Don't Blink

Ten young people converge on a mountain lodge in the Rockies in the off season, but find it mysteriously abandoned. None of them can figure out what happened to the people and they don't have enough gas to leave, so they're stuck. The cast is headed by Brian Austin Green (Jack), Zack Ward (Alex), Mena Suvari (Tracy) and Joanne Kelly (Claire).

Parts of "Don't Blink" (2014) bring to mind movies like "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), "The Mist" (2007), "Phantoms" (1998) and "Donner Pass" (2011) with an ending that recalls "Wind Chill" (2007). But it's by far the least of these because, while the mysterious set-up is good for about the first 35-40 minutes, it becomes one-dimensional and predictable, e.g. when the young guy kneels down behind the bar.

Another flaw is that some of the dramatics feel forced and awkward, like the girl unconvincingly morphing into a preacher. Those other movies didn't have this problem because they had superior writers/filmmakers.

There are 3-4 worthy women in the cast, including Suvari, Fiona Gubelmann (Ella) and Samantha Jacober (Charlotte), but the director/writer never really takes advantage of their presence, but he did good enough, I guess.

The film runs 1 hour, 32 minutes and was shot in Ruidoso, New Mexico, USA.

GRADE: C

***SPOILER ALERT*** (Don't read unless you've seen the movie):

It might help to see the movie as a microcosm of death in our lives: Everyone and everything around us will eventually die one-by-one, so quick & unexpected it's like the blink of an eye. The catatonic girl (Charlotte) willfully calling her own disappearance symbolizes people who commit suicide. For everyone else, death comes in various unforeseen ways, often suddenly.

But do bare in mind the fact that it is more scifi than horror, so don't start playing it expecting a roller coaster of spooks, not even your typical jumps, it does provide some nice tension, raises a few questions, but leaves with no real explanation and does kinda make you feel empty.

Why would I recommend it to anyone? Well, it's a nice change of pace, you get to put an eye on something a tad bit different, and exploit new or let's just call them, rarely used subjects. The approach is boldly, the actors are not your typical never seen on screen before faces, the acting tho could have been better, either the budget was not big enough to assure a proper execution, or at one point, sadly the writers felt tired and decided to stop. The potential in this one is better than I have seen in a lot of productions, but like so many before it, it drowns right at shore.

So it is up to you in the end, you can take a chance and see what the little fuss is all about, or decide to pass it, but you might find out someday, maybe not even that far in the future, that others are talking about it and you missed your chance to participate in their discussion. Have it your way!

Cheers!

Once again I am surprised by the low rating of this movie, it seems like something standard, giving few points to horror movies. This one is very different, it's a good tense horrish mystery thriller. All in all, the story begins somewhat slowly and is the typical story of a group of young adults looking for tranquility in a house in the countryside. It's still interesting, especially if the acting and the dialogue are good, and here they are.

There is a question that resonates the most in my head during the movie, what responsibility do we have towards our friends? If you will disappear in the next hour or two? Especially when the entire group is so different personality-wise, some want one thing and others another. As the film evolves you will realize that the dialogues are impetuous and are quite realistic. The increasing tension between the characters and a fear of the unknown.

You definitely shouldn't miss it, and I was surprised not to have seen it until now, as a fan of the genre.

I profess myself a horror movie junkie. Especially for atmospheric, stereotyped, low budget movies. This meets all requirements. Rather than relying on blood and gore to frighten, this is all about atmosphere and watching closely (in fact, I had to rewind and watch one scene all over to see what I missed the first time). Typically, I don't balk at horror movie stereotypes (after all, the simplicity of the genre is part of its charm), but here they were...off. The director gave characters who were clearly mid to late 30s the typical stereotypes of young twenty-somethings. That took a bit of getting used to, but if you can ignore it, then the atmosphere and mystery and tension are all well done. The main reason for the 7 is the huge omission of why we watch movies. There is a reason there's a nice plot triangle (introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, conclusion). I was thoroughly involved throughout the falling action...and then credits. What? It seems laziness and, in a way, a waste of my 90 minutes when a full part of the plot structure is omitted.

I dont understand what happened in this movie. Theres absolutely no explanation as to why the events in the movie were even happening. Premise is good, has solid ground for a good movie but sadly between the terrible acting, clunky story telling and poor directing it just doesnt work. Not to mention the terrible ending that doesnt really explain anything at all... I wouldnt waste my time watching and if I could go back in time and stop myself from watching I would. This movie is like the director is fresh out of film school, taken a text book check list of whats needed in a movie and mashed it all together in no particular order.