He's Watching You is directed by Jordan Foss and the cast includes Jan Luis Castellanos, Elizabeth Yu, Vanessa Rubio, and Tiana Le.
TL;DR: He’s Watching You stumbles in spots, drags in others, but it has enough tension, mystery, and brutal kills to make it worth a watch if you like your slashers with a side of teen angst and small-town weirdness.
A Teen in Trouble
Cameron, played by Jan Luis Castellanos, is a small-town teenager dealing with the death of his father, who tends to do dumb teen stuff that will make you groan, but Castellanos does do a good job of looking fragile which does make you care a little bit about him - he’s awkward, he’s shy, and he just feels like someone who’s just trying to survive.
The bullies in the town are pure evil in the kind of over-the-top way that would make anyone roll their eyes, except in this movie, it actually works, as they’re so clearly terrible that you can’t help but be on Cameron’s side, as the film keeps you guessing if Cameron is just unlucky, paranoid, or hiding something bigger.
Read some more horror movie reviews:
Suspicion and Psychological Twists
Speaking of guessing, this movie really leans into making Cameron look guilty, with the little behavioral quirks and the moments of instability all used to keep suspicion pinned on him, and I’ll give the movie this - it does suspense better than a lot of bigger budget slashers, just by playing with perspective - at the same time, I felt a bit cheated when the killer’s identity finally comes out, as it’s one of those moments where you’re like, oh, okay, but wait, what about all these other little hints?
Some editing or trimming could have helped the reveal land harder, as there’s potential for brilliance in how the psychological angle is handled, but it doesn’t land as much as it maybe could/should have.
The Legend of The Pill
Now, let’s talk about the urban legend that the movie keeps bringing up, ‘The Pill.’
It’s supposed to punish misbehaving kids, which sounds like a great setup for a slasher villain, but in execution, it just feels slapped on - I wanted more logic, more connective tissue - why these victims? Why now?
The movie hints at it but never really dives in, and a stronger connection to the legend could have turned the villain into something more, rather than just another masked threat.
Brutal Kills
Here’s where the movie earns points in my book - the kills - they’re simple, brutal, and effective, and nothing is flashy for no reason, just straight-up horror, where each one tells you something about the killer and adds tension to the scenes.
And Cameron being around all the time just amps up the suspicion in a way that’s actually kind of clever, as even with a large cast, I couldn’t guess who was doing what until the end, and while the choreography of the kills isn’t elegant, but it’s satisfying in that gritty, messy way that fits the story.
Family Dynamics
The film also invests some time in Cameron’s relationship with his sister, Kathryn, played by Tiana Le, as while Cameron is dealing with grief, she’s also processing their father’s death in a completely different way, and and give you someone else to root for besides Cameron.
Pacing That Pulls You Out
Unfortunately though the pacing drags, and once the VHS element comes into play, the movie loses momentum, as you get caught in a slow stretch which is annoying in a slasher, before the third act wraps up a little abruptly, leaving some unanswered questions.
I don’t mind a film leaving me thinking, but here it feels more like the story ran out of steam than a deliberate choice, but despite its flaws, it did keep me interested enough, and Jordan Foss is clearly a filmmaker willing to take risks.
Final Verdict
If you like slashers with teenage angst, and a killer who keeps you guessing, He’s Watching You is worth a one time watch - it’s uneven, some story threads feel underdeveloped, and the legend of ‘The Pill’ could have been stronger, but it still has enough going for it, just about.
Not that good, but not utterly terrible either.