Beginning with a series of monotonous types of travel it takes to reach a vacation, Do Not Disturb opens with beautiful imagery of a bustling Miami. Director and writer John Ainslie designs this film’s vision, inviting a listless couple into the sexy, steamy town to stay for a vacation. Chloe (Kimberly Laferriere) and Jack (Rogan Christopher) seem to be in a down swing after their recent nuptials. While Chloe is chatting away and in awe of the title of being someone’s wife, Jack is huffy, quiet, and doesn’t seem engaged, even when there’s a particularly chatty couple in their hotel lobby trying to make plans with them. As they unpack, Jack is more interested in acquiring some party favors as he opens their complimentary wine, discussing getting some cocaine or marijuana from one of the workers. As the talk gets more serious we see that Jack’s previous drug habits, combined with a recent miscarriage, are putting immense strain on the two, and Jack’s hesitancy at becoming a father isn’t helping, causing more arguing.
Lunch with the couple from the lobby starts uncomfortably enough, but things take a turn into the absurd. The couple are swingers looking for another pair to party with, but Jack has promises to take Chloe to the beach. While sitting on the sand by the water, the arguing continues and here this feels more like an interpersonal relationship drama instead of a horror film. They meet the couple back and their room where the festivities become too much for Jack as they are fed cocaine laced with ecstasy and as he watches Chloe dance with another man. This takes them into another venomous argument in the room.
Morning breaks and so do the hangovers, as the couple hems and haws about heading to the beach that morning, between apologies. When they arrive at the beach the talk turns sad and serious again, until a man near them rouses and begins yelling. He starts screaming and walking around the beach until he approaches Jack and Chloe, hysterical and shouting nonsense. He starts throwing bags of narcotics on the ground in front of them, saying how it opens your mind but doesn’t show you how to shut it: these are various substances, designer drugs, peyote, cocaine, all from Mexico. The man abandons his stash and walks out into the ocean, disappearing, with no one attempting to save him in his delirious state. With the choice to sell or use the drugs in their possession, the couple faces another crossroads to either grow up, or continue down a different less certain path, and use them to get closer somehow with the use of peyote.
Camera work and editing is in high gear here, with cinematographer Scott McIntyre firing on all cylinders to create a trippy alternate reality for the couple as they spin out on their drug-fueled adventures or creating something as simple as a sense of claustrophobia in a hotel room you’re sharing with less than desirable company. The psychedelic effects created work well to transport you into the journey our characters are taking and interesting ideas of what would happen on a trip this intense are explored, as well as exploring the dark corners of abusive relationships. Lights change from the burning whites of the sun to colorful rave strobing and lend themselves to the sultry, saturated landscape that is Miami nightlife. Performances all around are convincing, especially the complicated dynamic of our main couple. Rogan Christopher does an excellent job at making you resent his presence in the film and is the hard headed, sex motivated, loose cannon we can’t really root for as he pulls Chloe and her dreams down to his level. His borderline rapist and felon behavior is tiresome and some of their conversations will make you wonder if you’re watching the abusive, narcotics version of A Marriage Story for certain portions.
If you can handle a slow beginning (Do Not Disturb takes its time, especially in the first half) the film ramps up for some more brutal and horror-centric ideas away from the consistent relationship talk. I can see some people arguing this isn’t particularly scary or horrific, but more of a drama or thriller from its beginnings, but when we turn from carnal to cannibal I have to say things pick up the pace and there is skin in the game for both characters, literally and figuratively. I’ll have to say this is a watch for the patient viewer, as Ainslie’s previous directing credits lean towards the dissolution of relationships such as his piece The Sublet, showing he is interested in not just horror but the human experience. This may not hook you immediately, but if you can push through the initial bickering and deliberate pace, you may end up invested in the marriage and not just how things will crumble during the horror. A relationship drama turned trippy, hungering, fever dream, Do Not Disturb goes from a slow boil to an unsettling watch, with plenty of themes and messaging about destructive relationships and how we consume ourselves in them.
Do Not Disturb (2022) is available on VOD from today, 21st November 2023.