It's among the most basic mistakes in crafting a compelling thriller to cram too many plot points into the story, transforming what should be intriguing into something confusing, hard to follow, and ultimately disappointing. This problem is compounded when unnecessary scenes are added, pretending to be significant while really just adding length without contributing anything substantial. Poor sound quality only makes things worse, creating a production that misses its target by a considerable distance. Sadly, this is the situation with writer-director Ryan J. Sloan’s first feature film—a lengthy and tiring experience due to all of these issues. Frankie Rhodes (played by Ariela Mastroianni), a single mother who lost her husband and is dealing with money problems, struggles with gaining custody of her young daughter while also facing a serious illness that's affecting her mind. She has difficulty managing these challenges. However, when she encounters an enigmatic woman (Renee Gagner) offering financial assistance, Frankie eagerly accepts, only to become entangled in a network of lies and criminal activity where she’s considered the prime suspect. If the story had stopped there, it could have been a gripping noir mystery. Instead, numerous seemingly superfluous plotlines are introduced, often underdeveloped or inadequately explained, which disrupt the film's momentum. These include several supernatural, surreal, and frankly strange sequences that appear to take place in dreams (though not always clearly identified as such by Frankie or fully clarified for the audience). The result is a rambling narrative that loses steam roughly halfway through, becoming increasingly dull and failing to keep viewers engaged. While the film's visual style is initially somewhat appealing and shows some promise, it’s not enough to hold interest as the story progresses toward what I considered an unsatisfactory ending. This project suggests the filmmaker has talent for creating visually interesting works but needs stronger storytelling foundations to make them complete and successful—something that is noticeably absent here. “Gazer” might be a trial run for the director to iron out problems before tackling more polished future projects (and if so, then this effort may not have been entirely in vain). However, there needs to be significant improvement next time if there’s to be another project after that.

Source on TMDB