Writer-director Jeffrey Reddick has a ton of genre titles under his belt including creating the Final Destination franchise. Now, he’s back with a new tale of terror, Don’t Look Back, a haunting tale that follows a group of people who witness a man beaten to death in a park but do nothing to stop it.
Soon after the murder paranormal activity begins to plague Caitlin (Kourtney Bell) who is still recovering from the murder of her father. When the witnesses begin to turn up dead, she sets out to get to the bottom of it.
The cast, which also includes Will Stout, Skyler Hart, Jeremy Holm, Jaqueline Fleming, Amanda Grace Benitez, Han Soto, Damon Lipari, and Dean J. West, is not filled with well-known actors like you would expect it to be. I think, in the end, it actually works out better this way. It helps you to identify more with the characters and makes things a tad more believable. The cast did a great job, especially Bell who plays the main character. She delivers a ton of emotion and intensity.
The movie explores the terrible actions of people who stand by and film attacks but who don’t do anything to intervene which is dreadful. Unfortunately, this is something that happens in real life. Videos shot by bystanders at crime scenes, fights, shootings, and more are uploaded every day. The movie poses the question if we should be punished for doing nothing to help. Maybe we should. How anyone could just sit back and watch/video someone die because they want to get likes on YouTube or whatever is downright disturbing. Humanity has gone to hell.
Don’t Look Back has a definite Final Destination influence and feel. It is filled with classic paranormal and supernatural imagery and themes including karma, revenge, and there is a near-constant appearance of crows, who have long been believed to be harbingers of death.
There are several twists in Don’t Look Back that will keep you on your toes with not everything being as it appears. The nonstop action and the major creepiness make it a fun flick to watch.
My only issue is that the lead character makes a few strange decisions that common sense should have prevented. But I assume they were made to simply further the story. Would you bust into a strangers’ home knowing they are more than likely dead when you are already suspected by the cops to be involved with several murders? No. That’s just one example.
Don’t Look Back is an entertaining movie that makes an interesting argument. It’s dark and sad and filled with action and a ton of spookiness. While it did have a few small flaws they didn’t ruin the movie. It’s definitely worth watching. It’s getting a 4 out of 5 from me.
