THE VOYEURS

 

Ever feel like you're being watched? I'm pretty sure everyone once in their life has had a moment, even just for a split second, that they feel as if there's someone watching. When it comes to voyeurism though, the idea of gaining satisfaction from watching others engage in intimate behaviours, I'm sure there's far less people who feel as if they're being watched. Amazon Studios' latest erotic thriller, The Voyeurs, brings about a Hitchcokian vibe to a younger audience but is there any substance to it?

Pippa (Sydney Sweeney) and Thomas (Justice Smith) move into their dream apartment, they notice that their windows look directly into the apartment opposite, this will set in motion a chain of events that will lead to disaster.

The Voyeurs is trashy for sure however it never shies away from that fact, owning it right from an opening shot of Sydney Sweeney's Pippa feeling as if she's being watched in a changing room and closing the curtain right through to the end credits rolling after what happens to be one of the most absurd endings of the year. The camera lingers many-a-time on this young and attractive cast, living up to the erotic thriller genre tropes, but it's not exactly the most thrilling film you'll ever see unfortunately. 

The film does go to some incredibly dark and unbelievable places however, the screenplay is given enough life to ensure that you are kept entertained enough, particularly by the fallout from a particular point in the film that you'll know when you see it. In that sense it very much feels like a film of two halves.

Sydney Sweeney and Justice Smith revel in their roles of the obsessive Pippa and Thomas, albeit their levels of obsession varying from one another which inevitably drives a wedge between them in their relationship. Ben Hardy does enough to convince me here that he actually welcomes people to look through his windows in real life so I guess there's something there in his performance and he's certainly come a long way since his days in Albert Square on Eastenders.

The Voyeurs will find an audience and will serve as an entertaining Friday night on the sofa for couples around the world, it just lost a bit of credibility for me with a final act that goes over-the-top to become rather laughable instead of thrilling. It made me want to instantly shut my curtains and it really made me want to finally sit down and watch Rear Window for the first time.

Verdict: ★★½