I love a good mystery. The problem I have with most though
is that I’ve seen so many I tend to figure them out before the final moments of
the film. So when one comes along that catches me completely off guard it
becomes one that I want people to know about. I SEE YOU is one of those films.
The movie is actually divided into two parts, the second
half reflecting on the first. It’s fall in a small town and the people are
frightened for their children when a young teen goes missing. Det. Greg Harper
(Jon Tenney) is the lead detective on the case, a case with few clues. But
that’s not the only issue Harper is dealing with.
There is problems at home as well. Harper’s wife Jackie
(Helen Hunt) was cheating on him and they’re trying to make things work. His
son Connor (Judah Lewis) is resentful of his mother’s indiscretion and holds
her responsible for the falling apart of their family. Every effort she makes
to try and correct things he tosses back in her face.
The “have you seen” posters are placed around town and the
search for the boy continues. When Harper and his partner Spitzky (Gregory Alan
Williams) go back over the crime scene they discover something they missed the
first time around. It’s a green pocket knife and references a previous crime
they worked years ago. Could that same killer have returned?
As the case moves forward strange things begin happening in
the Harper home. And entire drawer of silverware disappears. Noises are heard.
Windows are found open. Then the worst of it all happens when Jackie’s lover
shows up trying to convince her to run away with him. Leaving him in the garage
when she goes to answer the door, someone kills him. Is there something
supernatural involved here? Or could it be something else. Time for a spoiler
alert if you don’t want to know.
This is where the movie shifts gears as Connor reads a text
screen that asks him if he’s ever heard of phrogging. If, like me, you haven’t
I’m sure your hitting your cell phone now to look it up. Phrogging is when perpetrators,
mostly teens, sneak into a home and attempt to live there without the knowledge
of the home owner. It’s a way to have a place to stay and to get some sort of
thrill.
Mindy (Libe Barer) and Alec (Owen Teague) are two such teens
who have placed themselves in the Harper home, hiding out when they are home
and wandering around when they’re gone. These are the two responsible for the
mysterious goings on. But it gets better. Alec is one to push things to the
edge while Mindy plays it safe. Could it be that Alec plans on taking things
even further than Mindy expects?
This plot twists is mesmerizing and director Adam Randall
uses a deft touch to bring it all about. Using up perhaps two thirds of the
films short 96 minute running time he crafts the story to fit a certain mold, a
horror film if you will involving what are potentially spooks gone wild. And
then like Hitchcock did when he altered the story of a secretary stealing money
into a serial killer in PSYCHO, the movie changes into something completely
different. Quite an accomplishment for only a second film from Randall.
Screenwriter Devon Graye is now someone I want to watch. An
actor with 53 films under his built this is the first one he’s written. He’s
done a magnificent job for his first time out. The characters are believable
and ones we come to care for. We wonder if perhaps Jackie is losing her mind.
Or is there something supernatural? Or is it the phroggers? Or could it be
something else entirely?
Hunt doesn’t make that many movies these days and it was a
pleasure to see her back in a role she handles with ease. It looks like she’s
making a return to acting after several years away and that’s a good thing to
happen. Tenney is an actor who’s been overlooked for too long. He too does a
great job here. And all of the young actors on hand also turn in performances
that are exceptional, something we rarely see from teens on film.
To my knowledge this film played in few if any theaters and
that’s a shame. I’ve seen bigger budgeted films with more hoopla upon their
release that didn’t compare to this one. For me I know it’s one I can not only
recommend heartily but could sit and watch more than once looking for those
tiny details I might have missed the first time around. For now I would tell any
and all that this film makes a great viewing night and suggest you rent it when
you can.
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