I Still See You (2018) User Reviews

Surprisingly Good Ghost Story

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 8 February 2019]

After the explosion of a research laboratory in Chicago known as The Event that kills a great number of people, the living people cohabit with ghosts known as remnant especially near the ground zero. Ten years after The Event, the teenager Veronica Calder (Bella Thorne) has classes about the remnant laws with her teacher August Bittner (Dermot Mulroney). She also coexists peacefully with the remnants until the day she is threatened by the mysterious remnant Brian (Thomas Elms). She seeks help with her schoolmate Kirk Lane (Richard Harmon), who is an expert in remnant, and they need to the Chicago's No-Go Zone, a place forbidden to humans, to learn secrets about The Event and the killer.

"I Still See You" is a surprisingly good supernatural thriller with an original ghost story. The screenplay does not have the usual clichés of the genre and the acting is good. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Blurring life and death

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 3 January 2019]

While not exactly being a fan of Bella Thorne (can't stand 'Shake It Up' for example), it was the concept that had me sold on watching 'I Still See You'. A concept that was among the cleverest and most imaginative, and one of the most ambitious, ones for any film seen recently and really had me intrigued. Even the advertising grabbed the attention and did hear good things about it, so the potential was certainly there and it was not exactly small.

'I Still See You' however could have done quite a lot more with this concept. It is not a bad film and it is not a complete waste of the potential it had, but there was a big deal of room for improvment and the potential is far from fullfilled. It also struck me after watching that the concept would have lended itself better to a mini-series and that it was too ambitious for a feature film. It really does annoy me somewhat when a film like 'I Still See You' has such an intriguing and ambitious concept, that could have been done very imaginatively, but executes it in a too ordinary, mundane and muddled way. Far from being one of the worst cases sure and there are flashes of greatness, but a concept as good as this deserved a much better film.

There are good things here in 'I Still See You'. It actually looks quite professional visually, the photography is slick, the moodiness of the lighting fits the atmosphere beautifully and the effects are surprisingly polished and like time and care went into constructing them (even if they weren't what one would call special). The moody atmosphere is reflected very effectively in the score, which doesn't overbear what's going on and doesn't sound cheap or inappropriate, the placement never questionable.

Direction is competent and the acting is well above average and while not award-worthy it's acceptable. Bella Thorne surprisingly carries 'I Still See You' more than capably, was expecting her to be too lightweight and out of place but she was neither. Dermot Mulroney is up to her level and their chemistry works. 'I Still See You' also started off very promisingly indeed, with the imagination, suspense and intrigue present.

So it is sad that the second half is nowhere near as good. 'I Still See You' comes rather mundane and one loses interest. The dialogue can be very cheesy, of the difficult to take seriously kind which jars when the film itself is quite serious. There are a lot of predictable moments and there are parts that are of pure stupidity.

Am now going to elaborate on my opinion of the concept lending itself better to a mini-series. There are too many ideas, all great but never given the chance to be fully explored, and the film tries to be too much all at once which creates a tonal muddle which really confuses the story. 'I Still See You' becomes convoluted and cluttered, and the mundane feeling comes from the pace slackening (think the makers realised how much they were trying to pack in and tried to slow down to accomodate) and the suspense and imagination becoming lost under the over-ambition. The characters never fully develop either and are basically flimsy cliches no matter how decently acted they are. Then there is the somewhat hasty ending which leaves too many unanswered questions and loose ends and leaves the viewer crying what in frustration, a twist is also attempted but it felt rushed and didn't ring true. All of this giving off the sense that the film is too short.

Overall, great idea with very average execution. 5/10 Bethany Cox

A for effort, C+ for execution

[ddbeuth · 7/10 · 14 October 2018]

I really liked underlying premise of this movie, specifically that the millions of people killed by a cataclysmic event became ghosts, or remnants. In addition to this novel concept, the acting was good, and the characters' motivations and actions were logical and intelligent. In fact, I can't think of a single instance where extremely poor decision-making was used to advance the plot, setting this apart from most horror/thriller movies.

On the minus side, there were a number of plot holes and cheesy bits. Although they weren't bad enough to ruin the movie, there were enough of them that I can only give it a 7/10.

Overall, it was an enjoyable movie, and I would recommend it.

A ghost story, many ghosts.

[TxMike · 16 March 2019]

I watched this at home on DVD from my local library. My wife chose to skip, not her kind of movie.

Bella Thorne is the main character, high schooler Veronica (Ronnie) Calder. Every morning at the breakfast table she witnesses exactly the same thing, her father sitting there, reading a newspaper, smiling and nodding to her, then his image dissolves and disappears. The title is a reference to this.

Some ten years earlier in the Chicago area an incident during experiments with a heavy particle accelerator causes a flash that killed hundreds, including Ronnie's dad, and their images return every day.

But that just sets the story up. The meat of it becomes the search for a person who may be a serial killer, and may be tracking Ronnie so that an "exchange" can be made to bring someone else back from the dead.

It is a pretty interesting take on the ghost theme and I enjoyed watching the movie, although I will not count it among my favorites.

Worth one viewing

[ebeckstr-1 · 6/10 · 13 June 2021]

I don't agree with the reviews that say that the script tries to pack too much in, I really don't get that criticism. It's fine. The problem that brought this movie down from a 7:00 to 6:00 for me is a disappointingly common plot development toward the end, such a cliche that it pulls the movie down from good to just fair. I haven't read the novel it's based on but I suspect the same thing happens there. If that's correct you can't blame the script for following the novel.

My own rule of thumb is that a 6 is a decently entertaining movie and a 7 is worth watching more than once. I probably will never watch this movie again but it was an entertaining way to spend 100 minutes.

Bella has Thorne

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 2 December 2020]

I totally understand if you already voted not useful. I can't always explain what I think or what goes on ... thought process and all that. I just type what comes to mind. Now I'm not suggesting the scriptwriter here had the same inclinations. Especially because this is based on a novel that I have not read yet (so no comparisons I can make to that).

Interesting premise, interesting story to say the least. Gets way cliche towards the end, so a bit of letdown. At least I felt that way. I would have gone higher rating, if it didn't try to just ... do the easy way out. But still for the very powerful beginning and a lot of visual and otherwise treats this serves you, I think one can watch this and be entertained (if you are into horror science fiction stuff).

Keep your remote handy

[rlhubbs · 3/10 · 24 July 2019]

Sound is horrible on this movie. Makes it miserable to watch. Whoever mixed the soundtrack thinks blasting music and sound effects and muffling dialogue is creative. Keeps you constantly turning sound up and down.

Lost potential from the over-convoluted plot-issues-filled writing

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 7/10 · 19 October 2018]

It's a shame this film lost major potential to be great from the over-convoluted plot-issues-filled writing.

Was this a sci-fi? Was it a horror? Was it a mystery? Was it a romance film? It tried to be all of the above, but failed miserably by taking the novel by Daniel Waters, and hacking it into disabled screenplay by actor turned writer Jason Fuchs.

The 98 min length was too long and should have been edited down by cutting the unnecessary plot issues and fill in some missing gaps, and had the pace sped up a little.

The directing by Scott Speer however was excellent, the cinematography great and the acting fairly decent. Location/sets were amazing and the visuals on point.

Sadly, it's only a generous 7/10 from me.

intriguing premise

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 12 November 2018]

It's ten years after the Event, an accident at a high energy experiment in Chicago. Many were killed and it has brought back the dead from the past in the form of spiritual remnants. These rems recreate moments in their lives. Veronica Calder (Bella Thorne) lost her father in the Event and he spends every morning reading the paper during breakfast in their small town of Jewel City. August Bittner (Dermot Mulroney) is a trusted teacher and Kirk Lane (Richard Harmon) is the mysterious new student. Veronica's life spirals when a new rem shows up in her bathroom.

The premise is intriguing and the first half goes well enough. Bella Thorne is built for these dark teen characters and so is Richard Harmon. It could been a good ghost horror story but several things happen that strips it of the earlier promise. The minor issue is Mr. Bittner. He's not a science teacher and his knowledge of the Event is head-scratching in the moment. It makes more sense that she would ask the nerd with the crush to set up the panic room. It's obviously done for the plot but it doesn't make character sense. The bigger issue are the rems and their actual powers. The ending suddenly introduces new capabilities for them. It needs some foreshadowing but better yet, the movie could have ended without changing them. Bittner could have been distracted by his daughter without physically touching her. The rems are more compelling if they can't affect the physical world.

I like it!

[Bruxadomar · 7/10 · 12 October 2018]

Different concept, a little cheesy but I was entertained but as everything in life you have to try it for yourself.

Great Idea for a movie...but then they dropped the ball.

[chaotykxninja · 3/10 · 12 October 2018]

Whoever came up with the idea for this movie. was a genius. but the damn fool cudnt execute it well and now its wasted...simple as that. i would recommend you watch it anyway, because it wasnt that bad... but it could have a legendary classic if it had been done right.

I Still See You: A beautiful surprise

[Platypuschow · 8/10 · 3 December 2018]

Within moments I was oddly gripped, I loved the concept and the whole thing looked sleek, original and fascinating.

Starring the stunning Bella Thorne and underappreciated Dermot Mulroney this is one that is very hard to pigeon hole as it doesn't really fall under one category.

It tells the story of a science experiment gone wrong and a world where ghosts walk among the living frequently, though they are unable to interact nor aware that they're deceased.

The ideas within the movie are remarkably clever but I quickly began to think that they'd be better suited to a television series rather than a movie. By the end, I had that belief confirmed. Don't get me wrong I Still See You is a very enjoyable movie but I think it was perhaps released in the wrong format.

Genuinely clever, interesting and captivating I can't argue that it isn't without its flaws as truth be told it has many BUT the quality of the film outweighs them.

I'd recommend the film to anyone and everyone, sure it has that teen-sci fi vibe about it but thankfully manages to be considerably better than that.

I'd love to see this become a television series, I'd rush to watch that every week. But if this is all we get, then it's enough.

The Good:

Looks great

Bella Thorne and Dermot Mulroney

Some great ideas

The Bad:

Some of the ideas don't feel fully formed

Leaves a lot of unanswered questions

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

There is still life in the ghost sub genre

We need more original movies like this and less reboots

The laws are lies

[nogodnomasters · 7/10 · 6 January 2019]

The film takes place ten years after the incident in Chicago. An explosion has vaporized people who are now seen as spectral or ghosts that play in a loop. They are called remnants or "rems" for short. REMS is also a unit of radiation.

The script centers on Roni (Belle Thorne) now in High School. She believes a ghost named Brian has contacted her and may want to do her harm. She befriends Kirk (Richard Harmon) who has an intense interest in the ghosts and does not believe what they are told about them. Their murder mystery investigation takes them into the forbidden "No-go Zone" of Chicago.

It was an interesting film up until the end when they introduced the twist and tried to be clever. I like the fact it was different combining ghosts with science fiction.

Guide: No swearing. Blurred nudity. No sex.

Less plastic surgery for Bella

[alimish-84346 · 3/10 · 10 February 2019]

I liked the idea. I don't like the story, actors, twist ... Film. Please if you set a rules for the story, you shouldn't change it else it doesn't make any sense! Bella should start wearing a bra if she plays 16yo and all the romance in the film wasnt necessary. They didn't even bond or make jokes. Sharing sad events from your life shouldn't be start for kissing. It seems film wanted to have everything, just didn't have much time which is funny .. because movie feels boring. If you still wanna watch it, don't look for logic just eat chips talk to others during movie and it will be enjoyable otherwise you'll be angry. Questions: is she emo, or just sad? Why is she so plastic? If ppl meets rems on daily basis for 10y why are they still so surprised? What's with the ghost town which is restricted? Where ppl getting food? Why are they going to watch murder of girl every day? Why is Eva at home and not in the plant? Why ghost can interact with others and be physical only last 20mins of movie? Why only to stop teacher? Why they stopped basketball game after Ronnie's friend said her name? Why throwing body to the game and not hide it? Why manager of company went down to the reception just to said he doesn't have a meeting?

Slightly above average

[kuarinofu · 7/10 · 31 March 2020]

Great premise, interesting visuals and good pacing up until the second half.

The story itself is kinda similar to Otherlife (2017), but much more predictable, yet the film feels complete in the end.

I wish it was just a little more emotionally packed and paced more naturally. In its current state, the film feels more lika a long TV show pilot, the ending is a clear evidence of that.

Still an ok watch for sci-fi fans, but nothing mind-blowing.

Decent movie.

[Glodar322 · 7/10 · 13 December 2018]

Little bit slow on start but then it gets interesting and if it's not for mid-end/end writing and plot that gets little bit predictable I could give it even 9/10 but since somewhere from late mid it is very predictable, 7/10 seems fair. Still as far as I know unique idea and good scenes and effects, decent story for most part so I would recommend it to watch if you have nothing better to watch, you will not be disappointed but also it will not be movie to remember.

One of the worst films ever

[merimasisic-51591 · 1/10 · 25 October 2018]

One of the worst performances ever, I mean come on, one facial expression for the whole movie and one and the same intonation. You have actors who gain/lose weight for a film, and then you have Bella who is not even able to dye her hair (a wig? seriously?). The screenplay is apparently written by a 9-year old as the plot makes no sense. She drives a bike every day but she has the physical fitness of a 90-year old chain smoker. Every possible cliche ever is present in the movie with hideous music that makes the overall feeling even worse. Flat characters, messed up plot, zero performance. My local children's theater group would do this better. The only post-apocalyptic event in the film is the film itself.

Very good

[mjsreg · 7/10 · 15 October 2018]

This is an interesting and engaging film that has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing to the end.

The acting is brilliant, and the characters believable as you are dragged into their world and how they came to be who they are.

Although pure fantasy, this is one of those films where this could happen at some time in the future

Well worth a watch.

Dizzy from an hour and 45 minutes of eye rolling

[michellesather-85319 · 2/10 · 14 June 2019]

I'm not a prude. A little sexuality can add some pizzazz to a good movie. When the movie is bad though, the added sexuality leaves one thinking "oh brother". The teenager walking around without a bra in front of everyone is awkward and unrealistic.

The writing is ridiculous. The story is ridiculous. The directing is ridiculous.

If you are one who enjoys lame scary movies, this one may work for you. If you prefer smart thrillers, this isn't the one.

Great leap, terrible entry

[namstonk · 6/10 · 12 October 2018]

It was going so well until an hour in, then you hear one line and understand the writer couldn't think of anything better. It then just follows the normal attributes to this type of film. However the acting is good and it is constantly moving so give it a go, in fact I've just added an extra mark as I was being to critical.

Good story, mismatch cast

[bowo_trahutomo · 4/10 · 6 February 2019]

"I still see you", actually have a unique story plot and good scenario. But the cast selection is not appropriate. supposedly the main cast that matches the main character role as 16 years old teenager is Chloe Grace Moretz or Malina Weissman.

If the Producer or Movie Director wants to accentuate Bella Thorne, this film should not be given a PG-13 rating, the story plot must be changed a little, not teenagers aged 16 years but 19 or 20 years old and show Bella Thorne's sexuality side, make this film rated Rated R, that's precisely will make the Director more able to explore and freely express. Maybe the rating of this movie could be higher

Enjoyable

[hilary_mae-912-80561 · 8/10 · 13 October 2018]

It is a film about intelligent people in a ghost story and that seems to freak some viewers out. Oooh all those big words. Despite being a fantasy tale, it was realistic about how life does go on despite a catastrophic event. I liked the academia aspect of it; that it showed teenagers who have intelligence. Setting the film in the middle of winter helps maintain the dark look of the film. Overall, it was a decent flick. I did guess who the evil-doer was, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of the film. Not every film has to be perfect to be enjoyable. Not every ghost story needs horror. I'd watch it again.

Technically well-executed, but highly contrived

[Armin_Nikkhah_Shirazi · 6/10 · 9 August 2022]

I STILL SEE YOU is a blend of a sci-fi, mystery and ghost story which focuses on the fate of a teenage girl 10 years after a cataclysmic event near her home town, which has caused "remnants", ghosts of the deceased to appear to the living on a regular basis, ostensibly without any possibility for interaction.

The movie is strong on the technical side: the direction is well-paced, the cinematography atmospheric, the acting convincing (setting aside that neither of the protagonists really looks like a teenager) and the music fits well.

Unfortunately, a weak script causes the movie to fall short of being a good one. I am not sure if the plot problems are carried over from the source novel, but here are some:

-It is alright to tell a personal story against the background of a catastrophe that killed millions, but if the story ends up involving the principals behind the cataclysm, then that exposes an incongruity in the scope which makes the whole story feel contrived.

-talking about contrived, early on, the film contrives some scare scenes involving a remnant which in the reveal toward the end turn out to be red herrings. Red herrings are okay, but deceiving the audience in a way that is not completely honest (as basically this film did in those couple scenes) just indicates a flawed script.

-Finally, the twist during the last 20 minutes has not only been done countless time before, but has to be among the dumbest in this kind of movie (Could they really not have found a more credible motivation for the villain? And why hadn't he been caught already?). And just when I thought things could not get any more contrived, the film changes the ground rules on us just so as to make everything work out in the end. The only thing missing in this Deus ex machina was God Himself appearing from a split in the sky or perhaps the depth of an ice lake (Incidentally, the climax was strongly reminiscent of that of WHAT LIES BENEATH (2000)).

This could have been a great film with a strong script. I suspect that, given that this seems to be geared toward the teenage/young adult audience, the film-makers figured the viewers would not be very discerning with the story.

I did not rate this lower because of the film's all other strengths, but the quality of the script is significantly below every other aspect of it.

Well produced but missing something.

[jmbovan-47-160173 · 5/10 · 20 December 2020]

There's nothing wrong with this film. Well produced, directed, and acted. But...it just doesn't quite come together enough to make real sense. An event kills multiple people leaving remnants of them that appear but don't interact with the world. Until they do. Then there is a serial killer of sorts. And more subterfuge. And then it ends. But it doesn't come together nearly at the end. It's not that the ending is unclear; it just doesn't make much sense. Again, not bad but ultimately doesn't do much of anything.

Best movie ever? No. Worth 100 minutes of your time? Yeah!

[terryrdunn · 7/10 · 12 September 2019]

Well written, creative ghost story. Was pleasantly surprised and engaged, given main actors. But, perhaps the perfect mix. If it had been bigger names, probably would have been distracted wondering why they chose to do this project. Cogent plot with some interesting twists and turns. Last 15-20 minutes were logical closure, but getting there was entertaining.