Ember (Aleigha Burt) is a bright and beautiful college student with a supernatural secret. At the beginning of No-See-Ums she and gal pal Jasmine (Chase Johnson) are studying in the library, chatting about this and that. There’s some great natrual exposition writing here where we quickly learn that Ember and her mom moved away from Florida when she was very young. We also learn that Ember is spending spring break with a group of mean girls back down in northern Florida at a family lake house. There’s obviously something very bad about Ember being back in Florida and we know it. Raven Carter directs a very clean piece of adequate horror fluff from a script by Jason-Michael Anthony and Hendreck Joseph that is mildly entertaining while trying balance camp and commentary with mixed results.
Ember and her three friends arrive at the lake house that is owned by Abigail’s (Tabby Getsy) family and immediately, Ember senses a presence. One of the goals of the trip is to help Ember disconnect from a recent ex. While Tessa (Jasmine Gia Nguyen) is more attentive to Ember, Abigail and Lexi (Jessie Roddy) are focused on boys and getting drunk. We are made to note the heavy-handed racial disparity between the more grounded Ember and Tessa, against the two goofy, self-centered white girls Abigail and Lexi. In fact, Abigail goes so far as to repeatedly ask Ember to grab them some drinks, or to call the maintenance guy to come fix the air conditioner.
The maintenance guy, Earl (Tyler Bibb), does in fact get called and finds nothing wrong with the AC. But he does clue Ember in on the history of the house they are staying in. It just so happens that the spacious lakehouse was once own by black landowners just after the Civil War but it was stolen from them. This would explain Ember’s night terrors, and sleep walking. Not to mention the frightening visits she gets from Tilly (Trisha Arozqueta), a stern black woman in a nightgown who leads Ember out into the woods at night. But what does Tilly have to do with Ember and the land around them? I will leave that for you to discover.
I have to say that I really enjoyed Johnson‘s Jasmine as the real deal best friend that knows Ember better than anyone. The film needed more of her and her energy. Regardless, Burt is great as Ember. She has a presence and talent that is required of a lead. I hope to see more of her.
Carter really does a great job in producing an elegant looking horror film and she knows how to welcome us into the story with a disarming Christopher Lee Fatt captures the tranquil beauty of the surrounding countryside and swamps with his lensing of the film. We can practically smell the earthy undergrowth in his rich visuals. While Anthony and Joseph’s script is very good, it lacks polish. We never really understand what the titular insects have to do with anything aside from just being part of the surroundings. What do they symbolize?
In the end, No-See-Ums is an enjoyable enough horror flick that exhibits the talent of promising new talent. It’s no Get Out, but few things are.
