Don't Blink

Ten young people converge on a mountain lodge in the Rockies in the off season, but find it mysteriously abandoned. None of them can figure out what happened to the people and they don't have enough gas to leave, so they're stuck. The cast is headed by Brian Austin Green (Jack), Zack Ward (Alex), Mena Suvari (Tracy) and Joanne Kelly (Claire).

Parts of "Don't Blink" (2014) bring to mind movies like "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), "The Mist" (2007), "Phantoms" (1998) and "Donner Pass" (2011) with an ending that recalls "Wind Chill" (2007). But it's by far the least of these because, while the mysterious set-up is good for about the first 35-40 minutes, it becomes one-dimensional and predictable, e.g. when the young guy kneels down behind the bar.

Another flaw is that some of the dramatics feel forced and awkward, like the girl unconvincingly morphing into a preacher. Those other movies didn't have this problem because they had superior writers/filmmakers.

There are 3-4 worthy women in the cast, including Suvari, Fiona Gubelmann (Ella) and Samantha Jacober (Charlotte), but the director/writer never really takes advantage of their presence, but he did good enough, I guess.

The film runs 1 hour, 32 minutes and was shot in Ruidoso, New Mexico, USA.

GRADE: C

***SPOILER ALERT*** (Don't read unless you've seen the movie):

It might help to see the movie as a microcosm of death in our lives: Everyone and everything around us will eventually die one-by-one, so quick & unexpected it's like the blink of an eye. The catatonic girl (Charlotte) willfully calling her own disappearance symbolizes people who commit suicide. For everyone else, death comes in various unforeseen ways, often suddenly.

After looking at the review overall score I was somewhat doubting whether to watch this film but I decided to give it a shot and make my own mind up..... not disappointed.

It's not a film that will give you all the answers you want but it's certainly a film that will make you guess what's coming next. It's not a gore fest or typical horror, more like a twilight-zone-esque type film....

I'm not going to say much as the beauty in the film is not knowing..... just give it a try and maybe, like me, you won't be disappointed... whatever you do though, don't blink.

I dont understand what happened in this movie. Theres absolutely no explanation as to why the events in the movie were even happening. Premise is good, has solid ground for a good movie but sadly between the terrible acting, clunky story telling and poor directing it just doesnt work. Not to mention the terrible ending that doesnt really explain anything at all... I wouldnt waste my time watching and if I could go back in time and stop myself from watching I would. This movie is like the director is fresh out of film school, taken a text book check list of whats needed in a movie and mashed it all together in no particular order.

All things considered this isn't a bad film, the acting is good, sets and locations are stunning, cinematography is brilliant and the script has some legitimately hilarious lines in it that will have you (if you're like me) barking out a laugh. The pace is steady, and it's not too complicated or cluttered with superfluous bits and pieces thrown in to bulk it up. I also like the way (however predictable some may be) that they had people disappearing. It was clever, good camera and effects work, subtle and understated but still impressive.

Now to the negative... Despite the build of tension and the myriad of questions the films raises, don't hold out much hope for any answers. You won't get any. Maybe this was a deliberate effort because they're intending a sequel (I would be more than happy to watch that, and I don't often vote for sequels) or maybe this is a Nolan-esque leaving it to your imagination ending. Whatever the answer, it's a rather frustrating to come away empty handed. If this is left open ended in this way for a sequel don't fret, it's not one of those obvious "And we are clearly setting this up for the sequel TAKE THAT SUCKERS!" type deals. Much more subtle than that.

All in all I have to say it was a pretty good film that held my attention in a way a lot of films of late fail to do, and I'd recommend watching it if you're bored or the idea the films posits interests you. But don't get as mad as some reviewers on here if it's not a 10/10 masterpiece of cinema gold. It is what it is, don't expect the most breathtaking piece of cinema known to man that answers all of the questions you have about life, death and why we're here.

So I've decided to watch this movie because it seemed quite interesting with a bit of a mystery and a slight of horror!!It starts off as the usual group of people going to stay at a motel in the middle of nowhere!Really weird things are starting to happen, as one by one are starting to disappear.The whole idea of the movie is really interesting but it doesn't wrap very well during the end unfortunately.Brian Austin was good, so is the other cast,Mena Suvari has a brief role and that's about it! This could easily be one good episode of the Twilight Zone because it has many elements that makes u think that!Nevertheless i do recommend it because it's different, not predictable but the cons is that it has a weak end and doesn't really explain the situation.Cheers!