They’re Watching — Review

They’re Watching (2016)

Cast:Mia Marcon / Kris Lemche / David Alpay

Directors: Jay Lender / Micah Wright

Official Genre & Subgenre: Horror / Comedy / Thriller

My take: Horror / Found Footage / Comedy(adjacent)

Synopsis: The renovation of an old house in a village somewhere in Eastern Europe will bring the crew of an American home improvement TV show up against superstitions, misunderstandings, and bloody violence

Review:

I was recommended this movie by a friend who overall agreed with the Comedy/ horror genre but warned me that the comedy didn’t kick in until late in the film. It was a bit slow, they said, but the payoff was worth it.

Truthfully, I don’t watch enough Comedy Horror. I think the subgenre has boundless possibilities and really is a necessary space in today’s world where folks want to still exist in horror spaces but maybe need the curtain pulled back just a little bit. We need just a little bit more comedic relief, right?

So because of that, I am usually pretty excited to be sent in the direction of one. On the heels of movies like Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Cabin in the Woods, and Army of Darkness, I assume I am in for a treat.

Then, I started watching the movie. For a found footage movie (which I am also a fan of — even the ones with the really shaky camera), it’s done very well. We are given a frame of a house renovation reality tv show, and I think they pull off that frame very well. They give us a reason for the cameras to be present and still, which is simply a bonus. The characters are a little bit overacted, but I try not to hold that against them because the pacing of the movie is fairly well done.

(This is all saying nothing of the detour conversion about the war, which I find distasteful at best)

It’s a bit of a slow burn, but you know fairly quickly into the movie what the threat is and who it’s geared towards. I start to think that maybe the genres were wrong — maybe it’s not a comedy after all.

Maybe there is some sort of confusion.

I enjoyed the movie, for the most part, right up until the part that I think did earn it the comedy genre tag.

And then it becomes a pile of silly twists, parodies of other horror movies without context or nuance, and nonsense. Really, that about sums up how I felt about this movie as the credits were rolling.

The payoff at the end didn’t work for me, and instead of making it worth the build-up, it honestly just ruined the whole thing for me.

Conclusion: I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from trying it, but it didn’t do much for me personally.

Rating: 5/10