I watch lots of horror movie and I usually either like it or hate it. This movie is in between.
The Story
The film begins as a typical horror movie, with a group of friends driving to a remote cabin for the weekend. As soon as they arrive, strange occurrences begin to unfold. One by one, each friend vanishes into thin air, creating a rapid escalation of friction and unease among the group. It’s best not to reveal anything further.
The Review (Spoiler Free)
In the realm of psychological horror, “Don’t Blink” stands as a testament to the genre’s ability to unsettle audiences without resorting to conventional scare tactics. The 2014 film, directed by Travis Oates, is an exercise in tension and mystery, where the fear of the unknown is the primary antagonist.
The premise is deceptively simple: ten friends arrive at a remote mountain lodge only to find it mysteriously abandoned. The unsettling stillness of the place is palpable, with half-eaten meals and personal belongings scattered around, suggesting a hasty evacuation—or something far more sinister. As the group grapples with the eerie absence of life, they soon realize that they are disappearing one by one, without a trace.
“Don’t Blink” is a slow burn, a film that revels in the quiet moments of dread that precede the vanishing of each character. It’s a narrative choice that might not sit well with viewers accustomed to the more aggressive pacing of modern horror, but for those willing to immerse themselves in the film’s atmosphere, the payoff is a chilling sense of existential terror.
The cast, led by Brian Austin Green and Mena Suvari, delivers performances that are grounded and relatable, which is crucial for a film that relies heavily on the audience’s emotional investment in the characters’ plight. Zack Ward, in particular, stands out with a captivating portrayal that adds depth to the unfolding mystery.
Critics have pointed out the film’s lack of clear explanations and resolutions, which can be both a strength and a weakness. On one hand, the open-ended nature of the story allows for a variety of interpretations and discussions about the nature of the threat facing the characters. On the other hand, some viewers may find the lack of closure frustrating, as the film offers few clues to piece together a coherent understanding of the events.
The cinematography and sound design contribute effectively to the film’s eerie ambiance, creating a sense of isolation that amplifies the characters’ desperation. The film’s setting, a character in its own right, is a desolate landscape that mirrors the characters’ growing sense of hopelessness.
In conclusion, “Don’t Blink” is a film that will likely divide audiences. For those who appreciate horror that leaves much to the imagination, it’s a compelling watch that offers a unique take on the cabin-in-the-woods trope. For others seeking a more traditional horror experience with clear-cut answers, it may not satisfy. Regardless, “Don’t Blink” is a noteworthy entry in the genre that deserves attention for its bold approach to storytelling and its ability to evoke a profound sense of unease.
Spoiler Ending (Spoiler Warning!!)
People begin to vanish one by one. By the movie’s end, a single survivor remains as the police arrive. Government officials in black suits and cars also appear. Suddenly, all the police and firefighters vanish, leaving only the lone survivor. Then, she too disappears without explanation. The film concludes ambiguously, leaving viewers to ponder and speculate.
Where did these people go? To another dimension, perhaps? What caused their disappearance? Could the government officials’ presence at the film’s end suggest their involvement? Maybe it’s a government experiment? It’s up to you to decide!
In the Nutshell
It’s a decent movie to watch on Friday night in Netflix when you have nothing to do. I give 3 out of 5 stars.
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Genre: Sci-fi Mystery Horror
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The most stupid movie in the world. There’s no meaning in the movie. Like what the darkness got them ??? Hello have some kind of story line or reason behind the disappeance of them all, like how did y’all come up with this, My English teacher would’ve gave me a big fat F
And where did they go?! Stupid….I totally agree!
Michael Gove is beautiful AFF
This movie blows. The ending with out some explanation ruined the whole film yes it was a grate movie until the ending I would like to kick the director in the nuts as well as the person that wrote the film a waste of almost two hours of my life watching this horrible peace of sh*t of a film
i for one loved the it kept me on edge the entire time and left a huge mystery on to where the disapeared and what was the cause for disaperance
It reminded me of a real life incident where something similar happened, but it was in North Carolina, not Colorado.
What happened in North Carolina?
Really?!
You are an idiot to story telling to think that you are perfectly happy to be lost in the dark!!
That is as stupid as watching a whole story and the hero/heroine dies. Stupid. Waste of precious time and money.
me too
I really like the science fiction element of this movie. My thoughts go to alien abduction. There are so many unanswered questions. The biggest one for me is why the temperature drop was so sudden.
Still I found it very entertaining and it kept my attention..
Me too
I dont like the fact that the movie ended with no kind of explanation at all about where these people all vanished too. It just ended in mid air. I dont like movies like this. If there was a part two then fine, end it on suspense, but to just leave the viewer wondering what the heck. Then no. I will rate this movie a 3 star. There was no conclusion here. Boooo!!
I think this movie was an allegory for our earthly existence. To this point, The other day I mentioned to my millennial personal trainer that I watched “Cleopatra” with Elizabeth Taylor. His response was … Oh is Elizabeth your girlfriend ?? If a movie legend like Elizabeth Taylor was removed from this earthly existence without a trace. What does that say for the rest of us???
Its just a testimony to the underlying theme of this film…. That’s what I got out of it
I agree. This is the most intelligent explanation I’ve read. Makes me like the movie as is even more.
I honestly thought this was going to be a psychiatric patient and their many personalities being erased one by one… I thought Jack was the patient, and that idea stuck until where he… disappeared? Then I thought, well maybe it was Claire who was the patient being treated? Or maybe it was even still Jack as the patient, and the personality Claire would finally have her time to shine? Anyways… big letdown at the end. Kind of like they juat gave up and decided it was aliens.
Your idea would have been a better movie.
Technically that’s the plot for the movie, Identity, with John Cusack, Ray Liotta, and Amanda Peet. It’s about a group of strangers cut off from the rest of the world, who then are mysteriously killed off, until you learn that they’re isolated was not random.
I thought she might have been in a car accident and was the only one to survive, until the ending. Now I’m just confused.
I loved this movie especially where it left the watchers to come to their own conclusions as to what was happening , it still gives me a sore head trying to figure it out . I assume that’s the idea of the film to get watchers thinking and come up with their own ending in that respect it has been well made .
I was intrigue by this movie when I first watched it. It’s a shame there wasn’t any explanation why these events were happening.
My only theory on these strange events had something to do with government experiment. Somehow, they created a sink hole which opens up every so often causing people nearby to fall into it. They end up displaced into another dimension or converted into another frequency.
That makes no sence since we literally watched ella dissappear in the bed. She was just gone. Im dissappointed
I think it’s more of a portal to another dimension. This type of thing is happening a lot especially in the national parks and forests, Yosemite being the biggest snatcher. Most people are never found, some are found dead often with shoes and clothes missing. From as young as 2 yrs old, to experienced hikers and physicians. A 2 yr old disappeared while near his parents in the mountains in snowy weather, 2 days later found 12 miles away over mountains and deep ravines that no 2 yr old could do. Mr Palides has written several books on the subject, Missing 411, was a former state trooper for 20 yrs, adults on a hike, don’t be the first in the group and don’t be lagging behind, then they’re just gone!
I see a lot of negative comments about this film, in places like YouTube, IMDb and the like, which suggest to me that people are very inexperienced when it comes to viewing and thinking about film. For one, this is a fairly well made film. It doesn’t have the teal/orange/crushed blacks laziness of cheap horror or similar genre shows, and the actors deliver their lines with enough liveliness to make their characters relatively believable (if not particularly deep). The hatred for these and other aspects stems no doubt from the lack of a resolution, and to explain that, I point to Matheson’s “Disappearing Act” and the Twilight Zone adaptation “And Then the Sky Was Opened.” Both feature characters that are slowly erased from existence (to the point that they never existed) with no explanation. The Matheson story can be seen as a comment on people losing identity in a conformist ’50s; the TZ episode could be seen as a dramatization of what it is like to be “erased” by a malicious government; this movie would then have to be interpreted for ca. 2010-2015. Then there are more recent ideas like Final Destination, where Death Itself is the villain (which could be at play here) or things like the Haunting of Hill House or The Shining (where the houses/buildings are conscious entities that eat the souls/psyches of people within them), or The Endless (where a malicious alien presence traps and repeatedly kills people within repeating time bubbles that can last as little as 5 seconds or as long as several weeks). Ultimately, what this story is about is how people act and react when facing the unknown and the certainty of death. The movie is not without its flaws, and I think it should have been titled In the Blink of an Eye (which would have underscored the notion of people’s lives ultimately being meaningless) but it is better than average. All I can say is that we are lucky that social media didn’t exist up through the ’90s, or else TZ episodes would all have 4.5/10 ratings, and authors like Matheson would have been universally scorned as a hack.
I enjoyed this film where one is amongst the characters who are at a loss as to why there are no animals, birds neither insects or critters if you wish. At the end, two black anonymous government cars arrive seemingly, this could be a covert government experiment, maybe but why are they there. However, the film is well paced and does exactly what it sets out to achieve-where do the friends disappear to? It sustains the fantastic while focusing on the previous guests who disappeared as would the new comers leaving the question, where did they go. Maybe victims of a Black project experiment in shifting dimensions. The conclusion is left open and jou are in the mind-set of the victims who quietly fade away so, yes, it sets out and establishes why is it so cold and how did the water freeze so rapidly leaving an empty fishing boat stuck in the ice. One can debate and argue yet the enigma is there.
This movie seems to expound on existential philosophy. As David Rosenthal said, an allegory of our earthly existence: we leave without a trace and our existence is forgotten, only remembered by those who knew us who themselves will be gone and forgotten soon. Life is short, brutish and without meaning!