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“Totally Smooth Productions Are a Myth”: James Ross on His Student Short Film Showcase Winner Don’t Blink
The creepy premise of Don’t Blink may be parsed by its title alone, but this still doesn’t make one prepared for the unyielding scares conjured by writer-director James Ross. Completed with the aid of his MFA cohort at Florida State University, Ross’ film takes place during the witching hour in an otherwise quaint suburban enclave.
Travis (Samuel Isaiah Hunter) is eager to spend the night with his date Reese (Tamara French) at her spacious pad. The only demand the beautiful woman makes is that Travis must take a pill to ensure that he sleeps through the night. Though he agrees, Travis secretly spits out the medicine, causing him to wake up in the dead of night. Reese isn’t there, though—in her place is a monstrous creature who slinks closer to the kill every time Travis closes his eyes.
Don’t Blink is one of five winners of the 2024 Student Short Film Showcase, a collaborative program from The Gotham, Focus Features and JetBlue that is available to stream via Focus Features’s YouTube channel and offered in the air as part of JetBlue’s in-flight entertainment selection.
Ross and I had a conversation over email, which touches upon his preference for warm weather, the inherent creepiness of humanoids and the retroactive influence of John Carpenter’s The Thing on Don’t Blink.
Read the rest of the interviews with the fifth annual Student Short Film Showcase winners here.
Filmmaker: Guide me through your decision to attend Florida State University for an MFA in film production. What made this program particularly enticing to you?
Ross: Well, for one, my alma mater was in Pittsburgh so I think part of it was because I wanted to be somewhere warm. But favorable weather aside, FSU Film’s structure was based around giving each student a level playing field to develop their voices as filmmakers. Meaning all equipment needed for production was provided by the school at no additional out of pocket costs to the students. Instead of worrying about how I was gonna pay for my films, I was able to put all my energy towards learning and improving my creative process. So, it was a no-brainer decision that I would make 100/100 times.
Filmmaker: Who were your key collaborators on this project and what conversations did you have to ensure a smooth production?
Ross: I’m convinced totally smooth productions are a myth, haha. Every film definitely has its hurdles and Don’t Blink was no different. But I absolutely have to shout out my MFA class who supported Don’t Blink from the writing process to the final delivery. I also had a lot of support and mentorship from the faculty who worked very closely with me during prep to ensure I avoided certain mistakes that could’ve made production that much harder. And lastly, the two actors I worked with were incredible collaborators. Always helps when the cast is just as excited about bringing the story to life as you, the filmmaker.
Filmmaker: Tell me about the creative inception behind Don’t Blink. How did you refine the supernatural concept and creature?
Ross: I wanted to find something people don’t think about and bring attention to it in the scariest way possible. What if there was a creature who knew that blinking was involuntary, but was opportunistic enough to strike during that millisecond where our eyes are closed? What if that creature was someone you shared yourself intimately with, having mostly no indication that something was off about them? The idea of there being no warning and no escape has always scared me. Something else that’s always given me the creeps is whenever something not human tries to imitate a human. So that influenced the design of the creature to keep it more humanoid rather than something completely out there.
Filmmaker: Were there any horror touchstones that you looked to or revisited while making this film?
Ross: I do my best to stay away from other horror when trying to build the story and world of my own films. But David F. Sandberg’s Lights Out short film designed such a simple horror element that was masterfully executed. I told myself if I could hook the audience the way he did with that short, I’d be in good shape. Looking back, though, there’s definitely some of The Thing in the world of Don’t Blink. One of my all-time favorites.
Filmmaker: Are there any plans to develop this, or any other scripts, into a feature?
Ross: I actually just finished Post on my first feature film this past January! It’s a mystery/horror I wrote and directed called Parasomnia, about a demon that manifests from a woman’s night terrors and feeds on those around her whenever she goes to sleep. It’ll be premiering at festivals starting this summer of 2025. Super excited to share this one with the world and already hard at work on my next project. So stay tuned!
