Watch Me - Scopofile Productions (2006) |
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Posted 8 Dec 2006 Reviewer: Matt Compton This film’s title is not actually a none-too-subtle self-recommending marketing ploy ordering easily persuaded people to see it. No, no, no, as devilishly cunning as that scheme may be this is surprisingly not the case. Instead, Watch Me is a reference to an email attachment that the characters in this film are sent. The weird thing is that these emails are always sent by people who have recently died mysterious violent deaths. Deaths which all bear the same hallmarks of the victim’s eyes being sewn shut and clumps of red hair being found at the murder scene. It is quickly established that anybody who watches the attachment is visited by a murderous redheaded ghost who only walks backwards and has a penchant for needlework. As you can’t have failed to notice by now (and if you did, are you sure you’re in the right place?) this bears more than a passing resemblance to the plot of the films in The Ring series. In fact it is more than a resemblance, Watch Me is more like a cover version of those films. In addition to this the directorial style used for the big scare scenes are very reminiscent of Takashi Shimizu’s style as evidenced in the Grudge films (a frightened victim reaching their hand up only to encounter the ghost’s feet for example). The jerky dropped frame effect used for the ghost’s movements will also be very familiar to anyone who has seen anything involving lank haired girls crawling out of things they shouldn’t. To her credit, director Melanie Ansley fully acknowledges the influence that Asian horror has had on her debut feature film as well as citing her less obvious inspirations such as Dario Argento. It is just a pity that this story feels so derivative because Ansley is clearly a talented director who in Watch Me has produced a highly polished piece of work which despite its lack of originality is every bit as tense, creepy and involving as any of the recent Hollywood remakes of Asian horror films. All of this with only a fraction of the budget is pretty impressive. The script, penned by both Ansley herself and Sam Voutas who also produced and starred, is a highpoint. It is impressively structured and paced with the plot unfolding in a natural and logical way which never feels false or contrived. The characters in this film actually act in a way you would expect real people in this situation to act – a rarity in the horror genre to be sure. There are a couple of slight slip-ups, the back-story about Tess’ car accident never quite gels with the main plot for example but this is a marginal flaw in an otherwise solid script. The performances are also impressive with the two leads (Voutas and Frances Marrington) sharing an excellent chemistry as their characters relationship shifts between some quite strong extremes from wary caution to outright murderous hostility to begrudging trust. Marrington stands out particularly in her role as Tess, the film studies student who must unravel the story behind the cursed email. She is required to show a pretty large range of emotions throughout the film all of which she does completely convincingly. The effects work should also be mentioned as they do exactly what good effects should do – aid the story without drawing attention to themselves. Much use is made of some simple camera tricks and editing techniques to denote the supernatural nature of our flame haired antagonist while the occasional well placed shot of her handiwork showcases some effective make-up work and satisfies the gore requirement whilst wisely not relying on it. Watch Me is a well written, well directed, well acted film which makes it all the more of a shame that its concept and plot are just far too familiar. In fairness the story does take some interesting and unexpected detours occasionally, Voutas’ character for example is a fascinating creation who can never quite be figured out. The main thrust of the story however has just been seen too many times before to garner the interest necessary to really mark this film out. It will be very interesting to see what Ansley produces next however as with a dash more originality she has the talent to come up with something truly memorable. Rating: 7/10 |
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