needs help.

Cast

• Madelaine Petsch as Ellen Ashland
• Alexander Koch as Clayton
• December Ensminger as Lana Latch
• Bibhuti bhusan Behera as Clayton’s Friend
• Lee Jones as Russo Latch
• Deniz Akdeniz as Nurse Omar
• Jarrod Crawford as Detective Bryce
• Matthew Yang King as Doctor Katsuro
• Mikandrew Perdaris as Paramedic Rafferty
• Samuel Gostnell as Officer Neiman

Production

Principal photography on the film began in late May and ended on May 31, 2019.

External links

• Sightless at IMDb