Maria (India Eisley, My Sweet Audrina) is living in her own private hell. Bullied and alienated at school, she find herself completely at odds with her parents at home. What wouldn't she give to escape her life? When she confides in her seemingly sympathetic mirror image, Maria is offered a way out of her situation when the girl offers to switch with her. Desperate and despairing, Maria is about to find out how bad things can get in Assaf Bernstein's independent horror film Look Away.
Look Away is a beautiful film and the framing and composition in the opening scenes convey the utter sense of dread with which Maria navigates her life. We see Maria's train-wreck of a home life with her lovely yet ineffectual mother (Mira Sorvino) and her narcissistic father, played by Jason Isaac in his most hateable role since Lucius Malfoy. Her best friend is insincere but she is the only friend that Maria has and all that separates her from her creeping sense of isolation and detachment.
Fear not though, half way through, Look Away starts to become a whole lot of fun - Carrie-without-the-pig-blood levels of fun. Maria accepts her twin's very kind offer and Airam unleashes all levels of evil upon those who have wronged Maria. India Eisley really shines as the out-of-control Airam and it was most enjoyable to watch her play with people, with the sinister lethality of a cat with a mouse. I've always enjoyed revenge horror and Look Away is deeply satisfying while still being utterly creepy and disturbing.
I thoroughly enjoyed Look Away and give it an excellent four out of five stars. I recommend it for fans of high school and revenge horror films and predict that India Eisley will be an actress to watch in the future.
★★★★☆
