diff --git a/viewer/management/commands/makethumbnails.py b/viewer/management/commands/makethumbnails.py
index 847aa33..a4e09bb 100644
--- a/viewer/management/commands/makethumbnails.py
+++ b/viewer/management/commands/makethumbnails.py
@@ -1,12 +1,9 @@
-# External library imports.
-import filetype
-
 # Django imports.
 from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand
 from django.conf                 import settings
 
 # Project imports.
-from viewer.utils import make_thumbnail
+from viewer.utils import make_thumbnail, is_image_file
 
 ###########################################################################################
 # Command subclass.                                                                       #
@@ -26,7 +23,7 @@ class Command(BaseCommand):
         """
 
         # Make a thumbnail for each file in the current directory.
-        for image in [i for i in directory.iterdir() if i.is_file() and filetype.is_image(str(i))]:
+        for image in [i for i in directory.iterdir() if i.is_file() and is_image_file(i)]:
             make_thumbnail(image)
 
         # Handle each sub-directory recursively.
diff --git a/viewer/utils.py b/viewer/utils.py
index bafe2ad..3ae0a2b 100644
--- a/viewer/utils.py
+++ b/viewer/utils.py
@@ -13,11 +13,26 @@ from django.conf import settings
 
 THUMB_SIZE = (128, 128)
 
+# Supported image extensions for fast file filtering (avoids costly MIME-type detection)
+IMAGE_EXTENSIONS = {'.jpg', '.jpeg', '.png', '.gif', '.webp', '.bmp', '.tiff', '.tif', '.svg'}
+
 ###########################################################################################
 # Helper functions.                                                                       #
 ###########################################################################################
 
 
+def is_image_file(path):
+    """
+    Fast image detection using file extension instead of MIME-type checking.
+
+    :param path: A pathlib.Path instance or string path to check.
+    :return: True if the file extension matches a known image format.
+    """
+    if isinstance(path, str):
+        path = Path(path)
+    return path.suffix.lower() in IMAGE_EXTENSIONS
+
+
 def make_thumbnail(image):
     """
     Creates a thumbnail in the corresponding THUMBNAILS_ROOT directory for the given image.
diff --git a/viewer/views.py b/viewer/views.py
index 8faee89..75b2770 100644
--- a/viewer/views.py
+++ b/viewer/views.py
@@ -2,9 +2,6 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from math    import ceil
 
-# External library imports.
-import filetype
-
 # Django imports.
 from django.http                    import HttpResponseNotFound
 from django.conf                    import settings
@@ -14,7 +11,7 @@ from django.shortcuts               import (render,
                                             redirect)
 
 # Project imports.
-from .utils import make_thumbnail
+from .utils import make_thumbnail, is_image_file
 
 ###########################################################################################
 # CONSTANTS.                                                                              #
@@ -98,14 +95,14 @@ def gallery_view(request, path = None):
             if search == '':
                 # If there is no search query then get all images and sub-directories of the current path.
                 subdirs = sorted([i for i in full_path.iterdir() if i.is_dir()])
-                images  = sorted([i for i in full_path.iterdir() if i.is_file() and filetype.is_image(str(i))])
+                images  = sorted([i for i in full_path.iterdir() if i.is_file() and is_image_file(i)])
 
             else:
                 # If there is a search query then search the current directory recursively.
                 subdirs, images = do_recursive_search(full_path, search)
 
                 # Only keep image files.
-                images = [image for image in images if filetype.is_image(str(image))]
+                images = [image for image in images if is_image_file(image)]
 
             # For every sub-directory found, prepare it's name and path for rendering.
             subdir_data = []
@@ -165,7 +162,7 @@ def gallery_view(request, path = None):
             img_dir   = settings.GALLERY_ROOT.joinpath(path).parent
 
             # Then get all sibling images.
-            images    = sorted([i.name for i in img_dir.iterdir() if i.is_file() and filetype.is_image(str(i))])
+            images    = sorted([i.name for i in img_dir.iterdir() if i.is_file() and is_image_file(i)])
 
             # Get the current image's index in it's directory.
             index     = images.index(image.name)