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DON'T LOOK BACK (2020)
Director: Jeffrey Reddick Cast: Kourtney Bell, Skyler Hart, Will Stout, Jeremy Holm, Jaqueline Fleming, Amanda Grace Benitez, Damon Lipari, Han Soto, Dean J. West, Stephen Twardokus, Orlando Eric Street MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:25 Release Date: 10/16/20 (limited; digital & on-demand) |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | October 15, 2020 The premise of Don't Look Back suggests some level of commentary or message about the state of society. A group of mostly strangers witness a man being beaten in a park, and they do nothing about it—except for one witness, who records the attack on his phone. After the man dies, the witnesses start dying one at a time. Writer/director Jeffrey Reddick presents this as a mystery, either in tracking down the apparent killer or uncovering some supernatural secret about karma. The idea is kind of intriguing, but every new development seems set on downplaying the story's potential, until a wholly predictable twist just completely undermines the entirety of the tale. One of the witnesses is Caitlin (Kourtney Bell), who six months prior saw her father murdered by home invaders. When she sees the stranger being assaulted, Courtney freezes from her past trauma, before finally calling the police. The others have assorted rationalization, justifications, or excuses for doing nothing. After being questioned by the detective (played by Jeremy Holm) on the case and being racked with guilt when the victim's brother Lucas (Will Stout) explains what a veritable saint the guy was, Courtney just happens to be present when the man who recorded the attack falls to his death. The police assume suicide, but she's convinced she saw a figure standing in the man's apartment window. Is there a killer on the loose, or has the universe set out to avenge inaction that resulted in an innocent man's death? Reddick seems more concerned with presenting distractions (Courtney begins having hallucinations, which could be trauma or something supernatural), misdirection, and other kinds of trickery than giving us a puzzle to solve, some concepts about social responsibility to ponder, and, for that matter, any kind of fear, suspense, or shock. Courtney keeps finding bodies. Her boyfriend (played by Skyler Hart) repeatedly suggests she's mistaken in her worry. The police keep messing up and missing the obvious. The involvement of one of these characters in the killings is apparent from his or her first appearance on screen. When the final revelation of Don't Look Back arrives, there's little to no surprise. There are, though, plenty of confounding staging and narrative decisions on Reddick's part, especially an unnecessary epilogue that only raises more moral questions and mixed messages than the movie is willing or able to answer and address. Copyright © 2020 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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