‘Dooba Dooba’ Nightmares Film Festival 2024 Review: Be Careful Who You Babysit For
Dooba dooba…dooba dooba…dooba dooba (more on that in a bit).
Adult Swim and an assortment of 1990s precursors to it sure did leave a mark on an entire generation of filmmakers. Television in the ‘90s and early ‘00s was still a bit of a Wild West in terms of programming, particularly late at night. Networks and cable outlets were desperate to fill out 24/7 programming blocks. A great deal of them accomplished this by running syndicated packages of old shows (both popular and obscure), leading to many Millennials still managing to grow up with a working knowledge of series such as Dark Shadows, Forever Knight, Max Headroom, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Green Acres, Bewitched, The Outer Limits, Batman ’66, and—of course—The Twilight Zone.
That era also gave rise to more off-kilter efforts such as Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Sifl and Olly Show, and all things Adult Swim on Cartoon Network. We’re talking offbeat (and occasionally sinister) stuff that felt more handmade, more niche, and more dangerous.
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All of this seems to have coalesced in recent years into a delightful trend of deeply strange films and shows that draw upon all of this – be it narratively or simply in terms of tone. Channel Zero immediately comes to mind. As do Skinamarink and I Saw the TV Glow. So too follows Dooba Dooba. On paper, this film from writer/director Ehrland Hollingsworth has a pretty standard set-up. A babysitter (Amna Vegha) arrives at the remote home of a couple to watch their daughter (Betsy Sligh) for the evening, so that they can go out to a party with some of their friends. They don’t get out much, you see, so it’s important that they take this opportunity to socialize and cut loose for once.
Why don’t they get out much? Because their daughter—who is older than they initially led our protagonist to believe—has major anxiety issues and functions best in the confines of their home. That’s an immediate red flag in any sort of thriller or horror movie scenario. Clearly, something more is at work here. I’m not going to spoil exactly what that “something more” is, but what transpires is only half of what makes Dooba Dooba so unique. This is a film that is as much an exercise in style and aesthetics as it is in narrative tension.
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Everything is witnessed via old CCTV cameras positioned all around the home, giving every single scene an uneasy layer of voyeurism. It makes the viewer feel like they’re spying on these people. Seeing and hearing things that they shouldn’t be, even before anything goes horribly wrong for our leads, is a fascinating way to spice things up from moment one. Throw in some great performances on top of that and you end up with a very unique thriller that does its best to get under your skin from start to finish.
Dooba Dooba is an experimental thriller that—once the turn happens—goes for the throat and does not let up. It left many festival attendees rattled and excited, with chatter about it occurring nonstop for the rest of the weekend. It’s not hard to see why. Dooba Dooba is a singular work handcrafted by a group of deeply passionate filmmakers, with their passion carrying through the final product. This is a unique slice of horror cinema that should not be missed. Although fair warning: you will have the phrase “dooba dooba” stuck in your head for days after you see it!
Summary
Dooba Dooba is a chilling homemade thriller that devlishly reveals how babysitting is no safer in 2024 than it was in the 1970s.
