He’s Watching – Review

He’s Watching – Review
96 Minutes, Not Rated
Written and Directed by Jacob Aaron Estes

Synopsis:

When happy-go-lucky siblings Iris and Lucas (playing fictionalized versions of themselves) are left alone while their parents recover from an illness, a series of playful pranks they play on each other escalate when they start receiving unsettling images and videos on their phones. With the incoming messages becoming increasingly nightmarish, Iris and Lucas realize something sinister has taken root in their home.

I’ve been saying for two years now that I need to see fewer “Covid” movies, because there was a glut of them, all pontificating on human behavior during the crisis, yada-yada-yada…

It was getting old, repetitive (and preachy most of the time), and not really very smartly done.

He’s Watching, on the other hand, is one of those “Covid” projects that manages to cut through the BS and get to the heart of what it’s trying to do, which was, according to the materials, “stave off his family’s boredom while trapped in their home.”

So, it’s not a “Covid movie,” but rather it’s a movie made during Covid.

Big difference.

Yes, there’s some sort of viral disease making the rounds and knocking society around, but that’s completely secondary.

As our stars Iris and Lucas Estes find themselves home alone as their parents recuperate from the unnamed virus in the hospital, they do what siblings do: they annoy the crap out of each other.

But after that, what we get is a good old-fashioned horror movie. Strange videos begin to appear on the kids’ phones. Things are moved. Sounds are heard. Weird notes from someone calling himself the “Closet Creeper.”

And above it all? They can’t contact their parents in the hospital, so they are truly alone. No neighbors, no family, no friends to be found.

Alone.

As they attempt to figure out what is actually happening, they discover an old (or not-so-old) family secret and are forced to reckon with something they can barely believe.

Now, for something that started as a family distraction, He’s Watching is pretty well put together. It’s not perfect, as it mostly plays like a found-footage type of construction, but that’s not 100% in play, so the POV becomes a bit muddled if you think about it too hard.

So don’t. Don’t think about it. Just enjoy He’s Watching for the atmosphere it creates–and creates well: the Creep factor is HIGH–and think about how you didn’t spend your lockdown months having fun making a movie at home.

I know I considered it more than once, but never got around to it.

Dammit.

He’s Watching is currently available on VOD and stars Iris Serena Estes, Lucas Steel Estes, Jacob Aaron Estes, and Gretchen Lieberum. From XYZ Films.

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