#ShariSpringerBerman

[adamwatchesmovies]

Things Heard & Seen (2021)

Things Heard & Seen is based on a novel, you can tell writer/directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini love. Several extraneous plot threads could’ve been trimmed or condensed to make this a tighter, leaner film. Enough that, at times, this almost feels like we're rushing through a television series. Though it drops the ball on the horror element, its unique interpretation of spirits makes it worth a watch if you like ghost stories and you want something different.

In 1980, Catherine Clare (Amanda Seyfried), her husband George (James Norton), and their daughter Franny (Ana Sophia Heger) move from Manhattan to a large farmhouse in Chosen, New York. This change should've been a chance to start over but something about the house seems to aggravate the already-strained relationship.

The fun part of this movie is the mystery. With Franny’s night terrors, the strange relics Catherine finds in the home, and the neighbors’ weird obsession with the world beyond, it's obvious something spooky is happening within the four walls. What kind of spirit haunts the home? A specter drawn to the negative feelings between the couple? It would explain why Catherine and George seem to like each other less with each day. Is the house affecting them in an Amityville Horror kind of way? Or maybe it’s something else. There’s a chance the spirit has nothing to do with the marital troubles. You keep watching, waiting to see if you can pinpoint what kind of story this is, squirreling away clues, keeping note of what everyone is saying about the house to figure out what’s coming next.

The picture’s biggest flaws come from the screenplay. There's too much going on here. The marriage between Catherine and George would be enough by itself. George turns from an average husband to a villain fairly quickly, but in a way that’s believable. Between the two actors, you feel all of this resentment and disappointment of a life that at a distance looks ideal but under a microscope is festering and rotten. Then there’s this flirtation going on with Catherine and Eddie (Alex Neustaedter), a farmhand with a secret about the house, several side characters, and the recurring imagery of paintings from George’s class reflecting what's happening to him and his wife. All the characters, their drama, backstories, etc. push aside the horror. Any ghostly stuff kind of feels like an afterthought except at the end of the film, where it takes over.

Things Heard & Seen needed to be scarier, or more focussed to be an easily endorsable film but I think there’s an audience for it as-is. The movie doesn’t conform to any kind of mold and that can be a plus. You're not quite sure where it's headed because of the tone and its unique take on spiritualism. I almost guarantee you there’s another film like it but better out there somewhere but while I keep looking, it might be worth checking it out. (May 12, 2021)

[netflixcenter]

🎬 Things Heard & Seen [TRAILER] Coming to Netflix April 29, 2021 FULL POST: 🔗 https://netflixcenter.com/things-heard-and-seen-trailer-netflix/?feed_id=586 Original Netflix Horror / Mystery Film... Things Heard & Seen   A Manhattan couple moves to a historic hamlet in the Hudson Valley and come to discover that their marriage has a sinister darkness, one that rivals their new home’s history. Based on the acclaimed novel by Elizabeth Brundage.   🔗 … also Coming to Netf...