I See You — I See You

I See You is a twisting ‘n’ turning-yet-dread soaked modern thriller, which wraps around you like a snake- and ever so often snaps you with its devilish twists. The film is set in small-town America- focusing in on the troubled family of a middle-aged cop who is investigating the return of a thought caught killer pedophile. It’s been sold as more of horror film, but this is misleading- sure there are horror traits present, but what we have here is a classic puzzle-like thriller with a constantly pervading air of dread. Here from Arrow Video is a recent Blu Ray release of the film- featuring directors/ writer’s commentary track, interviews, etc.

I See You is a 2019 film- and it’s the third film helmed by up & coming British director Adam Randall, with a script by actor-turned writer Devon Graye. It’s set in a small rural town where Greg Harper (Jon Tenney) is one of the towns key detectives, & he lives with his wife Jackie (Helen Hunt) - who’s recently had an affair with her old college flame, and their troubled late teen son Connor (Judah Lewis).Greg with his partner Spitzky, are investigating the seeming return of killer pedophile, and on top of this there seems to be something rather strange going on in their family home- as things are moved,people get locked away, and there seems a brooding presence in the house- which may or may not be human or supernatural.

As with any twisted thriller the less you know the better- so I’m not going to detail too much further of the plot, but instead, discuss what helps the whole thing to be so effective & compelling. From the off-your hit by two things the grand-yet-often acrobatic camera work, and the edgy-sinisterly dramatic score- this helps enhance the slowly unfolding- yet the captivating story, and great acting. The film largely takes place in the cops up-scale house-  with Randall creating a feeling of real unease & dread with his use of odd angles, first perspective shots, and shadowy/ blurred background detail. Though he also does great work with the towns ragged & moody landscapes well too- with lots of nice over headshots & oddly angled landscape shots. Through-out the film you keep thinking you’ve solved it a various mysteries- but just when you're almost sure the story pulls the whole thing from under your feet once again. Tenney, Hunt & Lewis make for a believable family- who have their share of both personal & work problems, and I promise you won’t see the twists coming, & when it’s all done 'n' dusted you’ll be more than a little surprised by the outcome of the whole thing.  Sadly, and rather oddly this film never got a  general cinema release- which is a real surprise, as it’s a well-acted, cleverly written & edgy film that's head & shoulders above some of tosh that has appeared in the multiplex under the banner of thriller/horror in the last year or. So if you enjoy moody & slowly building thrillers with lots of effective twists you've got to give I See You a go, just don’t go in expecting a horror film.

On the extras side, we get a commentary track from director Adam Randall and producer Matt Waldeck- this is a worthy & informative , with the pair discussing how & when each got involved in the project, how it changed/altered between script & screen. They talk about the film's relatively short shooting time of twenty days, which is impressive when you look at what they get on screen. Going on to discuss location & shot choice, and that how one of the influences on the director was David Lynch, and in particular the film Lost Highway- all told it’s well worth a play. We get a twelve-minute featurette discussing the films making with various cast & crew, and five minute plus stand-alone interviews with the director & Ms. Hunt.

All told I See You is a classy slow-burn thriller- with some great, great twists & a wonderfully foreboding atmosphere. Arrow Video has done a great job in getting hold of the film for release, and once again it shows the company are at the top of their game release more worthy modern genre films.