The Voyeurs

Last updated
The Voyeurs
The Voyeurs poster.jpeg
Official release poster
Directed by Michael Mohan
Written byMichael Mohan
Produced by
  • Greg Gilreath
  • Adam Hendricks
Starring
CinematographyElisha Christian
Edited byChristian Masini
Music byWill Bates
Production
company
Distributed by Amazon Studios
Release date
  • September 10, 2021 (2021-09-10)
Running time
116 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Voyeurs is a 2021 American erotic thriller film written and directed by Michael Mohan. Shot and set in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, it stars Sydney Sweeney and Justice Smith as a young couple who spy on and become obsessed by the lives of their neighbors across the street (Ben Hardy and Natasha Liu Bordizzo). Greg Gilreath and Adam Hendricks serve as producers under their Divide/Conquer banner.

Contents

It was released on September 10, 2021, by Amazon Studios, on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film's streaming performance exceeded Amazon Studios' expectations. [1]

Plot

A young couple, Pippa and Thomas, move into their first apartment together in Montreal. They soon realize that their windows look directly into the apartment across the street, where a man with a professional studio is taking photographs of a woman. Pippa and Thomas watch as the couple have sex. They jokingly give their neighbors pseudo names, Margot and Brent.

Pippa, who works as a trainee optometrist at L'Optique, receives a bird feeder from her boss as a housewarming gift. Pippa buys a pair of binoculars so she and Thomas can watch the couple. They often see "Brent" having sex with several models while "Margot" is out.

Pippa expresses interest in knowing what the neighbors are saying, eventually learning that Thomas knows a way to listen in on another room using a laser pointer; the process requires a reflective surface to send the laser beam back to them. When "Brent" and "Margot" throw a Halloween costume party in their apartment, Pippa and Thomas sneak in by posing as guests. Pippa plants a mirror in the apartment, later allowing her and Thomas to listen in on their conversations. They are unsettled to hear "Margot" confront "Brent" about his adultery; "Brent" assaults "Margot" and rebukes her suspicions.

The next day, "Margot", whose real name is Julia, visits L'Optique where she receives an eye exam from Pippa and orders a new set of glasses recommended by her. Julia invites Pippa to hang out. Pippa wants to warn Julia about "Brent's" adultery, but Thomas insists that she stop spying on the neighbors. Later, Pippa and Julia meet at a spa; Julia reveals that her husband is named Sebastian, or Seb, and is a well-known photographer.

Pippa observes Seb having a threesome and throwing a condom away afterwards. She later discovers how to access Julia and Seb's wireless printer, which she uses to anonymously expose Seb's infidelities to Julia, mentioning the condom as proof. Thomas angrily confronts Pippa about being so invested in Julia's and Seb's lives. The next morning, Pippa apologizes to Thomas and promises to stop watching the neighbors. However, they see Seb discover Julia's body in the bathroom, after she seemingly slit her own throat. Thomas blames Pippa for Julia's death, breaks up with her, and leaves.

Although heartbroken, Pippa continues to watch Seb and one evening decides to follow him to a nearby pub. Seb sits by Pippa and they talk. He asks her to let him photograph her at his apartment, which she accepts. Seb convinces Pippa to pose nude for him, and they eventually have sex. Upon returning home, Thomas consumes part of a drink Pippa left in the refrigerator and pours the rest into her bird feeder. He notices Pippa having sex with Seb across the street. The next morning, a horrified Pippa finds Thomas dead in their apartment, having apparently hanged himself.

Pippa and her friend Ari attend Seb's exhibition, which turns out to be a collaboration with Julia, who is alive. Pippa and Thomas are revealed to be the subjects of the exhibition. Seb and Julia divulge that they own the apartment rented by Pippa and Thomas (whose lease included a clause stating that they consented to be photographed), and they knew they were being watched. Distressed, Pippa storms off. She decides to move out of the apartment, and notices dead birds on a grate just below her bird feeder.

Following an interview promoting their exhibition, Seb and Julia return home to find a congratulatory bottle of wine by their door. As they drink the wine, Pippa sends a message to their printer saying she knows they killed Thomas. After leading Seb and Julia into L'Optique, Pippa deduces that while she was having sex with Seb, Julia drugged Thomas's drink and staged his suicide. Pippa also reveals that she spiked their wine, causing Julia and Seb to faint. Pippa places the two under a LASIK machine, using it to burn their corneas.

A new couple, two men, have moved into Pippa and Thomas's former apartment. They observe Seb and Julia in their apartment, both of whom are now blind. Pippa watches Seb and Julia from the rooftop, before leaving her binoculars behind.

Cast

Production

In September 2019, it was announced Michael Mohan would direct the film from a screenplay he wrote, with Greg Gilreath and Adam Hendricks serving as producers under their Divide/Conquer banner, and Amazon Studios distributing. [2] In November 2019, Sydney Sweeney, Justice Smith, Natasha Liu Bordizzo and Ben Hardy joined the cast of the film. [3]

Principal photography began on October 29, and concluded in early December in Montreal, Canada. [4]

Release

The Voyeurs was released on September 10, 2021, on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service. [5] This film's streaming performance had exceeded Amazon Studios' expectations. [6]

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews from critics, who compared it unfavorably to its forebears in the voyeuristic thriller genre, such as Rear Window (1954) and Body Double (1984). On Rotten Tomatoes, The Voyeurs holds a 45% approval rating based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. [7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [8]

In a negative review for the Chicago Sun-Times , Richard Roeper described The Voyeurs as a "salacious and wildly implausible story that holds our interest for a while before flying off the cliff and into an abyss of creepy, ludicrous and ultimately ridiculous twists and turns". [9] Nick Schager of Variety was also critical of the film, which he found "plays like rehashed leftovers cooked up for young viewers who've never seen any of its superior inspirations", such as Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954). [10] In the San Francisco Chronicle , G. Allen Johnson felt Michael Mohan's script was "pedestrian" and unfavorably compared his direction to that of David Lynch and Brian De Palma. "One suspects they would have a bit more fun and taken us further down the moral rabbit hole," Johnson explained, "And the sex would have been better too." [11]

On the other hand, Charles Bramesco was more appreciative of The Voyeurs. In a four-out-of-five star review for The Guardian , he found the film to be "the real deal, an ideal cocktail of funny, diabolical and perverted," and a timely update of Rear Window. "At last, a homage that dares to ask," Bramesco quipped, "what if Grace Kelly had been able to give the wheelchair-bound Jimmy Stewart a hand job the first time they both looked in on his neighbors across the way?" [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>Rear Window</i> 1954 American mystery thriller film by Alfred Hitchcock

Rear Window is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story It Had to Be Murder. Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film stars James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, and Raymond Burr. It was screened at the 1954 Venice Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Sweeney</span> American actress

Julia Anne Sweeney is an American actress and comedian. She gained fame as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1994. She played Mrs. Keeper in the film Stuart Little and voiced Brittany in Father of the Pride. She recently appeared in the Hulu series Shrill, the Showtime series Work in Progress, and the Starz series American Gods.

<i>Its Pat</i> 1994 American film

It's Pat is a 1994 American slapstick comedy film directed by Adam Bernstein and starring Julia Sweeney, Dave Foley, Charles Rocket, and Kathy Griffin. The film was based on the Saturday Night Live (SNL) character Pat, created by Sweeney, an androgynous misfit whose gender is never revealed. Dave Foley plays Pat's partner Chris, and Charles Rocket, another SNL alumnus, plays Pat's neighbor Kyle.

<i>Body Double</i> 1984 American film

Body Double is a 1984 American neo-noir erotic thriller film directed, co-written, and produced by Brian De Palma. It stars Craig Wasson, Gregg Henry, Melanie Griffith and Deborah Shelton. The film is a direct homage to the 1950s films of Alfred Hitchcock, specifically Rear Window, Vertigo and Dial M for Murder, taking plot lines and themes from the first two.

<i>Single White Female</i> 1992 film directed by Barbet Schroeder

Single White Female is a 1992 American psychological erotic thriller film based on John Lutz's 1990 novel SWF Seeks Same. It stars Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh and was directed by Barbet Schroeder. It follows recently estranged Allison Jones (Fonda), who begins to rent an apartment room to Hedra Carlson (Leigh). After she reconciles with her ex-boyfriend, she begins to find strange patterns of behavior in her tenant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erotic horror</span> Erotic subgenre, horror subgenre

Erotic horror, alternately called horror erotica or dark erotica, is a term applied to works of fiction in which sensual or sexual imagery are blended with horrific overtones or story elements for the sake of sexual titillation. Horror fiction of this type is most common in literature and film. Erotic horror films are a cornerstone of Spanish and French horror.

<i>Jade</i> (film) 1995 American erotic thriller film by William Friedkin

Jade is a 1995 American erotic thriller film written by Joe Eszterhas, produced by Robert Evans, directed by William Friedkin, and starring David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino, Chazz Palminteri, Richard Crenna, and Michael Biehn. The original music score was composed by James Horner based on a song composed by Loreena McKennitt. The film was marketed with the tagline "Some fantasies go too far."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erotic thriller</span> Film and literary sub-genre

The erotic thriller or sexual thriller is a film subgenre defined as a thriller with a thematic basis in illicit romance or sexual fantasy. Though exact definitions of the erotic thriller can vary, it is generally agreed "bodily danger and pleasure must remain in close proximity and equally important to the plot." Most erotic thrillers contain scenes of softcore sex and nudity, though the frequency and explicitness of those scenes can differ from film to film.

<i>Sliver</i> (film) 1993 film by Phillip Noyce

Sliver is a 1993 American erotic thriller film starring Sharon Stone, William Baldwin, and Tom Berenger. It is based on the Ira Levin novel of the same name about the mysterious occurrences in a privately owned New York high-rise sliver building. Phillip Noyce directed the film, from a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas. Because of a major battle with the MPAA, the filmmakers were forced to make extensive reshoots before release. These reshoots actually necessitated changing the killer's identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex in film</span> Sex in mainstream film

Sex in film, the presentation of aspects of sexuality in film, specially human sexuality, has been controversial since the development of the medium. Films which display or suggest sexual behavior have been criticized by religious groups or have been banned or censored by governments, although attitudes have changed much along the years and a more permissive social environment has developed in certain parts of the world, notably in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. In countries with a film rating system, films which contain explicit sex scenes typically receive a restricted classification. Nudity in film may be regarded as sexual or as non-sexual.

<i>Addicted</i> (2014 film) 2014 American film

Addicted is a 2014 American erotic thriller drama film directed by Bille Woodruff from a screenplay by Christina Welsh and Ernie Barbarash, based on Zane's novel of the same name. It stars Sharon Leal, Boris Kodjoe, Tasha Smith, Tyson Beckford, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and William Levy. The film was released in the United States on October 10, 2014, by Lionsgate. It received generally negative reviews from critics.

Natasha Liu Bordizzo is an Australian actress. She made her debut portraying the character of Snow Vase in Netflix's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny. In 2019, she portrayed the character of Helena in Netflix's The Society. In 2022, she portrayed the character of Heather in Netflix's Day Shift. In 2023, she portrayed the Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren in the Disney+ series Ahsoka.

Shosha Pearl is the pseudonym of an anonymous Orthodox Jewish writer, known for her erotic fiction that is set in the Orthodox community and adheres to Orthodox halacha. She has self-published two books, the anthology I Will Watch You (2015) and a novella entitled Her Neighbor's Pleasure (2016), in addition to several short stories. She has also been published by the websites Hevria and Jewrotica.

<i>Searching</i> (film) 2018 film by Aneesh Chaganty

Searching is a 2018 American screenlife mystery thriller film directed by Aneesh Chaganty in his feature debut, written by Chaganty and Sev Ohanian and produced by Timur Bekmambetov. Set entirely on computer screens and smartphones, the film follows a father trying to find his missing 16-year-old daughter with the help of a police detective. This was the first mainstream Hollywood thriller headlined by an Asian-American actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Sweeney</span> American actress (born 1997)

Sydney Bernice Sweeney is an American actress. She first gained attention in 2018 for appearing in the television series Everything Sucks! and The Handmaid's Tale, and in the limited series Sharp Objects. In the following year, she was featured in the Quentin Tarantino-directed film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

<i>Im Your Woman</i> (film) 2020 American crime film

I'm Your Woman is a 2020 American neo-noir crime film set in the 1970s and directed by Julia Hart from a screenplay by Hart and Jordan Horowitz. It stars Rachel Brosnahan, Arinzé Kene, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Bill Heck, Frankie Faison, Marceline Hugot and James McMenamin. Brosnahan plays Jean, a woman on the run after her husband, who is involved with organized crime, mysteriously goes missing.

<i>Watcher</i> (film) 2022 film by Chloe Okuno

Watcher is a 2022 psychological thriller film written and directed by Chloe Okuno in her feature directorial debut, based on an original screenplay by Zack Ford. The film stars Maika Monroe, Karl Glusman, and Burn Gorman.

Chloe is a 2022 British psychological thriller television miniseries created by Alice Seabright for BBC One and Amazon Studios that premiered in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 6 February 2022, and released worldwide on 24 June on Amazon Prime Video. It received critical acclaim, with praise going towards Erin Doherty's performance.

The Power is an American-British science fiction drama television series developed by Raelle Tucker, Naomi Alderman, Claire Wilson, and Sarah Quintrell for Amazon Prime Video, based on Alderman's 2016 novel The Power. The first season consists of nine episodes and premiered on 31 March 2023 and concluded on 12 May 2023.

References

  1. ↑ "Hollywood Has No Idea What to do with the Erotic Thriller". 4 April 2022.
  2. ↑ Marc, Christopher (September 9, 2019). "EXCLUSIVE: Michael Mohan To Direct 'The Voyeurs' For Amazon Studios". HN Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  3. ↑ Donnelly, Matt (November 5, 2019). "'Euphoria,' 'Detective Pikachu' Stars Cast in Amazon Thriller 'The Voyeurs' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Archived from the original on November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  4. ↑ "The Voyeurs". Production List. 30 September 2019. Archived from the original on November 6, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Release Calendar". Slant Magazine . Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Hollywood Has No Idea What to do with the Erotic Thriller". 4 April 2022.
  7. ↑ "The Voyeurs". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  8. ↑ "The Voyeurs". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  9. ↑ Roeper, Richard (September 9, 2021). "'The Voyeurs': Neighbors who are spying in a plot no one's buying". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  10. ↑ Schager, Nick (September 8, 2021). "'The Voyeurs' Review: Sydney Sweeney Erotic Thriller Aims for Hitchcockian Chills". Archived from the original on September 10, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Review: In 'The Voyeurs,' a couple look out their rear window a few too many times". Archived from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  12. ↑ "The Voyeurs review – Amazon's fun and sexy erotic thriller throwback". The Guardian . September 8, 2021. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.