All Eyes on You

Directed by Ted Clarke

2025

Apollo Productions

Can you ever really shake the prying eyes and demons of your past? Well, this fascinating question is posed by a new drama from Ted Clarke in the form of his 20-minute short All Eyes on You.

We follow couple Adam (Callum Richard Parker) and Claire (Laura Nock) who drive up to a suburban home that Adam has inherited from his family to start a new life together.

Settling into their new abode, they are welcomed by the Hawthornes - an exuberant couple from next door who have an air of creepiness behind their uber-friendly greeting. And here we get the first glance that all is not well in this close knit community, as later the couple face a possible intruder before a walk in the park leads to Adam accusing a photographer on a bench of taking photos of them.

Why the paranoia? What’s going on? The film sets up this mystery well and with the addition of some nighttime flashbacks, the strange circumstances leading to this situation begin to be more heavily hinted upon.

With their paranoia (or is it?) rising, they continue to witness strange occurrences with a suspicious car and people standing at the end of their driveway in the dark. With these sightings stacking up, the couple confront “the driver” who turns out to be blind.

All Eyes on You certainly has an intriguing premise and the technical elements are also superb. There’s a great piano score from (2025 Midlands Movies Awards nominee) Thomas Pearce whose work we’ve enjoyed before in local short Suspect (our review).

In addition to the sound, the visuals are also top-notch with very well composed shots by cinematographer Ollie Killip. The images are varied and keep your eyes darting around the screen to spot various “watchers”. Even background characters turn their head to glance at the couple, which is a great addition. It creates a very unsettling vibe and means it’s perfect for a rewatch too, as you’ll no doubt notice even more on a second viewing.

The script is sadly a little on the nose. Lots of information is shared via expository dialogue. We get told of a tight-knit community, an inherited home, and the line "who could that be?" when there's a knock at the door. It’s not needed as all of this is well established using the visuals and storytelling. So it’s very much redundant. But the two excellent leads do well with the material nonetheless, infusing their characters with believability despite the peculiar circumstances.

And it’s a minor quibble, but I do think the horror-infused poster of the film does a bit of a disservice to the short’s in-depth and interesting themes, looking rather like something from a 70s low-budget slasher.

That said, the story continues to captivate the attention with the teasing of a dark secret in the couple’s own relationship. Claire’s ex Jack is portrayed as a nasty individual, but the film constantly obscures what any real revelation may be. I have my ideas but I wouldn’t want to spoil it here as it's best going in "blind" if you plan to watch it.

There’s further cinematic touches with the appearance of moths - which gave it big “Buffalo Bill” vibes. Whilst the animal often symbolises change, it can also represent a warning against being consumed by something potentially harmful. Hmmmm...

Another well-framed shot implies the couple are caught in a “prison” and there also seemed to be influences from a number of voyeuristic and strange neighbourhood films including Hot Fuzz (2007) and The Burbs (1989). It also reminded me of Alex Garland’s Men (2022), Watcher (2022) and most of all, Vivarium (2019). The latter three all making my top 20 so the film’s themes were certainly (pardon the pun) up my street.

The film comes to a (somewhat ambiguous) ending that allows the audience to draw many of their own conclusions about the community and its voyeuristic symbolism. The couple’s past even leads us to question what may be real or imagined - perhaps stemming from a sense of guilt given their previous life choices. 

When released, I'd encourage everyone to go out and “take a peek” at this first-rate and very gripping paranoid-infused short film. And from an oppressive sense of paranoia to exploring hidden mysteries, the unsettling nature of a seemingly idyllic town means All Eyes on You will keep you engaged from the start as it slowly reveals its own dark secrets.

★★★★½

4.5 / 5

Michael Sales

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