I See You (4/5) – Movie Review

I SEE YOU is a new horror drama which covers both “phrogging” and a serial killer of young boys. This is a movie that really packs a punch within a relatively short runtime. Impressive and very entertaining. Read more in our full I See You review here!

I See You is a new horror movie with elements of crime and drama genres. The story covers a few different stories that all come together in the end. It might feel like a drama-thriller at first, but ultimately, I See You becomes a horror-crime movie!

Also, the cast is quite interesting and the actors deliver some amazing performances. Something that becomes especially important as the movie changes style and vibe a few times. If you think this movie is a bit slow at first, then don’t be fooled. The real story is absolutely wild – as is the ending!

Continue reading our I See You review below.

The cast of this horror movie

I See You has a very interesting cast which leads with Helen Hunt (Mad About You) for the first part of the movie. I hate having to say this, but I was so distracted by her face that I must mention it. I’m not sure what she has done (or why) to her face, but it just looks off. I mean, it’s difficult to truly read her emotions and that’s never good. She has good moments but overall she was not memorable.

And not just because it’s hard to even recognize her – or relate to her emotional struggles – though that didn’t help.

Her son is played by Judah Lewis, who was pretty damn awesome in the Netflix horror-comedy The Babysitter. A movie I would definitely recommend checking out if you like horror-comedies that go crazy. You can read our review of The Babysitter here! Also, he was in the teen horror movie Summer of 84 which also had some great moments.

Also read: Our review of the horror movie Summer of 84 here >

Jon Tenney (season 3 of True Detective) plays the man of the house. He’s also a police detective investigating the disappearance of young boys in a case that looks similar to one 15 years ago. In the previous case, most of the boys turned up dead while those who escaped helped convict the killer.

What is phrogging?

Later in I See You, a few more characters are introduced and you will no doubt form your own opinions of these characters. Two young people are phrogging, which means they’re living in someone’s house without the inhabitants knowing. It’s a stealth operation that enables them to live and eat for free. In theory anyway.

First-time “phrogger”, Alec, isn’t quite on board with that plan, which causes a few issues for Mindy, who is the phrogging expert.

Alec is played brilliantly by Owen Teague who you should know from the latest IT adaptation. Also, he was in the Netflix series Bloodline and an episode of Black Mirror. Basically, he is always intense and wonderful in every performance I’ve seen from him. Mindy is portrayed by Libe Barer (Sneaky Pete) who is very endearing and warm in her portrayal.

The ending of I See You has quite a lot of twists and while I had guessed a lot of them ahead of time, I still loved watching it all play out. Also, when I say I had guessed many twists, do keep in mind that even a broken clock is right two times a day. I do guess a lot during crime stories, so I’m bound to hit a home run every now and then.

Watch I See You in theaters and On Demand

Adam Randall is the director of I See You and this is his third time directing a feature film. His previous movie was iBoy from 2017 while his 2016 movie Level Up was his debut. To me, I See You is a tight and fascinating work that focuses on telling the story.

The story itself comes from Devon Graye, who you will probably know as an actor. In fact, I See You is his first writing credit for him. Devon Graye is no stranger to genre stories since he has acted in American Horror Story and he was the young Dexter in the Dexter series. After watching I See You, I really hope he will continue writing screenplays because this one definitely worked.

The runtime of I See You is just 96 minutes and there is a lot of storyline and plot in those minutes. I truly did enjoy this movie from the very beginning, but the final half is absolutely a crazy ride. In a really good way!

I See You is out in theaters and on VOD from December 6, 2019.

Update March 22, 2023: I SEE YOU is now on Netflix in the US!

Details

Director: Adam Randall
Writer: Devon Graye
Stars: Helen Hunt, Jon Tenney, Judah Lewis, Owen Teague, Libe Barer, Gregory Alan Williams

Plot

Strange occurrences plague a small town detective and his family as he investigates the disappearance of a young boy.