There’s something about psychological thrillers that really gets me in the mood for Halloween. Movies like “Prisoners” and “Se7en” are some of my favorites of all time, but there’s one film released within the last few years that’s still haunting my psyche — and it’s all for the most terrifying reasons.
“I See You” came out back in 2019 and it’s billed more like a horror-crime flick. It stars Jon Tenney as police detective Greg Harper and Helen Hunt plays his wife, Jackie Harper, whose more recent affair has crippled the internal family dynamic.
But something far more sinister is lurking in the shadows of the plot. Something gripping the town in even more serious and malignant circumstances and the premise of “I See You” really draws this out in cunning detail. It’s made all the better on your second and third watch because you know — hence the thriller aspect — that a big twist is coming but it’s one that really hits you in the gut.
I’ll try to do my best to draw out what makes this film so alluring without any major spoilers, but if you haven’t watched yet it’s certainly time enough for the nearly one-hour 40-minute runtime on this terror — and lucky for you it’s playing free right now on Prime Video and Pluto TV.
A broken family
"I See You’” opens on a sweeping shot of the town showing young kids and teens as they gather for ice cream in the square. A young boy rides off on his bike only to get yoinked off his bike in the middle of the forest and the scene then cuts to the dead of night in the Harper home and just the smallest glimpse of a door opening is the prelude to this incredible thrill ride.
And, boom, title card: “I See You”
It’s a compelling opening four minutes and really drags you into the film, kicking, screaming, and all. You know you’re in for something creepy, something that’s going to get right under your skin and all the while you’re wondering, “What’s this title really mean?”
We’re first introduced to Hunt’s Jackie Harper, who is enticing her son, Connor (Judah Lewis), with a pancake breakfast as he’s not quite on good terms with her. Jackie’s recent affair has caused a major ripple in the household and you can feel that not just in how Connor treats his mother but also in how his father Greg later rises from the couch, where he slept the previous night.
Greg’s eventually called in to investigate what happened to the missing boy. It might be a town copycat following the discovery of a green Swiss army knife at the scene — the calling card of a similar serial killer. It's this thread that generates much of the background plot as the story mostly unfolds around and within the Harper home.
Like when Jackie's secret lover shows up unannounced and gets hit with a flower pot from the roof, which Jackie suspects is her son. Later, when Jackie leaves her lover in the basement to get the car ready, we as the audience watch as someone hits him over the head with a shovel.
The movie doesn't show you who does it or even why, it just switches vantages — and that's what makes "I See You" so compelling. It's primed for re-watches and those second run-throughs are all the better once you know the big twist.
The second storyline
In the backdrop of all this is another story, one tied more closely to the Harper’s home. It’s not literally their home life that’s being ravaged from the inside out emotionally, but even physically by way of a pair of unwanted house guests. The term crops up later in the film, when Conor stumbles upon the word being searched on his computer: “phrogging.”
According to Dictionary.com, phrogging pertains to “the act of secretly living in another person's home without their knowledge or permission,” a twisted yet very real occurrence that Alec Travers (Owen Teague) and Mindy (Libe Barer) commit inside the Harper’s. You’ll see evidence of this scattered about the home: the sunflower mug found on the roof, the empty picture frame, the random daughter who answered for the window repair man.
From their perspective, you get to see it all. It’s where Travers gets his creepy mask name from and — at least initially — the film garners its title. Not even halfway through the film, it switches to a completely different vantage point, a found-footage-esque recording of Mindy and Alec casually watching from the shadows of the home as the Harpers go about their business unknowing of the prying eyes watching over them. It’s unsettling.
"Phrogging is the act of secretly living in another person's home without their knowledge or permission. A person who engages in phrogging is sometimes called a phrog or, less commonly, a phrogger. The verb form phrog is sometimes used. Phrogging is similar to squatting except that phrogging involves living in an occupied property."
Dictionary.comThese small moments aren’t meant to be entirely secretive or unnoticeable to the audience, though. I’m willing to bet director Adam Randall aimed for those scenes to be front and center as they’re meant to draw your attention away from the bigger picture. A picture revolving around a missing boy, a scenario that has a history tied to the town — history that extends quite closely to the Harper home.
I’m not getting into spoiler territory here, so you’ll just have to watch for yourself and take my word for it. The culmination of “I See You” is one that really sucker punches you. It’s a twist that was put right in front of you the whole time and the circumstances around it, from the family dynamic to the phroggers, really paints such expert coating around the big reveal. M Night should really take some notes.
“I See You” is one of the most terrifying thrillers I’ve seen and its twist ending will stick with you for years to come. It not only makes you always wonder who might be lurking in the shadows around you but who really are the people you know and love around you. Now I must be off to recheck my closets and make sure there are no unwanted guests in my home…
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