I Can See You (2008)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Fresh and Exciting

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I really wanted to like this film, mainly because I think Larry Fessenden has an eye for talent, but unfortunately this one just really does not cut it. The story itself is all right, except for the execution. We have three young guys who obviously work for some sort of ad agency, or perhaps an independent group themselves. Their latest project has produced nothing but artistic block, so they try and get back to nature, back to clarity, as one of the boys puts it. They go on what's essentially a camping trip out in the woods, where they're soon joined by a group of friends (of friends), and after some possible love-life developments, some paranoid and dark feelings start to come out. One of the guys seems to be a tortured artist, lingering on a portrait of his father he is doing, which is troubling him- because he cannot "see the face". I felt as if this was a real let down. I was starting to think there was something real deep about the father's painting he was doing, and it just devolved into a lot of attempted psychedelics, resulting in a bit of a shoddy mess near the end.This could have possibly become a taut psychological thriller-turned-horror in the final moments, but instead it played out like an awful attempt at a psychological horror film better than it could ever be. I'll give this a 4 out of 10 stars, solely because I did think the premise was original and somewhat interesting, had it played out better, and I also did enjoy a few of the visuals near the end; though they amounted to nothing important by the time the credits stopped rolling. I wouldn't say this is one to search out- I did, and it wasn't worth the time. Honestly, I really enjoyed the cover art, and it led me to seek out a viewing. It isn't the first time I've been lead down the garden path by an interesting cover, or piece of promotional artwork, only to find a sub-par movie. I just keep hoping I'll hit an undiscovered gem. This one is just an odd-shaped rock in the dirt.

The reason I rated this a 10 instead of a great 8 or 9, is because there is nothing I can compare it to. I have seen hundreds of movies called "horrors" over my 25 years and not once have I felt afraid.Most of these "horrors" are slasher flicks, gore or torture porn, or something with a lot of shadows in which someone falls onto a pianos keys every time something appears to startle me, the viewer. Being surprised is not the same as being scared.This movie does just what I need to feel afraid. Makes me feel like I'm seeing and hearing what I could imagine might be going on inside of an insane man's brain before he kills, or before he goes over the edge.I see many reviews of this are very low, but I must ask you to show me links or name some DVDs of movies I could watch that do this better. I agree the plot doesn't make sense and there seems to be no real reason for some of the characters losing their minds.However, once again I have nothing to compare this to. If there were even one thing that scared me or even tried to on a psychological level, I'd give this a 8, 7, or 6. I have never seen another movie that makes me feel I am seeing insanity and truly being afraid of the human mind.This leads me to being more lenient and feeling and hoping that this is a start towards something greater, hopefully many more of these types of movies. Although probably not, unfortunately.The only thing I have experienced that can compare is a video game. The first Silent Hill. Most of this was probably because of the low budget of that game as none of the sequels have been scary again.As far as the long start and scenes that some are saying were of nothing, I think this was planned as well, because for me that was a thinking period of what the heck is going on?You could call this cheap, yes, but what other ways can you make the viewer think for a few minutes instead of just showing exactly what is happening, leaving no mystery and no room for WHAT JUST HAPPENED?To those of you stating you have seen better horror movies than this, please I would like you to refer me to some DVD's because I love to feel this level of fear and am definitely tired of "horror" being girls screaming as they get cut apart by some disfigured or masked man. That is not scary, especially not the 50th time ha ha.Anyways, I don't write many things so I'm sorry if this review has strange structure or anything. I tried to at least paragraph out everything.

The first hour was an incredibly slow, boring movie with annoying characters. The last twenty minutes was an incredibly nonsensical movie with annoying characters. All of a sudden it became a mixture of a bad Eraserhead ripoff and one of those art student film clichés. Maybe I'm totally wrong and the movie just flew right over my head. But I seriously believe that there's nothing to "get." Plus the acting and cinematography were awful. The guy who shot this needed to adjust his iris. Every single shot of nature was totally washed out. They looked like they were using a Handycam from Walmart. It completely defeated the purpose of those shots.

I came beware of this low budget flick due my subscription to Fangoria and some horror webpages. So I tried to track down a copy, sadly it wasn't available here in Europa and even worser, they weren't able to send it out of the US by law. But of course after all those years I build up some reputation as a geek so I contacted Graham Reznick, the director. Thanks to him I got me a copy even signed by him. All of that isn't no reason to admire a movie, I still watch it without prejudice. Having watched it I can understand that this flick will have his pro's and contra's. It isn't your average slasher or torture porn. It's a movie that get's you but it take a while to get you. As seen in reviews they are talking about the slowness and not getting into the characters. Sorry, it is indeed slow but it has a reason. First of all, it never gives you the feeling that it is a low budget flick as stated. Being in the business myself, the editing is okay and the score works too. Indeed, you will have shots that are for some people boring or not understandable, for example, the shots on street with New York in the background is all filmed with an arty mind. But it isn't arty farty! And indeed, it takes almost an hour before things start happening but that hour before I never yawned. In fact, everything has a reason, when he doesn't wear his glasses everything is filmed out of focus. Some will be offended others will love it. There isn't almost no blood in it but still it is a kind of horror. And it surely has a lot of Lynch influences. Watch the last 15 minutes, you will know what I mean. Still I'm glad that I have it in my collection, a flick not for everybody but for the open minded geeks out there.