Brooklyn Horror 2025: ‘Dead Lover,’ ‘It Needs Eyes,’ ‘Parasomnia,’ & ‘Camp’

All films played at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2025

Dead Lover

Writer/director Grace Glowicki swings for the fences with Dead Lover. Filmed like a stage play on various sets, the film reimagines Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein into a bizarre acid trip. In many ways, it’s an avant-garde setpiece, something you’d see Off-Off-Broadway in an intimate theatre setting. The story follows a gravedigger who reeks of mud and corpses. As a result, she can’t seem to find love. Everyone she meets flees from the smell. When she does meet a man who’s enthralled with her, it seems Cupid’s arrow has finally struck. But not long after their chance encounter, he drowns at sea. Their story, however, is far from over. You can’t argue that Glowicki doesn’t take risks. She throws everything and the kitchen sink at the wall to see what sticks — and it mostly does. It’s such a bizarre experience that you might wonder, “WTF is this?!” (complementary) You’ll be so invested, you won’t care. While much of the film feels way too garish and absurd, it’s far better than the alternative: to be boring.

It Needs Eyes

It Needs Eyes has some truly intriguing elements… on paper. In execution, it never gets off the ground. Co-writers and co-directors Zack Ogle and Aaron Pagniano build a world around extreme online videos and the psychologically damaging effects they have on the viewer. When Rowan (Raquel Lebish) visits her aunt for the summer, she attempts to cope with a traumatic event and turns to the darkest corners of the internet. She stumbles upon a user known only as Fish Tooth, whose videos are bewitchingly disturbing. Rowan believes the young woman is screaming for help, so she begins a misguided investigation into the videos and the surrounding community. Curiosity gets the better of her, leading her down a deep, winding tunnel that holds nothing but danger. While the filmmaking is top-notch, It Needs Eyes doesn’t quite stick the landing in the same way as We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, another creepypasta-style indie. The acting, particularly from Lebish, is strong, but the story lacks real bite to keep you engaged.

Parasomnia

A fascinating premise is quickly squandered in a film that attempts to frighten but barely peeks out from the shadows. Writer/director James Ross II tells a story of a young woman named Riley (Jasmine Mathews), whose tragic past comes back to ferociously haunt her. When spending the night in her parents’ home, she gathers together her boyfriend, and her brother Cam (RJ Brown) and his girlfriend. During a game of Two Truths and a Lie, Riley reveals that she has a surefire way to make herself fall asleep in a matter of seconds. The group doesn’t believe her, and a demonstration confirms their doubts. But in truth, there might actually be something to it. It’s all linked to her night terrors, which aren’t your typical night terrors. No one knows what exactly goes on at night. Riley has a rule that everyone else must be asleep before she is. With this mystery floating in the air, the film delves into Riley’s nighttime reveries. The story of Parasomnia becomes convoluted and strange by the third act, quickly going off the rails. While the filmmaker makes some bold choices, it is all unfortunately devoid of clear intent and energy beyond Matthews’ star-making performance.

Camp

Camp is an interesting specimen. Carrying the essence of The Craft, writer/director Avalon Fast’s sophomore feature comments on the necessity of community in a troubled world. When a young girl goes to camp, she befriends three other girls, who quickly take her under their wing. As she spirals, her new friend group shows her wonders beyond her wildest imagination. The comfort and camaraderie she experiences are unlike anything she’s ever experienced. But something is wrong, deadly wrong. With a nearly two-hour runtime, Camp spins its tires and never gains any ground. Through the noise, there are moments of brilliance, but they’re bogged down with a tedious script and characters that aren’t nearly as fleshed out as they should be. In those brief glimpses, there’s still magic to behold, like glitter falling from the heavens. You just have to be incredibly patient.