The 2016 horror film “Hush” debunked the picture of family aggression.
Our heroine, tasked with surviving a mortal threat, cannot hear the attacker’s footsteps, or anything else. She is deaf, which gave the horror film a decisive advantage over the competition.
Originality is the problem. Always.
The horror film still leaves some space for the company. What if the person fighting the intruder was blind, not deaf?
“See for me“Grab that” Hush” baton, and although the thrill isn’t sharp, it reminds us that the conceit-centered is the rock-cold winner.
A former star skier named Sophie (Skyler Davenport) quits the sport after an illness robbed her of her eyesight. Now, she earns income from various odd jobs amid controversies with her kind mother.
Her latest show? Cassette for a rich divorcee. The gig seems innocent enough until a trio of delinquents break into the house, eager to rob its possessions.
Sophie has an ace up her sleeve. A new app on her phone, called See For Me, connects people with visual impairments with virtual assistants that can “see” them. It’s a slick gimmick that creates depth rather than eye-catching.
However, the screenplay failed to exploit that potential, settling for a device with an intriguing plot that gave Sophie a chance to fight off the intruders.
“See for Me” provides another, less obvious wrinkle.
Our sweet and sour Sophie suffers a grudge after losing her sight. It’s hard to blame her, but it shows in the genre-elevating ways in the play.
What if our heroine had a dark side?
To say more people into spoiler territory. Just knowing the assistant connected to Sophie (Jessica Parker Kennedy) brings another complicated story back into the mix.
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Another flaw?
Invaders themselves are not menacing or layered, as needed. The late arrival of “Children of Anarchy” as Kim Coates strained a story that was already leaning towards the absurd.
The third act delivers what audiences crave, but plot twists begin to stack up in an unpleasant fashion. We’re left with a neat ending, one that betrays the moral shadows that have appeared earlier in the film.
Hit or miss: “See for Me” runs with a murder premise despite failing to make full use of the strangely complex heroine’s power.
