Quintessential horror. Tropes galore. So fun to experience!

Exercise: take a routine optometry appointment and set it in the late 1950s (maybe?), with a focus on a specific color: dark aqua.

Use that color in several areas throughout the film:

• the leaflet advertising free eye exams that the patient, Ms. White, reads from in the waiting area,
• the exam room walls,
• the glowed outline when Ms. White looks through the phoropter,
• and the colors in the blouse of the next patient awaiting her exam.

Contrast the dark aqua with the gradients of brown in the wardrobe and production design of the waiting area and the aforementioned character’s costuming. The starkness is immediate. The television set, the White’s jacket, glasses, and hair, and the waiting room walls are all close but distinct shades of beige and brown. The colors signified the seemingly routine and pedestrian nature of the visit.

That is until a patient runs frantically from of the exam room, past an extremely creepy poster of a cockeyed figure, that the narrative heightens. And Ms. White’s suspicions about the free appointment accelerates. But she follows through against her better judgement.

The cadence of the optometrist’s voice matched the antiquated tone of the film. The use of older versions of optometry tools aligned with the exam’s suspense!

Loved the throwback score! It was giving stereotypically jump-scare horror thrills.

And the Cyclopses! They were dope too!

In short, “Eye Exam” direction was awesome. I loved the cinematography, especially the identical framing when Ms. White frantically runs out of the room, past the cockeyed poster, and then straight to the reaction of the next patient. 👌🏾👌🏾 Loved the effectiveness of the color palette and the minimalism of the screenplay.

The film’s allure seeped from the technical elements: score, sound and film editing, directing, and cinematography. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾