Netflix And Chill: I See You (2019)

What starts off as a fairly routine, perhaps even substandard, thriller soon turns into something much more interesting by the time you get to the second half, and I am happy to highly recommend I See You to everyone who enjoys a film with some decent twists and turns.

It starts with the abduction of a young boy. This leads to Detective Greg Harper (Jon Tenney) diving into a case that feels very similar to one that everyone thought was all wrapped up. And missing teens aren't the only thing troubling Harper, as he deals with problems at home, mostly in the shape of infidelity committed by his wife, Jackie (Helen Hunt), and the anger this has stirred up in their teen son, Connor (Judah Lewis). There are also two other important characters, Alec and Mindy, but they come along later on, so I won't be focusing on them just now.

A big step up from director Adam Randall's previous movie (the disappointing iBoy), I See You works so well thanks to the script from first-timer Devon Graye. People may be a bit disappointed during the opening scenes, with the first half of the film playing out in a way that implies a supernatural element some won't want to accept, but patience is rewarded in a back end that is loaded with enjoyable revelations. Graye plots everything tightly enough, making the less believable moments easier to swallow as he starts to tighten the coiled spring you know will be loosed by the finale.

A lot of scenes feature some nicely "floating" camerawork, accompanied by a brooding score, that maintains the feeling of characters being watched by something in the house, be it an intruder or some kind of supernatural force. The conversations between various characters all feel loaded with much more than just the words being said, and that's even more apparent when viewers are given a different perspective on things.

Although Hunt is the big name at the heart of the cast, this is very much an ensemble piece. Tenney is an imposing presence throughout, and it's easy to stay on his side for a lot of the runtime, considering what he's dealing with, while Lewis is allowed to play his character as a teen with plenty of anger that is absolutely understandable. Owen Teague and Libe Barer are Alec and Mindy, respectively, and both give great performances, although it is Teague who ends up carrying a lot of the responsibility for how you ultimately react to things, his character arguably going through more changes than anyone else. Gregory Alan Williams does very well as the other detective, Spitzky, who wants to find out what the hell is going on with this new case of missing kids bringing a dark past crashing back into the present, and Sam Trammell has a small, but pivotal, role in the proceedings.

One to watch before you read too much about it, trust me when I tell you that you should end up satisfied with this one if you trust the people guiding you through the twists and turns. It has some great tension, it has some thrills, and it has an emotional core that, once revealed, feels very plausible and completely earned.

8/10

https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Nancy Drew And The Hidden Staircase (2019)

I've always been aware of Nancy Drew, but have never tried to read the source material. While a voracious reader as a child, something I carried into adulthood until time became more limited and movies became my main obsession, I tended to focus on the tales aimed at young boys, the likes of The Hardy Boys and The Three Investigators. There was a good mix in The Famous Five and The Secret Seven, but they still felt suitably boyish in their narrative. Nancy Drew, to my young and closed-off mind, was just a plucky girl who probably didn't get up to anything as exciting as her male counterparts.

Ah well. It's never too late. Maybe I should revisit my youth, this time including Nancy on my reading list. But at least I had a general idea of the character, from my limited exposure to her over the years. To put it in very simple terms, Nancy Drew is a smart young investigator. She's like a one-woman Scooby gang, without the big dog accompanying her. That's all you need to know to appreciate this enjoyable teen flick.

Things start with Nancy (Sophia Lillis) helping a friend get revenge on a bully. This gets her in trouble, which leads to her doing some community service. While doing this community service, Nancy ends up helping Flora (Linda Lavin), an elderly woman who has to endure strange occurrences in her haunted home. Flora's niece, Helen (Laura Slade Wiggins), ends up helping Nancy in her investigation, despite the disapproval of Nancy's friends, George (Zoe Renee) and Bess (Mackenzie Graham).

Based on source material that fans of Nancy will already be very much aware of, written by Mildred Wirt Benson (under the pen name of Carolyn Keene), Nancy Drew And The Hidden Staircase has a solid script from Nina Fiore and John Herrera (taking quite the sidestep from work that has been made up of genre TV shows, from The Vampire Diaries to The Purge) and fine work from director Katt Shea. You get the gist of the character from the opening scenes, you get the sense of fun mixed with the potential for very real, serious consequences, and you can see everything being slotted into place for a fun mystery that won't hold many surprises for anyone with experience of this kind of adventure, although it's probably pitched just right for younger viewers.

Lillis is great in the lead role, a perfect fit. She's absolutely believable as the smart, plucky investigator who cares about the people she is helping. Renee and Graham are also very good, friends who are willing to help, even while they disagree with the company that Nancy starts keeping, and Wiggins gets to enjoy a nicely-worked character arc. Andrew Matthew Welch is a sweet young man, Deputy Patrick, trying to help while he also tries to make sure that he upholds the law, and the adults are played by a likeable bunch, including Lavin, Sam Trammell (playing Nancy's father), Andrea Anders, and more. The villain of the piece is obvious, but also played in a way that doesn't let things descend into some kind of pantomime finale. The tone stays just right, not too scary for kids, but with some threat to the main characters that feels very real.

It may not be your first choice, especially if you're not a teenage girl (what can I say, I am happy to watch anything, and can always keep in touch with a teen version of me who is happier to watch movies aimed at any demographic), but Nancy Drew And The Hidden Staircase is a quality little film, even better than the 2007 Nancy Drew movie, which I also enjoyed. It's entertaining, it's well-paced, and it has a great character that youngsters can view with admiration, and hopefully want to emulate sometimes.

7/10

https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews