Review: ‘Eye for an Eye’ is a real sinister treat

With his directorial debut, Colin Tilley trades in expectation for a frightening horror experiment. Eye for an Eye feels familiar on paper, but its execution delights with a creepy monster design (think: Pumpkinhead and Dark Harvest), a lead character you deeply care about, and jolts of scares that’ll keep you up at night. It’s not enough these days to be a well-made indie. It must positively answer these questions: Does it frighten you? Does it leave you heaving in panic? And does it close with a satisfying conclusion? Tilley, known for directing music videos for Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, and countless others, checks all the right boxes for something truly special.

Whitney Peak (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Hocus Pocus 2) makes a star turn as Anna, who goes to live with her grandmother May (S. Epatha Merkerson) after her parents die in a car accident. The tragedy hangs over her head like a dark cloud and seemingly drains her well of emotions. She turns to art and heavy metal music as a means of coping. Once she begins settling in the secluded Florida town, she befriends two locals, Julie (Laken Giles) and Shawn (Finn Bennett). The pair is rough around the edges, immediately giving off weird vibes from the start. They drink, smoke, and generally cause trouble around town.

Anna, a deeply flawed protagonist (complimentary), fails to see the warning signs. Her emotional blindness leads to a near-fatal accident involving another neighborhood kid. The violent act leads to Anna’s, Julie’s, and Shawn’s names being carved into an ancient tree in the surrounding woods. The local legend of Mr. Sandman unleashes hell on the group, an act of penance for their actions that seeks to steal their eyeballs. Dream sequences (think A Nightmare on Elm Street) bend reality, causing the trio to become distracted in their dreams, making it easier for Sandman to collect their eyes. These blurry-eyed scenes send outward ripples into their everyday lives. They’re weakened by Sandman, weighted down by their violent natures.

With a script written by Elisa Victoria and Michael Tully, Tilley infuses the darkness of human nature with an even more bleak comeuppance. The cast, particularly Peak, Merkerson, and Golda Rosheuvel (who plays Anna’s aunt), deliver meaty performances. Their electricity together onscreen boosts the film to another level. Without their commitment to the work, digging deep into the characters’ pasts to unearth fresh layers, Eye for an Eye may just flounder. It also helps that the Sandman design is so terrifying, even when he appears in the bright of day. It’s cooly sinister, in a way that torments the audience long after the credits roll.

Eye for an Eye is one of the year’s biggest indie surprises. While imparting wisdom about redemption and absolution, it’s also a damn good, scary time. Whitney Peak delivers a warrior in Anna, who tries valiantly to correct her mistakes and elude Mr. Sandman’s clutches, and she’s easily one of the most complicated characters of 2025. While we’re all talking about Sinners, Clown in a Cornfield, Final Destination: Bloodlines, and festival favorite Redux Redux, let’s not sleep on this little indie that more than lives up to those other releases. You won’t be disappointed.