‘It Watches’ Review
Stars: Ivan Djurovic, Rick Irwin, Sanny van Heteren, James Duval | Written by Dave Parker, Ivan Djurovic | Directed by Dave Parker
I just finished watching It Watches, an independent horror/thriller movie which is coming VOD shortly, and I have got to say it has been a while since a movie completely pulled the rug out from under me like this film did! Honestly, I’ve seen enough movies to think I am always one step ahead of the film I’m watching, and for the most part I am, but I have to say this one outsmarted me. Which makes me very VERY happy.
To director Dave Parker (The Hills Run Red) I tip my cap. First of all because I am getting tired of the found footage format. It feels like every horror movie these days has got to have that found footage/CCTV feel to it. However this movie actually felt fresh in its approach and didn’t over play what it was doing, the jump scares were minimal and the camcorder style only served to ratchet up the tension. So lets just get into this…
After having suffered an accident Andre (Ivan Djurovic – Zoombies) is given the chance to spend some time relaxing away from it all, all the while also helping out his good friend Robert (Rick Irwin – 30 Minutes or Less) by house-sitting a fantastic place in the Hollywood hills. Andre proceeds to make a home video on his camcorder and gives us a tour of this awesome but pretty eerie home. This portion of the movie is all setting up the tone of what we have to come and you find yourself scanning every section of the screen for something to happen (sometimes it does, sometimes not). As we approach night-fall Andre is joined by a lady friend Rachael (Sanny van Heteren – Hellraiser: Revelations) and it is from here things start to take a bit of a turn for the worse as we realize Andre and Rachael may not be the only people in the house. Add a creepy unknown element in Guy (James Duval – Donnie Darko) and we have all the makings of something special. In a completely unexpected, surprising and “a you will not see it coming” way…
I know I say this a lot but on this occassion I really can’t say much more about the plot of this film, because to say anymore would put this review in MAJOR spoiler territory. What I will say though is that director Dave Parker and actor/writer Ivan Djurovic have really come up with something special with It Watches and I’m so glad I gave it my time. Ivan absolutely shines here in what is a tour-de-force performance, he makes what are – at first – strange choices in his acting but when you get to the end of the film you can see exactly what the character is about. The script is clever as hell and while I honestly thought they were telling me everything I needed to know from the get go, they still managed to make me feel like a bit of an idiot come the conclusion. Add to all of this James Duval turns up, so my Donnie Darko geek-boner was severely super charged by this point!
Movies like this are exactly why I love watching independent films, what these guys out there are doing with limited budget and unimaginable passion for there craft is amazing which is why we should all give them the time they deserve. Give It Watches a go and let me know what you thought in the comments below
It Watches premieres on digital on December 6th from Uncork’d Entertainment; arriving on DVD on February 21st 2017.
