Gazer (2024): Review and Summary
“Gazer,” thanks to its writing and lead, Ariella Mastroianni, keeps you engaged through its nearly two-hour mystery/investigation as a multitude of questions pop up.
| Film Length | 1 Hour 54 Minutes |
| Release Date | October 26, 2024 |
| Advisory Rating | Not Rated |
| Initially Available On/Via | Film Festival – Montclair Film Festival |
| Genre(s) | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller |
| Distributor | UFO Distribution |
| Director | Ryan J. Sloan |
| Writer | Ariella Mastroianni, Ryan J. Sloan |
| Based On Work By | N/A |
| Character Name | Actor |
| Frankie | Ariella Mastroianni |
Plot Summary
With Frankie becoming a widow and dealing with a disease that makes her lose track of time, life has been hard. Unfortunately, desperate for money to get back her daughter and leave New Jersey, she takes on a job that was supposed to pay 3,000 but ends up making her already unstable and challenging life all the more difficult.
Character Descriptions
Frankie
Frankie is a single mom, a widow, whose medical condition has made it a challenge for her to maintain custody of her daughter, but she is working on it.
Other Noteworthy Information
- Movie Contains: Cursing, Violence (Minor), Blood, Nudity (Implied), Criminal Acts (Murder), Body Horror
Review
Our Rating: Positive (Worth Seeing)
Audience
“Gazer” is made for those who like mysteries with a bit of a thriller element. It wants the viewer to ask questions, not get every last answer, but stay engaged throughout because of the lead’s performance and how the story unravels.
Highlights
You Get Invested
What Mastroianni and Sloan have delivered is the type of mystery that keeps you engaged. Between wondering if Frankie may get to see her child and what’s going on regarding this job she takes to make some money, and then the mystery triggered when the job goes awry, you are in this. Without dramatic moments or leaning heavily on Frankie being a mom and her seeing her child, you want to know her next move. You’ll wonder what she’ll discover, and as she goes down the rabbit hole, you may question if she will escape alive.
Frankie’s Investigation
Digging a bit deeper into the investigation, Frankie has dyschronometria (a condition that makes it difficult to estimate the passage of time accurately), which means time jumps randomly at inopportune times, which creates tension. On top of that, her investigation, which sometimes has her looking into matters that would be far better for a cop to handle, leads to the potential for violence. After all, the woman who gave her the job was in a very precarious position, and as the story goes on, Franke gets dragged into that woman’s situation and how things are crafted, you’ll wonder if the situation will be resolved.
Again, there is a need to question if Frankie may get harmed, for Frankie isn’t facing an organization but individuals. The kind who aren’t above hurting a woman, never mind going after people Frankie loves to get to her. With that, it makes any time Frankie is unable to stay present worrisome, for you don’t fully understand how her disease works. Could she be moved or harmed? Will we find her wake up, and there suddenly be a dead body?
So much could happen, and the mix of what you figure will happen with this constant unknown element keeps the investigation from feeling like anything beyond rare films like “Momento.”
On The Fence
Trippy, Without Reason
There is a part of the movie known as the “Nightmare Sequences” when body horror comes into play. Considering this is an indie movie with more than enough going for it, introducing a weird and trippy aspect to the film felt unnecessary. We already saw Frankie dealing with guilt and the challenge of dealing with the passage of time, so adding in a level of “WTF?” seemed extra.
There Isn’t A Definitive Answer To A Certain Question
One storyline of the film does not get resolved, and it might be the one that especially catches your attention. I won’t say which one, but it matters. However, according to the Q&A, when this is released on a digital platform, you can get the answer by watching the film frame by frame.
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