Monday, March 12, 2018

Trust Roulette: THEY LOOK LIKE PEOPLE (2015) – The Netflix Connection #3


March 11-12


And… we’re back.
So another month (in spirit, if not actual calendar days) has passed and it’s time for me to do another movie off Netflix with horror movie bloggers Mermaid Heather and Zombie Dawn. The previous two films were THE SILENCED and THE BLACK ROOM. This time Dawn chose our film and we watched THEY LOOK LIKE PEOPLE, a simple and direct enough title that I seemed hell-bent on saying wrong all the time. I kept calling it (the godawful stupid title of) THEY LOOK LIKE EVERYBODY. Why can’t I find this movie? Gee, uh, wrong title, jerk! Duh!
But I briefly digress…*

Anyway, for those latecomers to this monthly Netflix Connection “Movie Club” (of which there are only three members), Mermaid Heather, Zombie Dawn and myself pick a horror film off of Netflix and watch it, post a review of said fear flick, and also have a SPOILER-HEAVY chat about it. The chats themselves are separate posts from the actual reviews.
And now, ladies and gentlemen (if you ARE ladies and gentlemen…), let us take a paranoid descent into the film that is…

THEY LOOK LIKE PEOPLE (2015, written and directed by Perry Blackshear, with MacLeod Andrews, Evan Dumouchel and Margaret Ying Drake)

A young man named Wyatt unexpectedly discovers to his horror that something is taking over us, slowly, mysteriously, but inexorably. Like INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, some people are no longer what they appear to be. This fact is confirmed when he receives calls from a somewhat omniscient source informing him that people are indeed turning into evil creatures and that Wyatt needs to prepare for the impending war against them. As he readies himself for this apocalypse, he goes to visit a close friend from years ago named Christian for assistance, maybe....
Christian is a young man who is focused on being an impact person, on “dominating” in life, especially at work. Wisely or not, he’s also been focused for some time on getting a date with his boss, Mara. On the day he’s finally going out with her, Wyatt comes into his life again.
These are the two disparate storylines that the film starts with, and it’s fascinating and compelling to see how the story progresses as the dynamics of each premise is complicated by the unrelated but still intrusive issues of the other premise.

I liked this deceptively simple film a lot, with a large part of its appeal being its simplicity. It’s all about the story and the characters plus constantly thinking and anticipating the ramifications of the situations we’re presented. Although the film has some neat CGI to pull off some effects, those moments are really minor (including the scope of the effects). The main attraction is the basic idea of Wyatt’s paranoia as it simmers slowly to a boil with his preparation for a terrible war against opponents he may not be able to discern, but also, is his paranoia mental illness or well-founded?
The relationship between Wyatt (MacLeod Andrews) and Christian (Evan Dumouchel) is fascinating to watch as each friend juggles his own personal agenda but also the contrasting needs of the friend. Also, the addition of Mara (Margaret Ying Drake) into the mix as an “outsider” to this friendship was a great new element to the story with regard to both of the friends, especially the uncertainty of her, for lack of a better word, because she was new. The questions of trust and friendship for Christian that come when you are starting a more intimate relationship with someone, especially your boss, were an interesting parallel to Wyatt’s efforts to secretly prepare for his fight against the invading creatures, but also Wyatt’s second-guessing if what he’s fearing is real or all in his head. That was the main attraction to me of the film, the human component.
All three actors offer solid and engaging performances.
Writer/director Perry Blackshear also did the cinematography, editing and sound design. There’s an informative interview with Blackshear about the film and I enjoyed and appreciated learning more about his background with the actors, how the story came to be and what amount of research he did regarding mental health issues. Blackshear is to be commended for fashioning a smart, thoughtful and effective thriller and also doing a lot of the creative work for the film.
The writing is a great steady accumulation of details: Wyatt’s uncertain, but sincere and lonely efforts to prepare for the horrors and uncertainties of war – hiding a knife in the house, learning what sulfuric acid does to meat; Wyatt and Christian rediscovering their past friendship after years apart – Blobby Wars!; Christians’ transparent but equally sincere efforts to be a strong and “dominating" person, while also being a good friend; an awful moment when Christian learns what other people have been thinking about him all along, which seems a perfect counterpart to Wyatt’s paranoia; finally, the tension of the last scene and the risky decisions both friends make and you wonder: what would I do in that situation?

The limited CGI is probably due to economics, but it’s also an example of less is more. The first times we see something strange is going on, it’s like we peeked in on a secret and now our world has changed because we’ve seen it. That was great.
As a film recommendation, I would say it depends on what you’re in the mood for. If you’re looking for straight up horror and to be scared, THEY LOOK LIKE PEOPLE may be too subtle for you. If you’re used to independent dramas, this film’s creepiness and implications might really get under your skin and be a great, thoughtful thriller. There are moments of effective suspense and I think the film does a great job of making you empathize with all three character’s situations. I found myself considering what I would do in their shoes at various times in the movie. The ending of the film also resonates one way or the other, I think, depending on what kind of genre film you’re looking for. Depending on what kind of film you were expecting, the ending succeeds in varying degrees. Again, depending on whether you’re looking for straight up horror or something more thoughtful, I think your level of satisfaction will be affected. Paradoxically, I liked the ending, but I didn’t find it immediately satisfying emotionally, but I liked the philosophical choice.
Overall I really liked the film, and I plan to re-watch it again, soon.
Having said that, I will say you have to allow for a couple flaws:
First, an unanswered question: how much can you believe what Wyatt said about the resolution he had with a visit to Mara?
Second, a bit of a convenient plot omission: At one point, I think examining Wyatt’s phone for incoming calls may have drastically affected the outcome of this film, one way or another.

On a side note, this film draws some similarities to THE BABADOOK, another excellent film that is perhaps more in the realm of horror in its particular telling, but reminiscent due to how it juggles themes of horrific reality vs. mental instability and how it keeps the audience off-balance as it debates which is which.

Meanwhile, check out what Mermaid Heather and Zombie Dawn thought of the film.
And yeah, I’m looking forward to my chat with Heather and Dawn, hahaha!

* #OccupationalHazardsOfMovieReviewing #OccupationalHazardsOfBeingAStupidHead

1 comment:

  1. I love your review! It’s really interesting to see how we thought or felt the same things at certain parts! I’ll save my points for our talk later, though!

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