‘Don’t Look Away’ Review: This Film is Too Serious to be About a Killer Mannequin
From the moment I first got word of Don’t Look Away, I had a burning urge to check it out. I have a fascination with sentient objects in horror films. So, this past weekend, I eagerly satisfied my curiosity and checked out Micheal Bafaro’s tale of a killer mannequin. I’m basically glad I did. The film is plagued by some pacing problems and has a few other issues. But I ultimately had fun with it and I am curious to see what Bafaro does next.
The story plays out like this: After plowing down a pedestrian who runs out in front of her car, Frankie (Kelly Bastard) takes to the dance floor to shake off the bad vibes. She takes some club drugs and tries to cut loose with her pals. But she’s still troubled by the vehicular mishap. In fact, ever since that ordeal, she can’t seem to shake the sensation that someone is following her. She quickly learns that the pedestrian she hit was caught up in some supernatural shenanigans. More specifically, he was involved with the transport of one killer mannequin. Now the sentient object is after her and everyone she loves. Ahhh!
I won’t say it’s perfect. Because it isn’t. But there are parts of Don’t Look Away that work really well. I was hooked by the opening sequence and had a great time with the first twenty minutes. Things meander for a while following a promising start but do eventually pick back up near the end.
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The dance floor massacre that transpires after the opening sequence is genuinely creepy and well-realized. And the final ten minutes recapture that same level of intensity, managing to be harrowing and rather gripping. So, while I wish that could be said of the film in its entirety, I still had a pretty good time with Don’t Look Away.
One big reason the middle of this picture is a little rough for me is the tonality. Tone can be hard to get right in a film like this. I think Bafaro comes close to striking the right balance but falls short. The use of such an unconventional antagonist needed to be acknowledged with a slightly higher level of comedy than what we see here. I wanted a bit more recognition from the filmmakers acknowledging the inherent silliness of the premise. It needn’t be a tongue-in-cheek wink and nod. It can be far subtler than that. But most of the film plays as deathly serious.
The campy nature of the premise could have been acknowledged with a few lines of outlandish dialogue or a knowing look between characters. It doesn’t have to be an outrageous gesture. But these movies work better when the viewer is given a level of permission not to take things so seriously. Especially when the killer is a CPR dummy come to life.
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Giving the viewer that acknowledgment that you are in on the gag can potentially add to the intensity in the long run. If we know the filmmakers are leaning into the inherent camp just a bit, we tend to let our guard down. That can be a great opportunity to swoop in and scare the hell out of the audience. But as it stands, these characters just exist in constant fear of a department store mannequin. A mannequin that we soon learn cannot move or cause trouble if someone is looking at it.
Therein lies the other problem I had. The mannequin’s weakness being eye contact strips away some of the tension that Bafaro works so hard to craft. Imagine if Michael Myers couldn’t hurt you if you looked at him. That would take away so much of his menace and mystique.
All criticisms aside, I will concede that the mannequin manages to be somewhat imposing in several of the more intense sequences and its tendency to materialize at unexpected times did rattle me on a couple of occasions. Additionally, the use of low lighting with an ominous score goes a long way toward giving the inanimate character something of an imposing presence. And that’s not nothing.
All things considered, I liked Don’t Look Away. The film succeeds in crafting atmosphere and starts and finishes strong. I wish the middle had more to offer. But the bookends were ultimately strong enough to carry my attention during the mid-feature lull.
If you are curious to check Don’t Look Away out for yourself, you can do just that. The film is out in select theaters as of the publication of this post.
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‘Don’t Look Away’
Summary
‘Don’t Look Away’ starts and finishes strong. And that was enough to carry me through the meandering middle.
Categorized:Reviews
