This week’s recommendation will make you feel like something is crawling under your skin, it’ll make you feel a little paranoid, it will make you feel uneasy, and it’s great. It’s They Look Like People.
They Look Like People begins with Wyatt (MacLeod Andrews) sleeping next to his fiancé. He opens his eyes and looks at her, her face shrouded in darkness, only able to see the outline of the side of her body. Slowly, her face starts to change shape; she starts to change. Later, we are introduced to Christian (Evan Dumouchel), who tries to act like he’s got it all together and that he’s the epitome of confidence when really, he’s holding it together by listening to self help audio books and asking the internet for dating advice. When he runs into Wyatt, who is an old friend, he invites him to stay at his house. As Wyatt battles with the external demons that took over his fiancé and seem to be lurking everywhere, Christian continues to battle with his internal ones.
Like the slew of other indie films that I’ve recommended before, this one really has something special. However, whereas a lot of the others are very good, I would say that this one is great. This fascinating psychological thriller really pushes the boundaries of what true friendship means; what it means to really trust someone. It begs the question, how far would you go for a friend that you truly loved? There’s a real sense of alienation and exploring how lonely a person can be while being surrounded by other people. Maybe because of this loneliness, when true friendship does come along, it’s so important to cherish that and protect each other, but to what extent? This movie really explores these themes and the ideas of loyalty.
This film will keep you guessing throughout. Just when you think you have everything sorted out, you’ll be thrown for another loop. Director, Perry Blackshear, expertly conveys Wyatt’s confusion on to the audience. We are just as lost and scared and uncertain as he is. We don’t know what is real and what isn’t; we don’t want to believe what we are seeing or experiencing but something somewhere deep inside us is screaming that it’s true. It’s a terrifying concept.
I can’t say enough about Andrews’ immense talent. Without him, this movie couldn’t have been effective and he really delivered. All the uncertainty and fear that filtered through him hits us really hard. The other actors in this film deliver impressive performances as well, with special mention to the other lead, Evan Dumouchel, but Andrews is truly a standout who deserves special mention.
Overall, you really need to give this a watch. It’ll sit with you for a long time afterwards. You won’t regret watching it.