Dead Eyes drops you directly into the nightmare…whether you want to be there or not.
Told entirely through a first-person POV, the film follows Sean (Rijen Lane) and his fiancée, Grace (Ana Thu Nguyen), as they venture deep into a remote forest in search of Sean’s missing father. His disappearance is tied to a lingering trauma: the death of Sean’s younger sister, Lilly (Mischa Heywood, Bring Her Back). As their search unfolds, returning to the site of that tragedy doesn’t just stir up memories; it awakens something far more dangerous.
The first-person POV approach is a bold commitment, and it won’t work for everyone. It’s certainly not my usual preference. First-person anything tends to lose me. Ever since playing the Japanese horror game Fatal Frame, I’ve avoided that level of immersion entirely, especially in horror. So heading into the SXSW premiere of this Australian horror film, I was very skeptical.
And then, surprisingly, it won me over.
Dead Eyes: Does First-Person Horror Actually Work?
The film finds genuinely creative ways to use its format. The camera movement becomes a tool for tension. It is constantly reminding you that this isn’t just something you’re watching; it’s something happening to you. This choice works in its favor, especially in moments that channel the same raw, disorienting energy as The Blair Witch Project. Then, when it comes to scares, Dead Eyes doesn’t play it safe. The jump scares are inventive, and the film isn’t afraid to lean into the strange.
In order to make all this work, there’s an impressive level of technical choreography at play. There are also the actors performing under unusual constraints. They’re often acting directly into a camera rig operated by another performer, while their scene partner delivers lines just out of frame. It’s a delicate dance of timing, eyelines, and physical awareness, and the cast handles it perfectly.
All that said, where Dead Eyes stumbles is in its ending(s). A lot of films give multiple points where the story could end, but rarely do they build on each other, choosing the best and final one. That’s what happens here. What should feel like a haunting payoff after everything our main character has gone through instead becomes overly complicated, with multiple endings.
Still, even with its uneven landing, Dead Eyes earns points for ambition. It commits to its perspective, takes creative risks, and delivers enough unsettling moments to leave a lasting impression.
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