Review: Don’t Blink

I picked up a copy of Don’t Blink for several reasons. First, I thought the one-sheet was impressive. Second, it has an all star cast of noteworthy actors so I knew the talent had to be great. Third, I generally enjoy suspense-thrillers with slight horror and science fiction elements that have a ton of mystery and make you guess until the end. With that said, here’s my review of this title having seen it in full.

Don’t Blink is written and directed by Travis Oates with cinematographer Jayson Crothers. Cast members include Brian Austin Green (“90210,” “Anger Management”), Mena Suvari (American Pie, American Beauty), Zack Ward (A Christmas Story, Freddy vs. Jason), Joanne Kelly (“Vanished,” “Warehouse 13”), David de Lautour (“What I Like About You,” “Power Rangers: Jungle Fury”), Fiona Gubelmann, Leif Gantvoort, Emelie O’Hara, Curtiss Frisle and Samantha Jacober.

“Ex-lovers Tracy (Suvari) and Jack (Green), along with their new boyfriend and girlfriend and six close friends, head to a remote mountain resort for a fun weekend getaway. But upon their arrival, the beautiful rustic lodge is more than just sleepy… it’s apparently deserted; food still on the table, bath water drawn, even the forest animals are gone. With no gas, cell service or phone to be found, the stranded and fearful group is desperate to escape their mysterious isolation. Who… or what… could cause this? When the first of the group suddenly vanishes in an instant – terror grips them, tensions and paranoia run high, and loyalties falter as one by one, abruptly and inexplicably, others are… erased. Can they survive?” – DVD CASE

Well, I’m going to be honest here… This one was a real snoozer. All of the elements were in place for a terrific psychological thriller: a breathtaking, scenic lodge, an extremely talented group of lead and supporting cast members, a professional and knowledgeable production crew, and the early ideas of a promising plot. However, the ball was dropped somewhere during the script-writing phase and the movie went from overly promising to boring as watching paint dry. Lots of walking around… Lots of talking… Lots of people pretending their friends aren’t disappearing in front of them… Unfortunately this made me hit the fast forward button twice… Ok, three times. The problem with Don’t Blink is that mystery psychological-thrillers have been done before and much better. Think any number of “Twilight Zone” episodes or 2014’s Coherence. When Don’t Blink managed to crawl out of the abyss of boring nightmares with some action or something that was scary, it wasn’t enough to keep me satisfied. Just a lot of missed opportunities.

And this is sad because the cast and crew are so talented. The movie is visually and technically flawless and I’m certain all of the cast members could have done much better here if the material gave them the opportunity to shine. They’re all so diverse, so incredible and have enviable chops, but I think the only one who really stands out is Zach Ward. Everyone else basically got a check for an easy performance. I would have loved to see just a little more terror, a little more emotion written into the script… Something that would have made me invest in the characters enough to hope for their survival. Besides Mena Suvari’s character, Tracy, I was very much “eh” when someone disappeared. I think that making Don’t Blink as a PG mystery movie instead of at least a PG-13 scifi-thriller was a bad idea. Again, the slow script really stifled this one from reaching its true potential.

Now, my favorite part of the movie was the ending, and I don’t mean that in a negative, sarcastic type of way. Finally, Don’t Blink started to bring its A-game during the last ten minutes, which is so very frustrating as a viewer. There were a lot of clues given towards the cause of the disappearances that helped other clues during the film make sense. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed the concept of a movie that makes you think and pay attention… but you can’t expect people to pay attention and think when there’s not a whole lot going on until the last ten minutes. A disappearance here, a sex scene here, a gun shot there, crying thrown in for good measure… If you want to capture an audience with psychological drama and thrills, you actually have to deliver on that promise, which Don’t Blink failed to do. Does it make you think? Yes, but a beautifully shot, well fronted feature with a cool but boring story is still a boring movie.

FINAL SCORE: 5 out of 10