Gloomy Eyes 360° 3D Short Film


VR Review  ★★★★☆‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
Apple  Quest  PCVR  Link  Animation  Short Films  Comfortable  Stationary 

The image is a stylised, animated poster for the VR film Gloomy Eyes. The title “Gloomy Eyes” is written in large, jagged, red letters at the centre. On the right side, there’s a small, wide-eyed character with pale skin, white hair tied back, and large green earmuffs. They wear a mustard-yellow jacket with blue trousers and yellow boots, standing on a glowing, slightly icy ground. Their expression is curious or surprised as they look up. On the left side, a large, ominous character looms in from above, with long, thin fingers, wrinkled skin, and ragged clothes, hinting at a witch-like figure. The background is dark and moody, with purple and red hues, and faint outlines of mushrooms and trees, creating a mysterious, enchanted forest atmosphere. A small white animal, possibly a dog or bear cub, is also present on the bottom right.

This award winning virtual reality film narrated by Colin Farrell features a great story and a spectacularly intricate and joyous animated art style that will have you back for repeat viewings to appreciate all the little details.

Reminiscent of animations like Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, this animated tale of love between a girl and a zombie boy takes place in a land that the sun has forsaken. Unlike many other virtual reality features, this thirty minute film makes excellent use of the medium as the action whisks the viewer's attention naturally from scene to scene as the story unfolds. Despite the theme of darkness, the colorful tiny models are gleefully animated and inventively lit - they look striking as they dance literally before your eyes. You'll feel like you can reach out and touch the tiny models. Repeat viewings are necessary to soak in all the scenery dressing you missed before, and little details like the tracks the characters make in the snow.

We'd rate this as PG due to its dark themes, a small amount of barely visible flesh-eating and a car with squeaky suspension at a drive-in movie theater. The feature is broken into three parts, which we didn't feel was necessary except that it was helpful since the PCVR version didn't include a pause function. There's no controller based turning option available either, which is unfortunate for mobility challenged folk since you'll be making some gradual 360° rotations to keep up with the action. Thankfully a swivel chair kept us comfortable and fully immersed.

The image features a stylised animated scene, again from Gloomy Eyes. A small zombie-like character with blue-green hair and glowing yellow eyes stands confidently at the edge of a jagged cliff, staring into the distance. The character's expression is defiant or determined. Beside them is a small, alert dog. The scene is lit dramatically with a strong contrast of neon pink and deep shadow. In the background is a large, eerie full moon with blotchy dark patches, and silhouettes of pointed pine trees, enhancing the spooky, gothic tone. The composition and lighting emphasise the character’s resolve and the surreal, dark-fantasy atmosphere of the world.



The PCVR and Quest versions appear to be close to equal in quality. We tried some side-by-side screenshot comparisons and couldn't spot any significant difference. Also, due to the darkness that prevails in all scenes, there's definitely an advantage to viewing this on the best possible OLED headsets, though we still had a great time with Meta Quest's LED panels.

Summary:
⬤ Excellent visuals, score and dynamic VR transitions
⬤ Fun, well-paced emotional storyline
⬤ Great replayability for a 30 minute movie
⬤ Some versions are on the pricey side
⬤ No rotation control (snap turning)

Supported Languages:
English  French  German  Mandarin  Spanish 

External Links:
YouTube: Behind The Scenes 

Product Links:




Copyright © 2025 Stuart Green all rights reserved.