Don't Blink is a 2014 American psychological horror film written and directed by Travis Oates.
A group of ten friends goes to spend some time together in a resort in the woods. They quickly realize something is wrong when the weather behaves oddly, the animals seem to have vanished and there are no one else besides them.
Mysteriously, one by one seem to be disappearing when the others stop looking at them, prompting everyone to paranoid horror.
Tropes:
- And Then John Was a Zombie: After all of her friends disappear, Claire finally gets help from the police who have arrived. They help her into the squad car, then leave to investigate... and leave Claire alone. She then disappears, from her perspective being transported to an empty version of the world.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: Alex blows his own brains out when he realizes there's no escape, because he figures leaving a corpse is better than nothing at all. Unfortunately for him, even death doesn't exempt him.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: When Noah reappears, Alex beats him up and then shoots him once in each leg, in the mistaken belief that Noah knows what's going on—although by that point, his Sanity Slippage has progressed enough that he may not actually care whether Noah knows anything.
- Downer Ending: Claire is the only main character left, and help finally gets to the cabin, but when she turns away for a moment, everyone vanishes again and she is left alone. Looking at herself in a mirror, she seems to have fully given up on surviving this experience and blinks.
- Dwindling Party: Soon after investigating the place, everyone realizes something is wrong. Tracy vanishes and soon after, people start vanishing one by one.
- Eldritch Location: The resort. Whatever exactly happens there is never made clear, but people vanish out of thin air together with any clear evidence of themselves including blood when they're there.
- Hidden in Plain Sight: The characters repeatedly search the resort for a land-line phone, frantic to call for help, but don't actually locate one until it rings aloud. It's the little motorcycle knickknack that they'd seen, but passed over completely.
- A House Divided: Twice over characters are led to such a degree of absolute paranoia they turn against each other.
- Inescapable Horror: Whatever is taking people away is never specified or given form. The only way to make sure that they will be safe is to have someone constantly looking at you and since that is impossible (as they may blink or sleep), whenever you get into the area, your days are numbered.
- In Medias Res: The movie opens with Alex choking Charlotte and demanding that she tell him what happened, while everyone else tries to get him off her. It then cuts back to the group coming up to the resort.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: When Tracy vanishes, the group splits up to look for her, which leads to Ella's new boyfriend vanishing or so they think. After this, they all agree to travel in groups.
- The Men in Black: Two show up at the end, seemingly knowing about whatever is happening. The movie ends before we get an explanation.
- Nothing Is Scarier: Whatever is happening is never clarified, and the "rules", such as they are, vary (some characters vanish instantly, while others have enough time to beg, and Noah reappears somehow before Alex deliberately disappears him again). The viewer spends the entire movie as in the dark as any of the characters.
- Sanity Slippage: First Sam loses it, and steals Alex's gun to force the others to give him the car keys, which goes wrong when Charlotte stops looking at him while he's driving. Then Alex gets it much, much worse, culminating in him torturing and murdering Noah, then going on a rant about how he could commit any crime and it wouldn't matter because they'll all disappear, and finally shooting himself. Charlotte essentially becomes catatonic.
- Uncertain Doom: Whatever happens to the people that vanished is not clear. They might still be alive somehow, but there is no way to know. Alex is the only confirmed kill, as he shoots himself.
