Spoilers Alert:
In Adam Randall’s ghostly kidnapping thriller I SEE YOU nothing is as it seems. That doesn’t make it easy to write about him in detail. But we’ll try it anyway, because you’ll never expect this turn of events! We reveal more about this in our review.
Greg Harper (Joe Tenney) is determined to find the kidnapper.
In a way, “I See You” is a one-trick pony: If the film surprises you the first time you see it, particularly because of one or two unexpected twists, it doesn’t look quite as exciting the second time around. The dramaturgy of the film simply works too clearly towards the aha effect at the halfway point. However, that doesn’t mean that “I See You” isn’t staged rock solid. On the one hand, Philipp Blaubach’s camera work is impressive (“Gunpowder”) through their differentiation mentioned at the beginning: sometimes bright colors and strong contrasts dominate, sometimes clever shadow plays and different shades within the darkness. The atmospheric background music (composer William Arcane makes his debut) also plays its part in ensuring that you never feel safe during the almost 100 minutes. In addition, there is a strong cast, which is by no means a given, especially for a narrowly budgeted genre film (the film cost 5 million US dollars and didn’t even gross 80,000 of it): Above all, Oscar winner Helen Hunt (1998 for “It couldn’t get any better”) enthusiastically as an adulteress who plunges her family into misfortune, who now desperately tries to win back the favor of father and son – and fails miserably. Joe Tenney (“Legion”) and Judah Lewis (“Demolition – Love and Life”) complete a committed trio of actors who delight with their wonderfully ambivalent and surprising acting.
Conclusion: Kidnapping thriller, ghost story and even more: the unpredictable genre mix “I See You” surprises with atmosphere and twists – the first time. The second time around, the atmosphere still remains, even though the script is very much aimed at the aha effect and only creates it the first time you see it.
“I See You” is available on DVD and Blu-ray as well as streaming.
