I love horror. I’ve loved it since I was twelve and my friends from Boy Scouts showed me Friday the 13th for the first time. With almost a decade of experiencing the genre, I have learned that there are things more terrifying than jump scares and gore, for example, the fear of the unknown. Sure, the monster or crazed killer might be scary, but when you can’t see who- or what- is killing people, the viewer’s mind is left to fill in the blanks, projecting their own fears onto the antagonist and making it seem much scarier. Everything is more frightening when you’re in the dark, and Samuel Freeman’s Don’t Look in the Dark uses this aspect of horror to its fullest effect.
When Golan (Dennis Puglisi) and Maya (Rebi Paganini) go on a camping trip, their phones “mysteriously [begin] recording, capturing broken audio and video of the events that follow”. Alternating between a pitch-black screen and visuals of the forest, the viewer spends a good half of the movie unable to see anything, being forced to rely on the audio alone. As a matter of fact, we never even see the actor’s faces. The closest we get is about twelve minutes in, when Maya’s hair is covering her face (which reminded me of Sadako from Hideo Nakata’s Ring, but whether it’s an intentional reference or a mere coincidence is unclear). This makes sense, given that the characters aren’t trying to use their phones as cameras, but even when the video should show their faces, like when Golan is checking Maya’s eyes for dirt, the screen cuts to black, leaving only audio. The way the “found footage” is presented lets Freeman play with the audience’s perception, such as the yellow dots that appear for a split second between recordings, the muffled audio of when a phone is stuck in wet dirt, or the strange images that appear on the black screen.
This manipulation of perceptions ties into the story, something Freeman plays into the horror of. There’s the fact that you can’t see anything for half of the movie, of course, but this goes far beyond that. Something supernatural is altering the protagonists’ senses, trying to lead them to a hole beneath an overturned tree. As they continue to unravel, the viewer realizes that they’re just as uncertain of what’s happening. The jump scares definitely help keep you on your toes, but a film can’t rely on them for horror. However, there’s something uniquely terrifying about being unable to trust your own senses and that your own mind is lying to you.
Of course, every horror movie needs actors to convey the horror, and our leads certainly delivered. Dennis Puglisi showed, in my opinion, one of the best portrayals of a panic attack I’ve seen in media. It got to the point where I was hyperventilating along with Golan. Not to be outdone, Rebi Paganini conveys a fear and desperation on par with her co-star. In addition, they excel in the lighter scenes, where they joke about “vagina daggers” or debating baby names. Together, Puglisi and Paganini portray an engaging dynamic of love and devotion, while exploring the fears of being unreliable to your partner.
As Golan and Maya can attest, everything is scarier when you’re in the dark. Using unconventional camerawork and exploiting the natural fear of the unknown, Freeman expertly crafts a brilliant story that sends shivers down the viewer’s spine. Before you go to watch this film, however, I must ask; are you prepared to look into the darkness? Will you say the same when it looks back?
Don’t Look in the Dark screens at the New Jersey Film Festival on Saturday, January 31, 2026 – Online for 24 Hours on this date and In-Person at 7PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901! Don’t Look in the Dark Director Sam Freeman will be doing a Q+A with the audience at the in-person screening. Get more info and buy tickets here.
The 44th Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place on select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between January 23-February 22, 2026. The Festival will be a hybrid one as we will be presenting it online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University. Most of the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VOD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person when both are offered. The in-person screenings will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5PM or 7PM on their show date. General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$120; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program. For more info on the Film festival go here: FESTIVAL WEBSITE
