Don't Look

Danny Murphy’s Don’t Look is a new horror short which is both intelligently constructed and intensely involving. It revolves around a group of young people, many of whom have hearing impairments. They approach what they presume to be an abandoned house wherein they can drink, have fun and get up to mischief. What they don’t realise is that the house is occupied by an unusual individual – who is blind – as well as a mostly unseen figure which will end up picking off the teens one by one. This is quite the slick piece of filmmaking; one with an original idea and a lot to say about the nature of its characters.

Let’s start with the visual design and presentation: this is a great looking picture from multiple technical standpoints. But first and foremost, it is the lighting that provides this film that air of refinement and aesthetic polish – it's absolutely outstanding. From the beginning, the artificial yet utterly convincing moonlight announces this flourish, but by the indoor scenes situated around the table, it is the striking central white light casting shadows across the contours of faces and bouncing back from the surface which elevates the shots to a whole other level of cinematic.

The camerawork then complements this cold, vivid lighting sensibility by using shallow focus – as well as a specificity of closeups within a widescreen format – to accentuate the harsh, clinical tone of the mise-en-scène. Faces are composed in some really impactful ways in this movie, particularly the closed eyes of the characters’ during the central suspense sequence.

On a level of believability, one could argue that one issue with the film is the character of the main villain. It’s not a bad performance, since in terms of physical presence and look he is incredibly striking and intimidating. Though his vocal expression does not always match with his visual persona, and slightly lacks that needed gravitas that a bad guy needs. Even still, there’s so much to enjoy in every performance, and the chemistry between all the kids is authentic.

I’d also like to touch on the filmmakers’ use of blood and gruesome chaos towards the narrative climax. For horror fans, there is so much to love here in terms of the effects. Eye stuff is already unpleasant enough to think about, so the makeup work is truly sickening in the best way. A fabulous achievement for a low-budget short.

Some viewers may be reminded of the horror film Don’t Breathe in relation to this movie – both for its title and its focus on a disability as a gateway into a fear-based dramatic conceit. But this critic argues that Don’t Look is the superior work, even at a lower budget bracket. It’s more enjoyable, more cinematically subjective and packs an additional punch with the wonderful use of practical gore – also lending the piece that perfect handmade gooey feel which is perfect for short-form horror. Additional plaudits to screenwriter Jovita Bodamer-MacGregor: the fact that we’re immediately introduced to these individuals’ disabilities – and how it effectively plays into their dynamics as supportive friends – makes their later problem-solving all the more relevant and its dark ending all the more powerful. To surmise, this is a superbly made genre film that manages to hold the audience’s attention from minute-one.