Dark Glasses (2022) Review

After a short hiatus, horror legend Dario Argento returns with his latest feature ‘Dark Glasses’. Screening at 2022’s London Frightfest with an introduction from the man himself, Argento explained the story for Dark Glasses was originally concocted some 20 years ago, only to be forgotten at the back of a drawer until daughter Asia stumbled upon it and convinced her father to bring it to life.

Focussing on sex worker Diana (Ilenia Pastorelli), Dark Glasses follows our abrasive and unlikeable protagonist as she recovers from the life changing aftermath of a car chase which ultimately resulted in the death of two innocent bystanders and cost Diana her sight.

As Diana adjusts to her life without vision, she is aided by charity worker Rita (Asia Argento), who helps her navigate her new world with tools, tips and the introduction to assistance dog Nerea. As Diana tries to process her trauma, she seeks out the only other survivor of the crash – newly orphaned seven year old Chin (Xinyu Zhang) at a local convent.

As Diana tries to adjust to her new life, we come to find she may not have escaped the danger completely as the man that pursued her aims to finish what he started. What follows is a tense game of cat and mouse that is complicated by Diana’s newfound disability and her unexpected warmth for the compelling child, Chin.

For Giallo fans looking for a return to Argento’s prime, you may be somewhat disappointed. Whilst the feature is visually appealing, it lacks the lustre of earlier works and ultimately the premise of Dark Glasses feels a little thin.

Though Diana herself is not initially a particularly likeable character, there is some development as we witness the growing bond between herself and the young boy who seeks comfort in the only familiar presence currently in his life. Despite his tender age, Xinyu Zhang stands out as a fully fleshed character, whose performance captivates and ultimately compliments Pastorelli’s initially cold Diana.

When it comes to features that use disability as a plot point, I do find it a little of a sore point that more isn’t done to utilise actors with visual impairments. Canadian feature ‘See For Me’ is a perfect example of what can be done when exploring such dynamics with a sense of reality that is all the more impactful with the inclusion of a visually impaired actress.

Whilst Pastorelli does (to a sighted person who may, pardon the pun, be a little blind on the matter) do a good job of portraying a visually impaired person trying to navigate their new normal, I feel a lot of the punch and meaning behind the film is lost in the casting. It is clear Diana’s newfound disability should act as an additional layer of vulnerability (to the already typically vulnerable female sex worker), but her progression seems oddly straightforward and accepting through what is such a lifechanging event and a lot of the sense and subsequent empathy is lost, rendering some of the tension rather lacklustre.

Though understandably, some of the action scenes may have been more difficult with a visually impaired actress, and whilst I get the point of acting is to be something you are not necessarily, I feel the feature would have been stronger with alternate casting. This should not detract from Pastorelli’s performance, who manages to evolve from her icy, uncaring demeanour to a fully fleshed character who displays a range of feeling and emotion in a way that feels touchingly real.

The feature is ultimately driven by its strong characters and the story itself lacks somewhat, with the ultimate reveal feeling intensely underwhelming.

For its detractors, Dark Glasses is picked up by its fantastic score, that instantly transports the viewer to a high octane environment (potentially somewhere in the mid 90s) in an immersive world that sadly the story and visuals don’t quite match.

For horror fans, Dark Glasses is definitely worth a watch, though feels more at home in the crime drama environment than true horror. Argento has has the added pressure of trying to live up to his earlier works and his own legend. I can’t help but feel Dark Glasses would be an easily forgotten feature that passed by many, had it not been attributed to the famed director.

Upon entering the screening, the Frightfest audience were given a pair of black sunglasses emblazoned with the Shudder logo and feature name. A nice touch which ultimately felt a little gimmicky. Sadly something that the film overall reflected.

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