Customer Reviews

I Can See You (2008) / The Viewer (2009 3D Short Film)

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"I Can See You" is a fascinating low-budget horror film by Graham Reznick. The three-man staff of a boutique ad firm leave their Brooklyn home base and head to a rural campsite to toss around ideas for a new campaign for a household cleaning product. What begins as a low-pressure brainstorming session becomes a horrifying nightmare where the borders between reality and imagination, sanity and madness, are re-drawn or erased completely. Director Reznick moves things along slowly at first, with few traditional moments of terror. He backloads the horror and makes the viewer wait for it by creating a feeling of unease, laying the groundwork for the fireworks in the final reel. I was reminded of several films -- "The Hills Have Eyes," "The Evil Dead," and "Un Chien Andalou" -- though "I Can See You" has a unique quirkiness all its own. Special features include a behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted scenes, and cast and crew audio commentaries. Also included is the 3-D short (yes, those glasses are included) "The Viewer," shot entirely from the perspective of an accused killer facing interrogation. Like "I Can See You," "The Viewer" evokes genre clichés only to subvert them.

This movie has a painter who is caught somewhere between reality and an infomercial. Throughout the movie the artist becomes more and more lost in his unreality until he finally goes off the deep end. I wouldn't call this a true horror movie, I'm not sure what to call it, except an artistic, low budget, and somewhat psychedelic tour through the eyes of a man who is losing his mind.

Graham Reznick's "I Can See You" is not the resurrection of the horror genre, as critics from the Village Voice have so grandstandingly claimed; it is, however, a fun tour de force into a psychic zone that many people will indeed have to watch a movie (this one?) to experience.

The linear plot really doesn't matter too much. Three "ad men"-- the contemptible, snakey Doug (Duncan Skiles) , the..strange Richards, looking like an ad himself for a return to 70's apparel, and the robotic Kimble. Kimble is sorta like every person you've ever met in your life with no personality and, strangely enough, a girlfriend who has plenty (Neal Jonas).

The three go camping to brainstorm for new ideas to represent their moutwashing product. The whole thing is a bit incongrous: these three actors, obviously green, are art house hipsters trying to act like businessmen (not really though: it's barely concealed.) This adds, however, to the disorienting atmosphere which is at first darkly comical and then becomes sinister in a way which is difficult to articulate. If Luis Bunuel and David Lynch had collaborated on how a man's psyche can breakdown during stress, *perhaps* this would have emerged. Rebellion against the Daddy figure plays a big part in Richards' serious breakdown (the scene in the lake with hippie girl Sonia is perhaps the most effective).

The chief flaw with this noble endeavor is that it is TOO MUCH Lynch. I don't know if the gang had been smoking j's and repeatedly watching Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive repeatedly or not, but it sure seems that way sometimes. Coming with a set of three D goggles and an entertaining short "interrogation" film, this is well worth the watch if you'd enjoy the brain matter of every tweaked filmmakers smattered together with a sprinkle of acid here and there. I did.

Please use this time to do something rewarding or productive. Do not waste your precious time on this. It is a high school "art" film at best, and a cynical attempt to separate people from their hard earned money at the worst. I was too patient, and gave this movie too much time thinking that it must improve. It never did. Sad, Sad, Sad attempt at moviemaking. Don't encourage these people by renting or buying this waste.