It’s Sunday and the Chicago Bears played the Baltimore Ravens today. I know this because I checked on Paramount+ to see what the 1 PM game was in my market. I am a Bears fan, unfortunately. So I was eager to check this out. I don’t have any of the streaming services that mimic cable TV but there are some fringe elements like this feature on Paramount+ that I do like to take advantage of when I can, especially during football season. Streaming has some great features to it, I can’t deny that. But there are also parts of the way I watched TV growing up that I like to go back and visit as well. This opportunity to watch a late October football game in real time is the perfect vehicle to do just that. Well, it turned out that my Monsters of the Midway were not having a good day. They lost and it was poignant enough to sting in the way that Chicago sports has done so traditionally for many years now. I say all of that because it’s my thrilling back story that led me to today’s pick. Once the game ended, I pivoted to find a flick for today. I didn’t consult the list and I’m glad I didn’t. I just made my way to the horror section of their film catalog to see what I could find. Almost front and center I was confronted with a film I’ve teetered on for years now. Today I teeter no longer.
I don’t remember when “I See You” first popped up on my radar but it’s been a few years now. I remember watching the trailer and being intrigued but not enough so that it made me immediately go find the movie and watch it. There’s a definite creepy air to the trailer which should have done what I did today but back then and just clicked and proceeded with the film. But there was something that held me back. When I saw that thumbnail again today I just went for it. I’ve been living in the moment today and been productive so I didn’t want to falter and look any further. I clicked and rolled the dice knowing I’d be fine with the outcome either way. I will say I did not anticipate that I would like the movie as much as I did for as many reasons as I did.
There’s a part of me that wants to immediately dive into this movie and start breaking it down. As I write that, I had the revelation that I’m going to make this my first pick for the podcast so I will refrain. Also, I really don’t want to give things away because even though I routinely express that I don’t anticipate anyone is reading any of this, IF someone happens to accidentally come across this review, I would much rather you watch the movie and experience it than me break down the elements that I enjoyed from it as much as I did. I think we both know, if you’re there, that this is not a cop out to avoid writing a review of it as I can churn out far too much on movies that don’t even deserve such lengthy reviews. So I’m going to have you take my word for it because I don’t want to spoil a single piece of this movie.
What I will say is that the combination of complex elements that marry together in this film are fantastically interwoven together. I know I’m still kind of reeling from just finishing the movie but I was very pleasantly taken aback by how all of it came together in the ways it did. I watch a lot of movies and a good deal of the time people are deliberate enough that many ideas and themes are cyclical enough that it’s easy to spot things coming from a well off distance. Figuring things out before they happen isn’t a fun party trick anymore. It’s annoying. I don’t want my brain to be clocking overtime while I’m watching something. I want to be invested and involved in the plot but I want to not figure things out in time. And this is a tall order. Because I also want either a way to be able to figure it out on my own that is revealed to me or to legitimately be shocked by what happens in a way that makes me forget I was even trying to figure it out in the first place. My prime example of when this doesn’t work is always Ocean’s 12. They have their big reveal at the end of how they did things. A massive part of the heist is a piece we are never privy to until the end. That feels cheap to me. It wasn’t hidden in plain sight and they did such a good job of concealing it that we simply didn’t follow along. That’s the fun way of doing it. It’s how much of the first Ocean’s film made a name for itself. By omitting a huge chunk of how they beat out the Night Fox in their little charade, I was never allowed to be wowed by their misdirect because I was never afforded the chance to know. Now if you pull the wool over my eyes and wow me with a reveal that makes me forget this, then I don’t care. But if it feels cheap and lazy, then I’m completely taken out of the relief of resolution contained within a good reveal. I don’t care how it all came together. So when the reveals come, and yes there is an “S” on the end so it is most definitely plural, they are fantastic.
See, I’m wary to even say that. I want to rant about how much I liked this movie but I don’t want that to be too much of an influence on how someone else watches this film. A recommendation is one thing. “Hey I saw this movie, I think you’d like it.” That’s a casual endorsement that has no strings attached. You watched a movie. You enjoyed it. You know me. You think I’ll enjoy it. So you said something. “Hey I tried the new hoagie place over on 9th St. Good food.” It’s not a glowing endorsement, it’s just a simple notation that may or may not influence an upcoming meal of mine. If it does and I like it, hey thanks for that note on the new hoagie place. I tried it, it was good. OR I tried it and it was ok. Maybe I don’t say anything. If it comes back up then I’ll say that I tried it and it was ok. It’s not calling into question their endorsement or my enjoyment. It’s just an exchange of factual information. End of story. However, if I come charging out the gates with real enthusiasm, as I have here, I’m potentially influencing things on a much greater level. If the movie doesn’t live up to the hype then you either get disappointed because you were excited or you then have to report back in that you didn’t like the film. Not that I’m going to hold anyone hostage for their tacit agreement with my every recommendation. But I also don’t want to make somebody else feel bad that they didn’t enjoy the movie as much as I did. It’s the Observer Effect in that by putting this movie deliberately in front of you, I’m altering the way you’re going to interact with it. Organically it cannot be the same as if you simply found it yourself and watched it of your own volition. So naturally I’m influencing the outcome, even if it’s in a small way. I wish that couldn’t be the case. I only hope that my impact in this way is minimal at best.
This marks the 6th movie this month that I’ve sincerely enjoyed and it might be at the top of my list for the month overall. I will be buying this one, and to make that impact even a little more meaningful, it’s only available internationally and the Arrow UK release I’m anticipating picking up will only be playable on my region free blu ray player. Thank goodness I picked that one up. Before the movie was halfway done I had already started looking for it’s availability and it’s unfortunately remanded to this particular format so I have to make due. But I’m very much looking forward to adding this one to the shelf. Along with my eventual advent of M3GAN 2.0 (fingers crossed for a good Black Friday price on it) it may be the only other movie that I pick up from this year’s 31 days. I don’t tend to purchase a lot of the films I watch during this. But each year I’ve done it, there have been movies that have been added to the collection because I stumbled on them due to doing this in the first place. Which is what makes it all worthwhile. I’m sifting through dozens of horror movies in the first place to find anything that even remotely jumps out. Whittling things down from that to the actual 31 movies I end up watching takes even more curation. Some of that is random like today’s episode. Of the 31, if I walk away with 3 new pick ups then that’s a 10% chance something ends up on the shelf. I’m sure there’s much more complicated math to figure out the actual chance a movie has in ending up on my shelf based on a number of factors like the total number of horror movies, the number that I’m willing to entertain, the threshold for being a movie I enjoyed being met and the availability of that movie in physical media format. I’ll bet when you get right down to it, a random horror movie’s chance of ending up on my shelf because of the 31 days of horror is pretty slim. I’m going to stand by that assumption to highlight even further what that implies about this film. Not that my tastes and preferences are paramount (see what I did there?) but if you’re here and reading this then presumably they may have some potential influence. Regardless, in my little world this movie really scratched the itch today. And I’m happy with that.
I know this movie is on the 8 scale for me. In thinking about it I feel like I have to put it high on that 8 scale. I’m thinking 8.7 is what my gut says. We didn’t hit perfection and as much as I enjoyed it, I still have a reservation of pushing it into the 9 scale. But an 8.7 is high marks for sure. We’re not talking about a film I kind of enjoyed and if you have the time, check it out. I really enjoyed this movie and I will enjoy watching it in years to come repeatedly. I’ll be eager to check out the special features and listen to the commentary when I check it out again. There were so many things this movie did well on their own. But in putting those elements together and taking the risks they did to do so and having it turn out as well as it did, it’s just impressive in so many ways. I won’t say I wouldn’t change a thing because while I have a 90’s affinity for Helen Hunt, I would not have cast her as the mom in this movie. Not that she did poorly by any means, I just would have gone with someone else just because. I don’t think Helen detracts from the film but I do think that another actress could have potentially enhanced the movie even more. So it’s no shade on her at all. That’s just my take on it. But now that I’ve gotten that out, I’m going to just stop and let this movie continue to simmer for me. Maybe I’ll check out some supplemental things people have put together on YouTube about this one and get some thoughts from other fans. Either way, it’s nice to feel back ahead of the game with this review already in the can for today. So until tomorrow, I’ll catch you on the flip side.
