Writer/director S.J. Doss is back with another horror short film. Shot under Creepy Concept Films, The Eyes That See in the Dark is a ten minute mini-movie that follows demonic possession, but in this case, there’s more to the occurrence than meets the eye. During a young woman’s exorcism, the performing priests and the girl’s mother come face to face with something darker than they originally expected. The Eyes That See in the Dark mixes the occult, real-life religious double-standards, and heaps of drama into its story; so much so that I dubbed it The Exorcist meets Passions. Of course, Passions was a soap opera that ran on NBC from 1999 to 2007. Or, if you still want to go that far back, I also think it pulled inspiration from an early season four episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Production-wise, I do think The Eyes That See in the Dark started off rough. Luckily, though, several minutes into the short film that remedied itself and the quality of film accurately matches the tone of the story. Sticking with an older, more independent look, S.J. Doss’ latest project contains impressive practical effects and great dashes of CGI. Andrew Hunsicker, Gabriel Brandis, Jessica Blaney, Maria Blaney and Jeffrey Scott star in The Eyes That See in the Dark, and I thought that Jessica Blaney was Lauren Jauregui from girl-group Fifth Harmony several times. While the film is pretty stylized, performed well, and has the perfect run-time, its original story is definitely its greatest strength. Props to S.J. Doss and producer Lana Melendez for making this one.
Final Score: 6.5 out of 10
Watch The Eyes That See in the Dark below!
