Genre producer Samuel Freeman is honored to announce that the New Jersey Film Festival will host his directorial debut, the found footage film Don’t Look in the Dark. When a couple’s phones begin recording on their own during a camping trip, what they capture isn’t just darkness. It’s something that wants to be seen. Don’t Look in the Dark will screen at Rutgers University on January 31, 2026 as part of the New Jersey Film Festival.
Don’t Look in the Dark screened at the Birmingham Horror Film Festival & Convention, where Freeman took home the award for Best Feature. Ahead of the New Jersey Film Festival, he shared, “Don’t Look In The Dark was made with one goal: to create a theatrical experience like no other. Every audience sees something different. Every theater reveals something new. No two viewings feel exactly the same. It is meant to unsettle you, confuse you, draw you in, and then leave you wondering if you missed something, because maybe you did. This is our attempt to redefine what a found footage film can be, and what watching a horror movie in the dark can truly feel like.
Golan and Maya travel to the Pinelands National Reserve for a quiet camping trip meant to honor Maya’s late father and prepare for the birth of their child. Without their knowledge, their phones begin recording on their own, capturing broken and intermittent audio and video as night falls. When Maya becomes convinced she sees a young child lurking near an overturned tree, her maternal instincts pull the couple deeper into the woods, where perception fractures and escape becomes uncertain. As darkness consumes both the environment and the footage itself, the film forces the audience to question what is being seen, what is being hidden, and whether watching is part of the danger.
Don’t Look in the Dark at New Jersey Film Festival:
7:00 PM, January 31, 2026
Voorhees Hall #105, Rutgers University
71 Hamilton Street,
New Brunswick, NJ 08901