There are three kinds of found footage fans; those who love found footage horror specifically ala The Blair Witch Project, Lake Mungo, What We Do in the Shadows, etc.; the kind who love the departure from traditional visual storytelling and thrive on the nuance offered by the narrative stylings of in-world-camera stories (definitely not exclusively horror fans). This group enjoys faux-docs, POV, and non-horror found footage (The Midnight Swim, David Holzman's Diary, Incident at Loch Ness, etc.) The final group enjoys both. This last group is primed to appreciate subtle found footage horror satire/commentary like Creep, Shadow of the Vampire, He's Watching.
He's Watching is a found footage horror film that allows us to see through the eyes of kids while they figure out life without their parents during a lockdown. At the same time He's Watching takes a look at the modern phenomenon of streaming indie horror and attempts to raise the stakes.
I personally found He's Watching to be a fun think-piece, especially when considering how anxiety can conjure existential horrors. The complete lack of narrative handholding allows for plenty of interpretation but clearly has turned off a large part of the first group of found footage fans I mentioned. If you count yourself among this group, please give the film a rewatch and think about moments like having to reassess personal objects for esoteric value. That's an incredible idea for a haunted house film, let alone an interesting project to carry out in our own lives.
He's Watching is a found footage horror film that allows us to see through the eyes of kids while they figure out life without their parents during a lockdown. At the same time He's Watching takes a look at the modern phenomenon of streaming indie horror and attempts to raise the stakes.
I personally found He's Watching to be a fun think-piece, especially when considering how anxiety can conjure existential horrors. The complete lack of narrative handholding allows for plenty of interpretation but clearly has turned off a large part of the first group of found footage fans I mentioned. If you count yourself among this group, please give the film a rewatch and think about moments like having to reassess personal objects for esoteric value. That's an incredible idea for a haunted house film, let alone an interesting project to carry out in our own lives.