"I'll Be Watching" (2023)

by Mike Imboden

Normally here at “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict”, both Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. However, here and there they will be taking the reins in a solo outing. For this installment, it’s Mike with a solo review of I’ll Be Watching, a nail-biting home invasion thriller from Uncork’d Entertainment.

Synopsis

After Julie’s sister was murdered, she and her tech genius husband move to the country, and he installs a top-notch security system that he developed. When he leaves on a work trip, she gets trapped inside and is convinced that the killer is having fun playing a sick game of psychological torture, before killing her like her sister.

The Good

Fans of CWs “The 100” will be excited to see its leads Eliza Taylor and Brad Morley again as Julie and Marcus, the main characters and couple mentioned in the synopsis, and David Keith shows up as the sheriff, so here’s something fans of his can add to their checklist.

There’s not a lot going on around the edges or in the background, so I'll Be Watching is one of those films that doesn’t require 110% attention while looking for little details and the second act has a decent amount of tension that keeps you watching and wondering what might happen next.

The Bad

Now that I’ve managed to get some pleasantries out of the way…

The first act of this is slow and tedious and the recycled story and so-so acting do nothing to help keep you engaged. The plot is straight out of “Lifetime Movies for Dummies” - attractive housebound wife in peril, hunky husband who is probably cheating on his attractive wife, good friend of attractive wife who could probably help more than just be a voice/face on the other end of a phone call if she really wanted to, and local authorities who are skeptical of attractive wife. There are characters jammed into the script for no reason other than to provide unconvincing red herrings, and aspects of more than one character that seemed worthwhile enough that had they been explored could have provided a little more interest in the proceedings.

There’s also a smart home/security system named Hera that was invented by the husband that doesn’t do the best job at the security part of its task list.

The Verdict

With trepidation of wandering into spoiler territory I can’t help but mention two movies that came to mind while watching this that may give you an inkling of what to expect here; Tau and Margaux, both of which are far superior films to this.

However, the biggest problem with I’ll Be Watching isn’t its wish.com-caliber AI, it’s the trope-ridden story and half-hearted acting. You can almost see the regret on David Keith’s face as he tries to breathe life into his role as the sheriff who just ends up as not giving a damn what problems Julie may be experiencing.

I hate being “that guy”, but honestly - the title of this movie is not something you should find yourself saying.

I’ll Be Watching, from Uncork’d Entertainment, is available digitally today, May 2nd, 2023

I’ll Be Watching