DontLookBehindYou

Wow. I am impressed. I came into this having viewed everything I could of the filmmaker's body of work up to this point, and this is definitely the culmination of all of their talent and resources. Absolutely fantastic.

My understanding is that this started as an anthology film and then was shortened down to mini-series format. Considering the lack of wrap around story that is usually fairly necessary in an anthology film, I think the episodic nature fits it much better. Some of the characters appearing in more than one story is a little more digestible in the format as well. It also really added to the cliffhanger value at the end of the series, I am gasping for more.

There are five stories total that, as I said, do end up involving characters crossing over into other segments. Each episode has an underlying tension that is hard to deny and every twist, even the most subtle, hit incredibly well. My initial thought was to break down each story, but I don't think that's the best way to go about this. All I will say is, some are a little more slow burn than others, but each is worth the pay off, especially when certain details come into play later. If you are looking for something new and different that is technically sound and undeniably enthralling, this is it.

Is the acting a little green? Yes, but, honestly, it added to the real feel of this film. The only performance I wasn't crazy for was the main police officer's, a little too generic "bad cop," which could've worked if he wasn't phoning it in, but, oh well. Does the execution leave a little to be desired? Yes, but the shakey camera work and somewhat amateur technical work really adds to that gritty realness. I saw people in reviews complaining about the dubbing, but I didn't notice at all. I watch actual Z grade films that have done this so bad I had to turn it off, this was definitely not that. Is this the best dramatic thriller ever made? No, but it's also far from the worst. Although the script is simple it delves into so many relevant topics it was actually refreshing. Commentary on politics, police, human trafficking, gun control, governmental overreach; all of these topics still hitting relevant notes in the year 2025. I, for one, am glad I watched this, I would watch it again. If they follow it up with the sequel they left it open for, I would watch that too. Stylistically, it was just right.