''I Still See You'' is a 2018 American
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
mystery
Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
*Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange''
Films
* ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film
* ''Mystery'' ( ...
thriller film, directed by
Scott Speer
Scott Speer (born June 5, 1982) is an American filmmaker, music video director, television director and novelist.
Life and career
Speer was born in San Diego, California. At age 23, he was signed with ''HSI Productions'', and in 2006 Speer rece ...
, from a screenplay by
Jason Fuchs
Jason Isaac Fuchs (born March 5, 1986) is an American actor and screenwriter, best known for writing ''Ice Age: Continental Drift'' (2012), ''Pan (2015 film), Pan'' (2015) and ''Wonder Woman (2017 film), Wonder Woman'' (2017). He is also known f ...
. Based on the novel ''Break My Heart 1000 Times'' by
Daniel Waters, it stars
Bella Thorne
Annabella Avery Thorne (born October 8, 1997) is an American actress, singer, and writer. She first received recognition for her roles as Margaux Darling in the series ''Dirty Sexy Money'' (2007–2008) and as Ruthy Spivey in the drama series ...
,
Richard Harmon
Richard Scott Harmon is a Canadian actor. His roles on television include John Murphy in The CW's ''The 100'', Jasper Ames in '' The Killing'' and Julian Randol on ''Continuum''. Harmon received critical praise for his role in the movie ''If I H ...
and
Dermot Mulroney
Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in romantic comedy, western, and drama films. Appearing on screen since 1986, he is known for his work in various films such as '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' Stay ...
. It was released on October 12, 2018 by
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
.
Plot
An explosion at Dr. Martin Steiner's Ashburn Laboratories in Chicago kills countless people. Indistinguishable from humans, ghostly specters of the event's victims begin haunting the world as non-sentient "remnants" that briefly repeat certain actions at daily intervals.
Ten years later, high school student Veronica 'Ronnie' Calder confronts her mother about how they don't acknowledge her dead father Robert's daily presence at their breakfast table. She becomes frightened by a remnant of a young man whose name she intuitively knows is Brian. Brian writes the word "RUN" on a mirror before vanishing. During a class on remnants taught by Mr. Bittner, Ronnie starts bleeding from her ear. Fearful that Brian wants to harm her, she visits Mr. Bittner at his home but he dismisses her worries.
Knowing of his fascination with remnants, Ronnie convinces new classmate Kirk to help her figure out who Brian is. Kirk's research reveals that Brian was suspected of having abducted and murdered Pastor Greer's daughter Mary. They visit Pastor Greer who tells them she doesn't know who Brian was but adds that Brian killed himself the day after Mary disappeared. Ronnie discovers that she and Mary share the same birthday.
After receiving a phone call from Pastor Greer, school principal Pescatelli summons Kirk to his office to ask about his investigation into Mary Greer's death. At a school basketball game, Ronnie sees visions of Brian, and Principal Pescatelli's body suddenly crashes through the ceiling. Kirk tells Ronnie that he believes Pescatelli died because he told him about their investigation.
The pair connect Brian to the deaths of two more young women: Emma Shaw and Claire White. Claire White's sister Kerry tells them that Brian was her sister's boyfriend. She adds that they can watch Claire's death firsthand at Chicago's 'No-Go Zone'. Ronnie and Kirk brave intense remnants to make their way to where Claire died, which turns out to be Ashburn Laboratories in Darkness Falls.
The pair sees Dr. Martin Steiner, now a disheveled man, among the spectators at Claire's death scene. Steiner explains that he was working on a project that would use living beings as vessels to resurrect the deceased, but the transference required both people to share a birthday. Brian was Steiner's research assistant, and Steiner believed Brian was trying to bring back his victims to make amends for their murders. Relieved of his burden of knowledge, Steiner kills himself.
School administrators take Kirk into custody after finding a gun in his locker. Ronnie goes again to Mr. Bittner for help, and he confides that Kirk was expelled from his previous school for possessing a firearm. Kirk tries explaining to Ronnie that the new gun was planted, but she doesn't believe him. Mr. Bittner vows to keep Ronnie safe for the 48 hours until her birthday, which is when they believe Brian will try to kill her to resurrect one of the dead women. Bittner helps her fortify her house's panic room with lead lining, which is supposed to prevent remnants from passing through.
Kirk discovers that Bittner was actually Dr. Steiner's research partner and goes to Bittner's house. He learns that Bittner has been trying to resurrect his dead daughter Eva. Bittner knocks him unconscious and buries him alive. Ronnie realizes that Bittner was murdering young women who shared his daughter's birthday in hopes of finding a vessel for Eva. He made Brian and Principal Pescatelli's deaths look like suicides when they discovered the truth. She escapes and runs to a frozen lake. When Bittner captures her, she breaks the thin ice, submerging them in freezing water. Mary Greer's ghost drowns Bittner while Brian's ghost saves Ronnie.
As Ronnie struggles to remain conscious, she has memories of her father teaching her to ice skate at that same lake. Kirk arrives in time to pull her from the water. He explains that his father's ghost dug him out of the ground. Ronnie visits her father's grave with Kirk. They resolve to do something now that they are the only two people who know the truth behind the Chicago event. As they leave, Bittner's remnant observes the duo before vanishing.
Cast
Cassandra Potenza also recurs as Augusts' spectral daughter Eva, and Arden Alfonso plays the spectre of Augusts' previous victim, Mary Greer.
Production
In July 2016, it was announced that
Bella Thorne
Annabella Avery Thorne (born October 8, 1997) is an American actress, singer, and writer. She first received recognition for her roles as Margaux Darling in the series ''Dirty Sexy Money'' (2007–2008) and as Ruthy Spivey in the drama series ...
had joined the cast, with
Scott Speer
Scott Speer (born June 5, 1982) is an American filmmaker, music video director, television director and novelist.
Life and career
Speer was born in San Diego, California. At age 23, he was signed with ''HSI Productions'', and in 2006 Speer rece ...
directing from a screenplay by
Jason Fuchs
Jason Isaac Fuchs (born March 5, 1986) is an American actor and screenwriter, best known for writing ''Ice Age: Continental Drift'' (2012), ''Pan (2015 film), Pan'' (2015) and ''Wonder Woman (2017 film), Wonder Woman'' (2017). He is also known f ...
, and that
Paul Brooks
Paul Brooks is a British-born film producer.
Brooks has a Humanities degree in English/Philosophy/Psychology and Sociology from the University of London. He then went into real estate development before moving into film.
In 1992 he executive ...
should produce with Scott Niemeyer, Brad Kessell and Fuchs as executive producers.
Gold Circle Films
Gold Circle Films is an American independent film production and sales company, mainly focusing on horror and romance films founded in 2000 by former co-founder of Gateway Computer, Norman Waitt Jr. Titles released by Gold Circle include ''Whit ...
produced the film. In March 2017,
Dermot Mulroney
Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in romantic comedy, western, and drama films. Appearing on screen since 1986, he is known for his work in various films such as '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' Stay ...
and
Richard Harmon
Richard Scott Harmon is a Canadian actor. His roles on television include John Murphy in The CW's ''The 100'', Jasper Ames in '' The Killing'' and Julian Randol on ''Continuum''. Harmon received critical praise for his role in the movie ''If I H ...
joined the cast.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began in March 2017. Some parts of the movie were filmed in Winnipeg, Canada at a local school, Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute. Some other scenes were also filmed at the Arlington Bridge in the city. Many parts of the film based in "Jewel City" were filmed in Carman, Manitoba.
Reception
Box office
''I Still See You'' grossed $1,359 in the United States and Canada, and $1.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.1 million.
[
]
Critical response
On the review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, of critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of . On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
References
External links
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{{Scott Speer
2018 films
American supernatural thriller films
American mystery thriller films
Lionsgate films
Gold Circle Films films
Films directed by Scott Speer
2010s supernatural thriller films
American ghost films
Films based on American novels
Films scored by Bear McCreary
2010s English-language films
2010s American films