Close Your Eyes

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

46%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 37

35%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 3,362
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Movie Info

A hypnotist with psychic talents is drawn into a criminal case with bizarre implications in this thriller from Great Britain. Dr. Michael Strother (Goran Visnjic) is a psychologist and hypnotherapist who has relocated from the United States to England after an ugly incident in which a boy under Strother's care died while swimming, possibly due to a mistakenly triggered hypnotic suggestion. Strother sometimes sees visions which he believes are images from the minds of his patients, and while hypnotizing Janet Losey (Shirley Henderson), a police detective who is trying to give up cigarettes, he sees a terrifying vision of a girl trapped beneath the surface of a stream. Strother learns that the girl in his vision is Heather, a teenager who has recently disappeared; when found, she's disoriented, unable to speak, and has strange new tattoos on her arms. Despite the pleas of his wife Clara (Miranda Otto) to keep his distance, Strother becomes involved in the case, and with the help of Elliot (Paddy Considine), a dealer in fantasy games, he learns that the bizarre gibberish Heather has been spouting are part of the rituals of an outmoded religious rite. As Strother and Losey dig deeper into the bizarre crime, they're led into a twisted web of intrigue, violence, and religious fanaticism. Hypnotic was adapted from the Madison Smartt Bell novel Doctor Sleep, which was also the film's working title.

Cast

Goran Visnjic
as Dr. Michael Strother
Shirley Henderson
as Janet Losey
Miranda Otto
as Clara Strother
Paddy Considine
as Elliot
Claire Rushbrook
as Grace
Fiona Shaw
as Lebourg
Corin Redgrave
as Clements
Andrew Woodall
as Tall Man
Sophie Stuckey
as Heather
Josh Richards
as Keith
Sarah Woodward
as Police Inspector Hilary Ash
Lauren Gabrielle Volpert
as Martha Strother
John Bett
as Nursing Home Doctor
Steve Nye
as Young Boy 1
Joshua McGowan
as Young Boy 2
Angus Wright
as Bicycle Man
Tam Dean Burn
as Gas Man
Shammi Aulakh
as Hotel Clerk
Anthony Denham
as Police Guard
Howard Lee
as Cab Driver
Don McCorkindale
as Doorman
John Rogan
as Francis Paladine
Andrew French
as Police Detective
Madison Smartt Bell
as Hypnosis Patient
Gerald Lepkowski
as Journalist
Colin Farrell (II)
as Theater Security Man
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Critic Reviews for Close Your Eyes

All Critics (37) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (17) | Rotten (20)

  • The atmospheric psychological thriller weaves a compelling web thanks to dense, stylized direction by Nick Willing and a smartly assembled cast.

    May 24, 2004

    Michael Rechtshaffen

    Hollywood Reporter
    Top Critic

  • ... one of the best thrillers I've seen probably since The Ring.

    Apr 26, 2004

    Richard Roeper

    Ebert & Roeper
    Top Critic

  • On their way to confront ancient evil, Strother and Losey keep tripping over timeworn cliches.

    Apr 23, 2004

    Mark Jenkins

    Washington Post
    Top Critic

  • An occasionally engaging but more often gruesome British thriller.

    Apr 23, 2004 | Rating: 2/4

    Moira MacDonald

    Seattle Times
    Top Critic

  • If you can overlook its TV-episode look, occasional lapses in logic and detours into lurid overkill, this old-school psychological thriller, which marries a tracking-the- serial-killer narrative with occult themes, is a creepy diversion.

    Apr 22, 2004 | Rating: 2.5/4

    Megan Lehmann

    New York Post
    Top Critic

  • May be the worst-directed movie exported by England in this young century.

    Apr 22, 2004 | Rating: 1/4

    Jack Mathews

    New York Daily News
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (37)

Audience Reviews for Close Your Eyes

  • Jun 01, 2009
    Interesting thriller, nice twist.
    Chosen 7 Super Reviewer
  • Apr 14, 2009
    i quite liked this film its different but i guess not memorable though
    Film C Super Reviewer
  • Feb 03, 2009
    Unremarkable occult thriller except this one employs a visionary hypnotist as part of the story. Passable, nothing more gripping than that.
    Doctor S Super Reviewer
  • Nov 22, 2008
    The British film Close Your Eyes was better than I anticipated. It had some good suspense moments, thrills and twists. Goran Visnjic was stellar in his portrayal of a hypnotherapist with gifts. The film seemed to slowly lose it's self partway through.
    Deb S Super Reviewer
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