“To be is to be perceived.” That was the summary of Berkeleyian philosophy we were taught in college. In other words, not to be perceived is not to exist. So, Don’t Blink kind of runs with that idea. Before getting started, a spoiler: close your eyes if you don’t want to know something important. Okay, so no explanation is given. Ten friends (a lot of names to remember) drive to a resort that is so remote that you arrive with the fuel tank on empty. The friends explore the resort but there’s nobody there. Clearly people were there, just shortly before, but they’re all gone. And then the friends start disappearing, but only when nobody sees them. That’s the Berkeleyian angle. The last survivor never does figure out what is going on, although the authorities seem to be aware that something’s up. For those of us easily ignored, this is a scary movie.
It’s also another potential film for Holy Sequel. After her boyfriend vanishes, one of the girls finds a Bible and begins claiming that God is punishing their sins. Given that these are all millennials, this kind of thinking starts to get on the others’ nerves. It’s not a major event in the film but it reinforces, as so many factors do, that religion and horror aren’t ever very far apart. And in case you’re wondering, no, she’s not the survivor. Neither does she suggest this might be the “rapture.” During said event, the righteous disappear, not twenty-somethings with a weekend of sex on their minds. The director, Travis Oates, is apparently a Hitchcock fan, so some elements fit into that sensibility.
I only found out about the movie because a friend suggested that it might be good beginner horror. There are a couple of pretty intense scenes, but overall there’s not a ton of blood and guts. There aren’t any jump startles, just a dread that continues to grow throughout. I’m pondering how the Bible is being presented here. It’s used as an apotropaic device—as protective magic. Because the Bible is divine, it has, so the belief goes, the power to prevent harm. Ultimately, in the world of this movie, nothing has that ability. Although the Bible’s there, the message is pretty nihilistic. Kind of like thinking about the heat death of the universe. Still, the acting is good and the premise, although Vanishing on 7th Street also covered the idea of people just disappearing, is engaging. Even though it doesn’t answer the question of why, or how, it is a movie that underscores the philosophy of George Berkeley as having perhaps been onto something.