Jacob Estes directs his offspring in this experimental lockdown tale about a brother and sister trying to exorcise a prowler from their home
Marketing this film as a Blumhouse-style found-footage horror does this genuinely interesting and experimental lockdown effort a bit of a disservice. Conceived during Covid times by Jacob Estes (responsible for the excellent 2004 teen drama Mean Creek) and his children Iris and Lucas, the horror elements are more sweetly vindictive than scary. The film is best described as a kind of pseudo-stalker-flick-cum-Freudian-video-diary-cum-dressing-up-box-raid, with Blair Witch and Lynchian overtones, and a meta fascination in the film-making eye, couched in the shut-in mania of 2020. Just run with it.
Iris (Iris Serena Estes) and Lucas (Lucas Steel Estes) find themselves home alone during a mysterious pandemic that affects adults; they are only in technological contact with their hospitalised parents. Being the children of a film-maker and a musician, a pandemic of...
Marketing this film as a Blumhouse-style found-footage horror does this genuinely interesting and experimental lockdown effort a bit of a disservice. Conceived during Covid times by Jacob Estes (responsible for the excellent 2004 teen drama Mean Creek) and his children Iris and Lucas, the horror elements are more sweetly vindictive than scary. The film is best described as a kind of pseudo-stalker-flick-cum-Freudian-video-diary-cum-dressing-up-box-raid, with Blair Witch and Lynchian overtones, and a meta fascination in the film-making eye, couched in the shut-in mania of 2020. Just run with it.
Iris (Iris Serena Estes) and Lucas (Lucas Steel Estes) find themselves home alone during a mysterious pandemic that affects adults; they are only in technological contact with their hospitalised parents. Being the children of a film-maker and a musician, a pandemic of...
- 10/11/2022
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
Now available on Digital outlets including Amazon, the indie horror movie He’s Watching has been receiving rave reviews from horror outlets, and several of them are featured in a brand new trailer that Bloody Disgusting is debuting today. Director Jacob Aaron Estes cut together the trailer, which is imbued with an eerie lo-fi quality.
Loaded with creepy imagery, the trailer’s home video-style only serves to make those images all the more unsettling. Watch it below and find the movie on VOD outlets right now.
In the film, “When happy-go-lucky siblings Iris and Lucas (played by real-life brother and sister Iris Serena Estes and Lucas Steel Estes) are left alone while their parents recover from an illness, a series of playful pranks they play on each other escalate when they start receiving unsettling images and videos on their phones. As the incoming messages become increasingly nightmarish, Iris and Lucas...
Loaded with creepy imagery, the trailer’s home video-style only serves to make those images all the more unsettling. Watch it below and find the movie on VOD outlets right now.
In the film, “When happy-go-lucky siblings Iris and Lucas (played by real-life brother and sister Iris Serena Estes and Lucas Steel Estes) are left alone while their parents recover from an illness, a series of playful pranks they play on each other escalate when they start receiving unsettling images and videos on their phones. As the incoming messages become increasingly nightmarish, Iris and Lucas...
- 8/24/2022
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
The Covid-era films that we have seen have one singular thing in common - a creative spirit that links all of the filmmakers. Filming under the pressures and limitations of a global pandemic - particularly in the lockdown period - really brought out the creativity and the will to see what can be possible among a lot of artists. Plus it’s just impressive to see something that was finished during that time. If you had told me a year prior that I would be housebound for over a year, I would have told you that I would write an entire book (maybe two) and catch up on so many things around the house. In truth, it was so stressful that I barely did anything, and instead put what little energy I had into just the day-to-day.
Fortunately, not everyone had the experience that I had. This amazing level of...
Fortunately, not everyone had the experience that I had. This amazing level of...
- 7/20/2022
- by Emily von Seele
- DailyDead
Deadline first reported the news a few weeks back that Don’t Let Go creator Jacob Aaron Estes enlisted his wife and kids for a new horror thriller, He’s Watching, which will be landing on VOD next Thursday, July 21. XYZ Films’ feature is written and directed by Estes, features Estes’ musician wife Gretchen Lieberum and their children, Iris Serena Estes and Lucas Steel Estes. “Starting […]
The post ‘He’s Watching’ Clip – A Blood Red Hallucination [Exclusive] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
The post ‘He’s Watching’ Clip – A Blood Red Hallucination [Exclusive] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
- 7/18/2022
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
He's Watching: "Jacob Aaron Estes, who wowed audiences with Mean Creek and his Sundance 2019 darling Don't Let Go, offers up one of his most personal and thrilling tales yet with He's Watching, which lands on U.S. VOD next Thursday, July 21st, from XYZ Films.
Creating the project with his wife, musician Gretchen Lieberum, and children, Iris Serena Estes and Lucas Steel Estes, during the height of Covid-19 lockdown, the filmmaker originally conceived He's Watching as a way to stave off his family's boredom while trapped in their home.
What it became was much more than that.
When happy-go-lucky siblings Iris and Lucas (playing fictionalized versions of themselves) are left alone while their parents recover from an illness, a series of playful pranks they play on each other escalate when they start receiving unsettling images and videos on their phones. With the incoming messages becoming increasingly nightmarish, Iris and Lucas...
Creating the project with his wife, musician Gretchen Lieberum, and children, Iris Serena Estes and Lucas Steel Estes, during the height of Covid-19 lockdown, the filmmaker originally conceived He's Watching as a way to stave off his family's boredom while trapped in their home.
What it became was much more than that.
When happy-go-lucky siblings Iris and Lucas (playing fictionalized versions of themselves) are left alone while their parents recover from an illness, a series of playful pranks they play on each other escalate when they start receiving unsettling images and videos on their phones. With the incoming messages becoming increasingly nightmarish, Iris and Lucas...
- 7/14/2022
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Deadline first reported the news a few weeks back that Don’t Let Go creator Jacob Aaron Estes enlisted his wife and kids for a new horror thriller, He’s Watching, which now has a date. XYZ Films’ feature, which is written and directed by Estes, features Estes’ musician wife Gretchen Lieberum and their children, Iris Serena Estes and Lucas Steel Estes, will be landing on […]
The post ‘He’s Watching’ – The Closet Creeper Stalks a Family on July 21 [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
The post ‘He’s Watching’ – The Closet Creeper Stalks a Family on July 21 [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
- 7/14/2022
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
Don’t Let Go creator Jacob Aaron Estes has enlisted his wife and kids for the new horror thriller, He’s Watching, which now has a trailer. XYZ Films’ feature, which is written and directed by Estes, features Estes’ musician wife Gretchen Lieberum and their children, Iris Serena Estes and Lucas Steel Estes, adds Deadline. “Starting off as a project to […]
The post ‘He’s Watching’ Trailer – The Closet Creeper Stalks a Family appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
The post ‘He’s Watching’ Trailer – The Closet Creeper Stalks a Family appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
- 6/22/2022
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
‘He’s Watching’: ‘Don’t Let Go’ Creator Jacob Aaron Estes Enlists Wife & Kids For Latest Horror Film
Exclusive: Don’t Let Go creator Jacob Aaron Estes has enlisted his wife and kids for latest horror thriller He’s Watching. Scroll down for the trailer.
XYZ Films’ feature, which is written and directed by Estes, features Estes’ musician wife Gretchen Lieberum and their children, Iris Serena Estes and Lucas Steel Estes.
Starting off as a project to stave off the boredom of lockdown, He’s Watching was filmed during the height of Covid-19 and quickly turned into a fully-fledged horror film.
When the happy-go-lucky siblings are left alone while their parents recover from an illness, a series of playful pranks they play on each other escalate when they start receiving unsettling images and videos on their phones. As the incoming messages become increasingly nightmarish, Iris and Lucas realize something sinister has taken root in their home.
Estes said “After a year in lockdown making a movie with my family on my phone,...
XYZ Films’ feature, which is written and directed by Estes, features Estes’ musician wife Gretchen Lieberum and their children, Iris Serena Estes and Lucas Steel Estes.
Starting off as a project to stave off the boredom of lockdown, He’s Watching was filmed during the height of Covid-19 and quickly turned into a fully-fledged horror film.
When the happy-go-lucky siblings are left alone while their parents recover from an illness, a series of playful pranks they play on each other escalate when they start receiving unsettling images and videos on their phones. As the incoming messages become increasingly nightmarish, Iris and Lucas realize something sinister has taken root in their home.
Estes said “After a year in lockdown making a movie with my family on my phone,...
- 6/22/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
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