Don't Peek is directed by Kyle Tague and the cast includes Kelly Daly, Jonathan Faircloth Kirk and Robbie Allen.
TL;DR: Don't Peek is a small-scale found footage horror movie with a surprisingly effective idea, strong performances, and a creepy atmosphere that does more with less - it is a slow watch, but if you like your horror with a bit more thought behind it, this one is worth checking out.
Plot
A professional YouTubing couple - whose career is starting to fray their marriage - grapples with how to leverage the discovery that the previous owner of their new home was not only a serial killer who taped his crimes but also believed his victims were haunting him.
A Small Horror Movie With A Big Idea
Don't Peek is the kind of horror movie that knows exactly what it is, and that certainly works in its favor, because a lot of low-budget horror films spend their entire runtime trying to hide the fact that they don't have much money behind them, but this one mostly avoids that by focusing on the things that actually matter - you know, the characters, the tension, and the feeling that something is slowly going very wrong.
Two of the characters though, Rebecca and Paris, are probably going to annoy some people, so be fair warning, where they make the kind of decisions where you will be sitting there sighing at full volume so everyone can hear you.
The movie does do a good job showing the difference between how people present themselves online and what they are really like when nobody is watching though, and the cheerful version of their lives that appears on camera is very different from the reality behind it, which I am sure is very true for a lot of people, and that idea fits perfectly with the story because so much of the movie is about watching, recording, and turning personal moments into something for other people to consume.
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Mr. Peek Is A Simple But Effective Horror Presence
Robbie Allen's performance as Mr. Peek is one of the best parts of the movie, where the character works well because the film doesn't try to turn him into a villain who spends every scene trying to look terrifying, but what it does so it all feel so much much more uncomfortable about just how calm he is.
He doesn't need endless dialogue or big moments to make an impression either, as it is just his presence that makes the scenes uncomfortable, which I think is a much better approach than having a villain constantly explaining themselves, and we all know horror has a habit of ruining characters by making them talk too much, so it was refreshing that Don't Peek show restraint in that aspect.
The Tension Comes From The Little Things
Don't Peek is certainly not a film built around constant shocks, but it does slowly creates this feeling in your head that something is not right, and then keeps adding little details until everything starts feeling uncomfortable, and some of the best moments here come from simple ideas.
The film understands that your imagination can sometimes do more damage than anything shown directly on screen, so once you start questioning what you are seeing, the movie has already done its job.
Also, for a movie made on a small budget, like a lot of found footage horror movies are, Don't Peek is put together really well, with the camera work giving the film a very personal feeling without becoming distracting, and the style fits the story instead of feeling like a cheap way to make things easier, although the limitations are very noticeable at times, too, but not too often.
The use of cameras and recordings also makes sense because it is connected to the characters and their obsession with creating content, so it doesn't feel like the filmmakers are using the style just because it is popular/cheap - it all just has a nice old-school feeling running through it - the VHS tapes, the house, and the overall look give it a slightly uncomfortable throwback vibe, and feels like something you might discover hidden away somewhere, which fits perfectly with the kind of story being told.
This film certainly has some interesting things to say about online attention, privacy, and the way people turn everything into content, while occasionally it falso eels like it wants you to think about those ideas a little more than the story itself.
Thankfully, it never becomes a lecture though, where it keeps the horror side of things front and center, and for a film I wasn't expecting too much from, it was a fairly watchable experience for me.
Final Thoughts
Don't Peek is a decent enough watch for anyone who likes smaller horror movies that rely more on tension than noise, and with something to say, even if its limitations show at times, but for a low budget found footage film, it's fine.