Horror Short Review: Don’t Turn Around (2025)

Directed by Luca Zanlorenzi and starring Sara Rosa, Don’t Turn Around is a psychological horror short film that delves into the fear of the unseen.

Elena is moving into a new apartment, and it’s pretty nice. She’s excited and happy, that is until she finds a cryptic warning note that simply says:

If you hear breathing, don’t turn around.

That’s not the sort of thing anyone wants to read when moving into a new apartment. Of course, like most rational people, she dismisses and continues to move in.

Sometime later, as she walks through the apartment, she hears some chilling whispering and notices the darkness of another room seems ‘darker’ than normal. She seems to feel a presence, a sinister one. She might not be alone.

It’s a solid horror with good acting from the lead, some impressive camera shots that really make the darkness feel oppressive, and a unique looking villain. Its premises is stronger than the actual film though. With only a small tug, the story falls apart. For example, after the second time she hears loud breathing and whispering, so much so that she starts to have a mild panic attack, why does she stay?

It’s a short, so these things have to be ignored, but it makes it hard to take it seriously. Check it out yourself, below.