Early this year, Netflix announced it would be releasing new original films every week for the rest of the year. That announcement was exciting for most people as many of us have been desperate for new movies after the constant delays in releases last year. Netflix’s latest release, “Things Heard & Seen” appears to be the streaming giant’s attempt at a psychological horror, but it unfortunately misses the mark.
The film follows Manhattan couple George (James Norton) and Catherine (Amanda Seyfried) as they relocate outside the city into the Hudson Valley so George can take on a teaching position at small liberal arts college. Catherine begins to suspect there is not only a sinister darkness to their new house, but also within her marriage.
Before I delve into the horror elements, or lack of horror elements, I am going to address the character, George. He is an absolutely horrible husband and father; he belittles his wife in front of her peers and makes fun of her for her beliefs. George *spoilers* cheats on her not because he is unhappy in their marriage, but simply because the opportunity presented itself. He gets annoyed with her for wanting to check on their young daughter when she has nightmares. In one scene, he implies Catherine needs to be on sedative medication right in front of their daughter. He storms off and refuses to sleep in their bed because their daughter was scared and just wanted her parents. The guy was completely awful and had zero redeeming qualities.
Now, onto the movie itself. It has a two-hour runtime, and those two hours drag on. For a movie that wants to be a psychological horror, not a whole lot occurs until over an hour in, and even then, not much actually happens. The “horror” aspect does not even feel like horror, and none of it seems scary or intimidating. Honestly, a good portion of the movie is George behaving like an arrogant jerk; despite this, Catherine desperately tries to get him to listen to her about the house. However, Amanda Seyfried does do a good job with what she is given to work with. Most of her screen time is spent in the house or with occasional trips into town, but she makes it work for her character. As much as I disliked George, credit is due to James Norton because he really made me hate his character.
The movie wants to be a psychological horror. It wants the audience to question what was happening around Catherine and why George was acting the way he was. It wants us to question what happened, but it just does not focus enough on the mindsets of Catherine and George. The real horror of the movie appears to be George and his arrogant, self-righteous personality that makes him lose any shred of humanity he has just to get what he wants.
*”Things Heard & Seen” can be watched on Netflix via subscription.
