We’ve seen enough home invasion thrillers that they’ve practically become their own sub-genre to horror flicks. And often the main character will have some kind of disability which ratchets up the tension – this character can’t hear, that one can’t speak, the other one can’t see.
Kudos to See For Me which has found a new twist that drives the narrative in such a way that you overlook the familiarity of the broader premise. Here’s the set-up: Sophie (Skyler Davenport) is a blind young woman who was once a top skier, but now is an edgy and independent person trying to make her own living with house-sitting gigs.
Courtesy: IFC Films | IFC Midnight
She gets a call to take care of a woman’s cat in a gorgeous Chalet-type home, far into the snowy countryside. After using her phone to FaceTime a sighted buddy who describes her surroundings, she gets ready to settle in for a weekend of making sure the cat gets fed. Easy money, right?
But meantime, she learns about an app for the visually impaired called, wait for it, See For Me! Essentially, you call through the app to get a sighted representative to talk you through anything from emergencies to reading a milk carton’s expiration date.
Now all we have to do is wait for the action, and that part is a bit slow to get off the ground, since we now know that the framework is in place.
Inevitably, a crew of three bad guys breaks in to crack a safe in the house and steal millions in cash. From there, Sophie must rely on her wits, her own affinity for stealing stuff (a nice touch) and, yes, the app.
Fortunately for Sophie, she is connected to a cool and calm guide called Kelly (a terrific Jessica Parker Kennedy) who becomes her eyes. Kelly is military and, from the looks of it, a helluva RPG video gamer, another character tidbit that comes into play.
By the way, Davenport is visually impaired in real-life. The director reportedly undertook an extensive search to find an actress with just the right abilities and attributes, and Davenport’s personal experience informed some character choices that hadn’t even been written into the script.
The bad guys coulda been a lot scarier, and yeah, home invasion thrillers spell out the basic plot in the genre’s name, but this is a well-made thriller with a fresh take.
See for Me is in limited theatres and Video On-Demand services|3 out of 4 Stars
