Horror Short Review: Peephole (2018)

Produced by Jash Pictures, Inc. and starring Tim Lueke, Peephole is an excellently unsettling horror that just falls short thanks to a disappointing finale shot.

A little over 3 and a half minutes long, Peephole’s story surrounds a young man woken from sleep by a knocking on his apartment door. Getting up, he looks through the peephole to see himself in exactly the same position he is on the other side of the door.

Freaked out, he opens the door to find no-one there. Closing it and going back to his couch, there is another knock. Looking through the peephole again, he sees himself but this time realises the peephole reflection copies his every move. He is amused to see that he can make himself dance a silly jig and then… the lights go out.

When they come back on, what was once outside is now inside.

It’s a really good horror short that builds up the creep and terror to aching levels. He doesn’t know what is going on and either do we, but everyone knows it’s not going to be good.

So with that, it’s a shame that they chose to end it on the most ‘seen it a thousand times before’ final shot. It doesn’t ruin it or anything and it will no doubt make a fair few people jump, it just could have done with something more subtle and darker.

While it doesn’t quite stick the landing, the runup is exemplary. There will be multiple moments where an icy chill will slip down the neck. Check it out below.