User Reviews

*NoSeeums* delivers an unsettling indie horror experience that makes effective use of its isolated Florida setting. Directed by Raven Deshay Carter, the film follows Ember, a college student recovering from a toxic relationship, who joins her roommate and a group of wealthy friends for a getaway at a secluded lake house in the Florida backwoods. What begins as an opportunity to escape her troubles gradually turns into something much more sinister as the group encounters troubled spirits connected to the land and its **** of the film’s strongest elements is its atmosphere. The remote setting creates a sense of isolation that adds tension to the story, while the connection between the supernatural events and the history of the land gives the horror a deeper sense of place. Ember’s personal struggles also add another layer to the story, bringing themes of vulnerability, trust, and survival into the film’s supernatural **** an independent horror film, *NoSeeums* offers a distinct Southern setting and an eerie premise for viewers who enjoy stories rooted in folklore, haunted locations, and the darker side of seemingly peaceful places. It is worth checking out for horror fans looking for something outside the typical mainstream formula.

A smash hit that left my skin crawling. Director Raven Carter delivers an eye-opening depiction of the horrors of ancestral trauma in America. The film takes place in an old lake house in the Florida backwoods, where protagonist Ember, played by Aleigha Burt, goes on a trip with her friends Tessa, Lexi, and Abigail. After arriving at the house, Ember starts to see visions of the terrible atrocities committed to black land-owning families in the past. As the boundary between these visions and reality blurs, it's up to Ember whether to reclaim what is rightfully owed to **** film presents intolerance as the ultimate evil of the story. Protagonist Ember is constantly ridiculed and mocked, with Abigail taking the lead in this behavior and instigating many microaggressions that underscore the horrors of prejudice itself. The conflict between Ember and Abigail is the highlight of this film, and considering that Abigail’s family owns the lakehouse, it escalates quickly. I was also incredibly impressed with the cinematography in this film, as its small budget doesn’t hold it back from depicting the splendor of Florida’s natural beauty while twisting the setting into an abject horror house when it needs to. The flashback sequences were particularly well done, and the horrors committed left me petrified and on the edge of my seat. If this is Raven Carter’s first work, I’m incredibly excited to see what she will come up with next.

Noseeums has all the qualities that make horror films so impactful. The combination of visually beautiful landscaping, jump scares, supernatural, realism and complex characters makes this film an absolute must watch. Maybe you enjoy thrillers that involve suspenseful, unexplainable occurrences, like how a lake house can be the cause behind extreme nightmares and visions of things only the protagonist can see. If that is the case, this film will appeal to you. But maybe you are also someone who sees horror in the real, and with that, Raven DeShay Carter has you covered. Everything from the script to the casting allows you to feel uncomfortable, not just with the spooky, but with the understanding that there is the possibility that these events occur, to a minor degree, to everyone, and that is something hard to cover, but so well done. The audience empathizes with Ember, not just when she hits her breaking point, but when we slowly realize her friends don’t have the best intentions. Aleigha Burt plays a protagonist that we root for, but also may see ourselves in, and I find that many recent horror films focus more on the fantastical and less on what makes movies attractive in the first place. On the other hand, Tabby Getsy plays the perfect antagonist. Demanding, entitled, and all the qualities that make you want to throw your popcorn at the T.V., which is a type of anger that only special actors can make the audience feel. Overall, I would recommend this film to anyone looking for a good scare, but also those who see the horror in real life potential.

Where “Noseeums”, the debut feature from director Raven Carter, excels is in its exploration of college-age relationships in modern America. In the film, we follow Ember, played by Aleigha Burt, in her relatable confusion with the relationships in her life. Unsatisfied by her friendships and past romance, the film explores Ember’s position as a black American in the South by analyzing her history and the nature of her present relationships. “Noseeums” centers Ember’s nightmarish anxieties and makes horror out of them, one of Carter’s many notable strong suits as an emerging filmmaker. Although the film isn’t particularly unpredictable in its scares, it is certainly entertaining and biting as a satire of young adult ignorance. If awkward, revelatory humor is your thing, Raven Carter has crafted the perfect smart and youthful movie for you.

No-see-ums are the annoying tiny biting insects that were coined this localized nickname in Florida. Noseeums is a horror movie incorporating racial oppression and African spiritual memory directed by Raven Carter. Funny enough, the tiny insects are the driving focus of horror in this film. Carter positions them in a supernatural sphere, moving as a figure for the oppressive past faced by the main character, Ember’s, ancestral history. Read through African spiritualism, the film mainly discusses the timelessness of trauma and collective memory. It displays this through Ember and her dreams of the original plot owners of the lake house she’s visiting with her white friends. The exploration of sisterhood is both feminized and racialized, as there is a lot of significance in ‘reclamation of identity.’ The film was absolutely compelling in this aspect, as there were a lot of times the audience gets pulled into the nightmare-ish reality of Aleigha Burt’s character as she realizes the true horror that has been haunting her all her life. With the title alone, this film proves to be layered with historical, familial, communal, and spiritual significance as it connects all of these with materialism. It’s a struggle of autonomy and the ability to recognize the past as a foundation for the present. It disrupts the thematic assumptions placed on African spiritualism as well as tackling the consequences of microaggressions. It’s definitely a treat to watch during the Halloween season with friends, especially for fans of Jordan Peele as it has that contemporary reflective storytelling that has the viewer sitting in silence after watching.