Review copy provided by Arrow Video.
I was lucky enough to see this film at the Edinburgh Film Festival last year where I also got to meet the director Adam Randall. It was during this screening that the producer said, Arrow Video had got the distribution rights for the film in the UK and it would available on Home Media after the US theatrical release.
Almost a year later, I See You is finally being released in the UK. After watching it for the second time, I feel I can comfortable talk about this film without spoiling key moments. This film can easily be spoilt, and I think the best way to enjoy this film is to go in more or less completely blind. I am going to assume people reading this review haven’t seen the trailer. I am doing this because if my review makes you want to check the film out you can watch it and have the best viewing experience possible with this film.
I See You is a horror thriller that excels in being genially creepy and also being a tense thrill ride that goes in a genuinely surprising and unique direction. Due to this uniqueness the film could have easily been a schlocky B film but because of great directing and a solid script, the film rises above other thrillers. Adam Randall did a very good job directing this film, the use of drone shots adds this level of creepiness that adds to the horror effectively. The drone shots honestly feel like you’re seeing the POV of a ghostly being that haunts the characters.
The script is truly great. The twists and turns this story have are just really well done and never feel cheap or just there so the film can say it has a twist. The biggest accomplishment is I See You asks a lot of questions in beginning, if not answered correctly could have made the film come across as being smarter than it actually is. So, it’s great that every answer is satisfying and feels believable for the world this film has built.
But to have a believable world you need solid performances so that the audiences can be swept up into the mystery. It’s just a shame that some of the acting isn’t great. Jon Tenney honestly gives the best performance of the film. Helen Hunt does an ok job, but she comes across kind of flat most of the time.
I See You is a film held back greatly by its acting. I think with better actors this already good film could have flown and soar to great heights but instead it’s just gliding above street level. This film kind of reminds me of the first Saw film. As both this and Saw have both the same positive and negatives but as soon as the credits rolled, I thought back about how good the ride was.
