# I See You (2019 film)
**I See You** is a 2019 American psychological thriller directed by [Adam Randall](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-randall-director), written by Devon Graye, and starring [Helen Hunt](https://www.edgepedia.org/helen-hunt), Jon Tenney, Judah Lewis, Owen Teague, and Libe Barer. Its plot follows Greg Harper, a small-town detective investigating the disappearance of a 12-year-old boy, while his family home appears to be haunted by a malicious presence; the film shifts genres and perspective across its two halves, and its central device is phrogging, the practice of secretly living inside someone else's home.[1](https://www.paramount.com/movies/i-see-you) • [2](https://www.slashfilm.com/1265089/disturbing-moments-i-see-you-ranked/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Adam Randall; screenplay by Devon Graye, an actor-turned-writer whose first screenplay this was[1](https://www.paramount.com/movies/i-see-you) • [3](https://www.misacor.org.au/movie-reviews/409-signis-reviews-2020/file) |
| Cast | Helen Hunt (Jackie Harper), Jon Tenney (Greg Harper), Judah Lewis (Connor Harper), Owen Teague (Alec Travers), Libe Barer (Mindy)[1](https://www.paramount.com/movies/i-see-you) |
| Release | Premiered at SXSW in March 2019; US limited theatrical release December 6, 2019, distributed by Saban Films[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_see_you_2019) • [5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/I-See-You) |
| Runtime / rating | 96 minutes per The Numbers and RogerEbert.com, 98 minutes per Paramount; rated R for violence and language[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/I-See-You) • [1](https://www.paramount.com/movies/i-see-you) • [6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/i-see-you-movie-review-2019) |
| Box office | $1,194,369 worldwide per Box Office Mojo, all from international territories; The Numbers reports $1,153,820[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt6079516/) • [5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/I-See-You) |
| Critical scores | 73% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (45 reviews) and 74% on the Popcornmeter; Metascore 65 on Metacritic[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_see_you_2019) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/i-see-you/) |
| Production | Shot in Ohio in spring 2018 in 20 days on an Arri Alexa Mini; cinematography by Philipp Blaubach[9](https://getreelmovies.com/south-by-southwest-2019-interview-i-see-you-director-adam-randall/) • [6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/i-see-you-movie-review-2019) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and structure
The film opens with a boy, Justin Whitter (Riley Caya), being abducted from his bike in an apparently supernatural way, then introduces the Harper family: detective Greg ([Jon Tenney](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-tenney)), his wife Jackie (Helen Hunt), who has recently confessed to an affair, and their teenage son Connor (Judah Lewis), who blames his mother for the family's breakdown.[6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/i-see-you-movie-review-2019) • [10](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/this-twist-heavy-thriller-movie-just-landed-on-prime-video-and-it-flips-a-quiet-family-drama-into-a-tense-psychological-puzzle) As Greg investigates the abduction, strange occurrences begin in the family's large house, and the film initially plays as a haunting story.[1](https://www.paramount.com/movies/i-see-you)
**A mid-film reversal.** Around the halfway point the film reveals that the house is not haunted but home-invaded: two teenagers, Mindy (Libe Barer), making a documentary video about home invasion, and her cameraman Alec ([Owen Teague](https://www.edgepedia.org/owen-teague)), have been secretly living in the Harper home.[11](https://reviewsfrommycouch.com/2023/04/movies/i-see-you-review/) • [3](https://www.misacor.org.au/movie-reviews/409-signis-reviews-2020/file) The second half replays earlier events from the intruders' point of view, and the film then moves into a grounded crime thriller that culminates in a further twist.[10](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/this-twist-heavy-thriller-movie-just-landed-on-prime-video-and-it-flips-a-quiet-family-drama-into-a-tense-psychological-puzzle) Reviewers noted that the structure requires every scene to work both before and after the reveal; Randall said the story's multiple layers needed to be satisfying "both in real time and retrospect."[9](https://getreelmovies.com/south-by-southwest-2019-interview-i-see-you-director-adam-randall/)
The premise draws on phrogging, when a person secretly squats inside someone else's home, and critics identified the home-invasion angle as the film's most effective conceit, with the actions of the hidden squatters seeded gradually into the wider narrative.[2](https://www.slashfilm.com/1265089/disturbing-moments-i-see-you-ranked/) • [12](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/i-see-you/)
## Production
Randall, a British director who had previously made *Level Up* (2016) and Netflix's first UK production *iBoy* (2017), was sent the script by a UK-based sales team and came on board after speaking with producer Matt Waldeck.[13](https://www.film-rezensionen.de/2020/06/adam-randall-interview/) • [14](https://www.themoviewaffler.com/2020/09/i-see-you-director-adam-randall-interview.html) Like many independent films, the project fell apart and was rebuilt; it was originally scheduled to shoot in the summer of 2017, but delays pushed filming to spring 2018 in Ohio, Randall's first US film.[9](https://getreelmovies.com/south-by-southwest-2019-interview-i-see-you-director-adam-randall/)
**A compressed shoot.** The schedule was cut shortly before filming from a planned 25 days to 20, which Randall described as very tough and which required extensive advance planning of the shot list.[9](https://getreelmovies.com/south-by-southwest-2019-interview-i-see-you-director-adam-randall/) The film was shot on an Alexa Mini with cinematographer Philipp Blaubach, who faced the challenge of the house's large number of windows and rapidly changing times of day.[9](https://getreelmovies.com/south-by-southwest-2019-interview-i-see-you-director-adam-randall/) Randall wanted a house that was big, open-plan, and on the water, so that characters could be seen through different rooms and different stories could play in foreground and background.[15](https://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/i-see-you-someones-watching-me/) The score was composed by William Arcane.[1](https://www.paramount.com/movies/i-see-you)
## Release and reception
*I See You* premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2019 and was an official selection at the Edinburgh International Film Festival the same year.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_see_you_2019) • [16](https://mubi.com/en/films/i-see-you-2019/awards) [Saban Films](https://www.edgepedia.org/saban-films) released it in a limited US theatrical run on December 6, 2019, with a video release on December 3, 2019.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/I-See-You) International releases followed in the [United Arab Emirates](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-arab-emirates) (December 19, 2019), Portugal (March 2020, as *À Espreita do Mal*), the Netherlands (May 2020), and South Korea (March 2021).[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt6079516/) • [5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/I-See-You)
**Box office.** The film grossed $1,194,369 worldwide according to [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo), entirely from international territories, with the Netherlands contributing $1,011,214; The Numbers reports a slightly lower $1,153,820, with the Netherlands at $1,009,309.[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt6079516/) • [5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/I-See-You) Tom's Guide later described it as one of the lowest-grossing releases of 2019.[10](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/this-twist-heavy-thriller-movie-just-landed-on-prime-video-and-it-flips-a-quiet-family-drama-into-a-tense-psychological-puzzle)
**Critical response.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds 73% among 45 critics, with the site's critics consensus reading that it "gets tripped up on its own narrative contortions, but a solid cast and an effective blend of scares and suspense make this slow-building mystery worth watching."[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_see_you_2019) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 65 based on 8 critic reviews.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/i-see-you/) Reception divided over the structure: Dennis Harvey of Variety called it "an eerie suspense exercise" that pulls the rug out from under several viewer presumptions, while Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com gave it 1.5/4 and argued the film used cheap tricks to earn its unpredictability.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_see_you_2019) • [6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/i-see-you-movie-review-2019) Tasha Robinson of The Verge called it "a rare gift" for viewers who prize meticulous story-craft, while the Observer's review was sharply negative.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/i-see-you/)
## Later life on streaming
The film found a larger audience after its theatrical run. It proved popular with Netflix subscribers after being added to the platform, according to a 2020 interview with Randall, and later arrived on Prime Video in the United States on September 1, 2025, where Tom's Guide called it a tense psychological puzzle that had been overlooked despite its strong Rotten Tomatoes score.[14](https://www.themoviewaffler.com/2020/09/i-see-you-director-adam-randall-interview.html) • [10](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/this-twist-heavy-thriller-movie-just-landed-on-prime-video-and-it-flips-a-quiet-family-drama-into-a-tense-psychological-puzzle) As of late 2026 it streams on Prime Video in 35 countries but is not on a subscription service in the US, where it can be rented or bought digitally.[17](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/i-see-you-2019-524251)
## References
1. [I See You, Paramount Pictures](https://www.paramount.com/movies/i-see-you)
2. [The Most Disturbing Moments In I See You, Ranked, SlashFilm](https://www.slashfilm.com/1265089/disturbing-moments-i-see-you-ranked/)
3. [Signis Reviews January 2020](https://www.misacor.org.au/movie-reviews/409-signis-reviews-2020/file)
4. [I See You (2019), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_see_you_2019)
5. [I See You (2019), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/I-See-You)
6. [I See You movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/i-see-you-movie-review-2019)
7. [I See You, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt6079516/)
8. [I See You Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/i-see-you/)
9. [South By Southwest 2019 Interview, I See You director Adam Randall, Get Reel Movies](https://getreelmovies.com/south-by-southwest-2019-interview-i-see-you-director-adam-randall/)
10. [This thriller movie just landed on Prime Video, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/this-twist-heavy-thriller-movie-just-landed-on-prime-video-and-it-flips-a-quiet-family-drama-into-a-tense-psychological-puzzle)
11. [I See You (2019) consistently creepy, hurt by plot hole, Reviews From My Couch](https://reviewsfrommycouch.com/2023/04/movies/i-see-you-review/)
12. [I See You, Starburst Magazine](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/i-see-you/)
13. [Adam Randall Interview, Film-Rezensionen.de](https://www.film-rezensionen.de/2020/06/adam-randall-interview/)
14. [Interview, I See You Director Adam Randall, The Movie Waffler](https://www.themoviewaffler.com/2020/09/i-see-you-director-adam-randall-interview.html)
15. [I See You: Someone's watching me, SciFiNow](https://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/i-see-you-someones-watching-me/)
16. [I See You (2019) Awards & Festivals, MUBI](https://mubi.com/en/films/i-see-you-2019/awards)
17. [Where to watch I See You (2019), FlickFinder](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/i-see-you-2019-524251)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2015–2019 films › Thriller and mystery films › Titles F to N*
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