Noseeums

Raven Carter’s Frightfest contribution has a title which has acquired hyphens in some iterations, presumably because international readers found this Southern US word inscrutable without them. Its origin, of course, is simple enough – things one might not see – and it’s a regional term for midges, which can sneak up and bite without being noticed. One midge bite isn’t that big a deal, but when they swarm, the result can be very painful. In the hands of Carter and writers Jason-Michael Anthony and Hendreck Joseph, it becomes the perfect metaphor for racist microaggressions.

Midges, of course, can be worth putting up with if one wants to enjoy the outdoors on a hot day. Similarly, Ember (Aleigha Burt) is willing to tolerate the occasional uncomfortable remark in order to expand her social circles. After all, white people absorb some racist language and attitudes subconsciously and don’t necessarily have anyone to set them straight – ideally they would be proactive about educating themselves, but not every teenager is going to have realised that. She takes this in her stride, telling herself that they don’t mean it. Abigail (Tabby Getsy) and Lexis (Jessie Roddy) are the sort of fun, popular girls whose friendship feels flattering, and Tessa (Jasmine Gia Nguyen) is also a person of colour.

Abigail comes from money. At first this feels like a boon. It means that they can enjoy a weekend away in the country at one of her family’s several properties. The early stages of this trip are likely to be experienced quite differently by different audiences. Aspects of mystery soon emerge – the area feels familiar to Ember in ways that she can’t place. There are also horror elements introduced early on, as she has disconcerting nightmares, and rumours emerge about the property being haunted. And then there’s the other side of it, the things you might not notice unless you’re alert to them: Ember being asked to bring the luggage in, to fetch drinks, to answer the door; being given the smallest room, with no ventilation.

As the young women settle into their vacation, there’s singing and dancing and time by the pool, eating and drinking and late night conversation, some of which becomes bitter when it turns to subjects like wealth, inheritance and reparation. “Get over yourself. I don’t see any shackles around your feet Ember,” Abigail says. The others try to smooth things over. Ember looks to Tessa for support, but Tessa’s experience is different, and it’s clear which side offers her the most advantage. Importantly, however, Abigail is not presented as a pure and uncomplicated heroine. We see the way that she looks down on Black handyman Earl (Tyler Bibb), treating him as a hick. There’s also a suggestion that in forsaking her friend Jasmine (Chase Johnson) in order to go on this trip, she’s prioritising white society, perceiving herself as trading up.

The horrors of the past weight heavily on the present as the film develops its themes. Some of this is a bit heavy-handed, as the film attempts to communicate to a mixed audience, but the capable Burt keeps it feeling real, whilst Getsy is fantastic in her delivery of spoiled white monstrousness. Anyone who has ever encountered bullying will recognise the nastiness of a privileged teenage girl pushed out of her comfort zone, and when exacerbated by white entitlement, this becomes dangerous – to others and, perhaps, to Abigail herself. At times her small body seems to redden and swell with the strain of more petulant fury than it is equipped to contain.

Alongside this high drama, a ghost story which might ultimately be just as meaningful quietly unfolds, and the film takes on additional historical issues. Again, this feels a little over-simplified in places, perhaps to help keep the two elements of the narrative in sync, but it makes its point, and contributes to a wider body of cinema addressing matters too long ignored. As it does so, the film packs in threats and scares both corporeal and otherwise. The breadth of destruction we see at the end might seem out of place to some, but it fits within a wider tradition of revenge narratives, and it certainly has its place in horror. If at first you don’t see it, try a little harder, because it can still bite you.

Reviewed on: 23 Aug 2025