Critic Reviews

Gazer might be inspired by New Hollywood, but its existence is almost reason to believe that a similar filmmaking renaissance could be on the horizon.

Lo-fi, disarmingly intense, and shot on textured 16mm by cinematographer Matheus Bastos, this impressive debut feature casts a twitchy, retro shadow over the less salubrious parts of New Jersey.

Shaping their film in the destabilizing isolation of COVID, Mastroianni and Sloan conjure from their native New Jersey an evanescent realm, all empty husks and outskirts, where people are slowly swallowed up and buildings linger like phantom limbs, no longer quite there but still full of feeling. They make that place palpable with a vision that feels at once ingenious and highly genuine.

Energized by Ariella Mastroianni’s disoriented and frazzled lead performance, it begins unnervingly and ends, like all such sagas should, with haunting bleakness.

If Gazer doesn’t pick up the momentum needed to match Frankie’s increasingly dire situation, it’s nevertheless a pleasure to watch — a project that feels, like its heroine, unstuck in time, reminiscent of a whole other, more vibrant era of American independent cinema when the films themselves were the point and not just calling cards for a bigger commercial opportunity.

In the end, Sloan’s film coheres into a confident psychological thriller that’s more than the sum of its influences.

Gazer’s atmosphere of looming disaster and dreamlike oppression crowds in on you as the movie progresses; an intriguing, genuinely scary picture.

As Frankie, Mastroianni carries the film, and what could be considered an emotionless expression she wears nonstop carries far more than one realizes as the events unfold and whatever exists in Frankie’s life starts to unravel.

With a limited budget and a lot of dedication to the craft, the project is able to build on its references to thrillers from the '70s and '80s while finding its own footing.

If Sloan and Mastroianni made Gazer with only their limited resources and spark to create something new, it bodes well for the filmmakers' futures and whatever their next project will be.