Independent horror films are often overlooked, primarily because they lack the “blockbuster budget” that really produce the scares.  Viewers won’t see CGI effects, doors opening by themselves, people being thrown across rooms, ghosts hovering around haunted houses, or demons living inside of dolls.

What independent films do bring, is a sense that the story is real.  As a viewer, you feel like you are a part of the story, a fly on the wall.  The emotions seem deeper, and the scares seem creepier.

‘Do No Harm’ does just that.  Created in 2013 by Don Johns and Just A Spark Films, the movie asks the question, “Where does good end and evil begin?”.  It answers the question by following Shawn Mercy (played by Beau Walker) and his three friends as they embark on a road trip.  After getting lost on some country back roads, and experiencing car troubles, they come upon a farm house inhabited by Dr. Lance Pratt, a former surgeon, and his son Jackson.  They decide to wait until morning to continue on the dangerous roads, and spend the night at the farm house.  While the four friends explore the property, and get to know the owners, they learn the truth behind the seemingly nice doctor (William Davis), and his slightly strange son (David Abernathy).

‘Do No Harm’ does a few things very well.  Among the scary plot line, is one of romance between the main characters.  Shawn decides to propose to his girlfriend Crystal (Moriah Thomason) while on the road trip.  There is a pretty typical scene, in which Shawn practices his proposal speech in front of a mirror.  It was a nice breeze of humor, which actually enticed a laugh out of me.

The characters, in general, felt like people I knew, friends of my own.  They had down to earth personalities, with human-like flaws, something of which you don’t see a lot in scary movies.  There is no super hot, ditzy, slutty blonde who gets axed in the first scene.  Instead the viewer meets Kelly (Brittany Norris), a smart, funny, and always hungry girl next door.  Shawn’s best friend Mo (Andrew Arias) even felt like my buddy I watch Sunday football with.  The ladies even get a heart throb in Shawn, something the film seems conscious of, featuring a shirtless scene.

‘Do No Harm’ features a plot line that is pretty generic, but the creators don’t over think it, like most major movie companies do.  The father/son relationship provides needed tension and strain, which is accompanied by gruesome surgery scenes that look almost too real, and flashback scenes that explain the family’s current situation.

Although there are a few scenes where the darkness of night played an important part, there were also a few scenes that could have used more light.  I found myself checking the brightness level on my television because I wasn’t able to decipher what was happening in a few of the scenes.

I felt like a few things really distracted the viewer from the great story ‘Do No Harm’ created.  The dialogue, at times, seemed clunky and dragged on at great lengths.  This, combined with spurts of overacting by some actors, took away from the creepy undertone of the movie.  The soundtrack and sound overlay didn’t quite fit with a few scenes, which again distracted the viewers.

‘Do No Harm’ tried to base the plot on a moral argument, which I felt it touched on briefly, but could have really explored that argument more.  By the end of the movie, I was wanting more background information on our antagonists.

Despite some production distractions, ‘Do No Harm’ did a great job of taking an overplayed plot line, and turning into a relatable, and therefore scarier, story of a family in crisis.  The enduring characters grow on you like your real family and friends would, which makes the movie shake you to your core even harder.  If you want to see a film that leaves the stereotypical horror genre behind, and replaces it with a wonderful story and characters you root for, I would highly recommend ‘Do No Harm’.