Filmmaker Julian Terry’s Animal Crossing-themed horror short Don’t Peek, has turned one of the most popular Nintendo games into a creepy and suspenseful tale of a woman haunted by a creature through the game. Now with over 1.5 million views on YouTube, the film has gained mass attention.
Don’t Peek also made its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival on March 15, 2021. It was announced by Deadline that Wanted director and Unfriended producer Timur Bekmambetov and his production company Bazelevs have picked up Don’t Peek for a full-length feature film based on the short.
Terry, along with the starring actor Katie C’etta and one other made the short film with “a Blackmagic pocket camera during quarantine,” according to the film’s description. The short opens up with an unnamed woman (C’etta) playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons in her dimly lit room. As she opens up drawers and turns off lamps in the game, it begins to happen in the real world as well. The video game and her reality appear to be merging together.
The gamer is seen enjoying this fantastical event, until a massively scary monster appears in the shadows on the game. This demon-like figure asks to be released into the real world, but doing so only makes matters worse.
At this time, it is unknown if Nintendo will sign off on its name and game being used in the movie adaptation or if the game will have to be named something else.
Featured still from "Don't Peek" by Julian Terry via YouTube
