Keep Watching (2017) Poster

(2017)

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4/10
We see you
nogodnomasters12 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The film opens by letting us know what is going to happen. Small cameras are going to be hidden at bad angles throughout a home....maybe a 100 of them and then a break in happens and the family must fight for their life. This is either live or delayed streamed to the Internet. We then get introduced to the family with teen daughter Jamie (Bella Thorne) set up as the final girl. She doesn't like her young step-mother while her kid brother thinks she is hot. At 40 minutes into the film, the introductions are over, As expected they fight for their life against an intruder.

Bella Thorne was good in her role in a film that was shot at bad angles for a realistic effect. I am not sure placing a camera in a sink drain was necessary. There are better home break-in films out there. Killer had no character. Oh where oh where is David Hess?

Guide: No F-words, sex, or nudity.
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4/10
What's happening?
palmerstogo16 September 2018
Too dark. Can't see what's going on half the time.
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3/10
I was telling myself not to give up watching
TerribleKatherine3 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The first word. that comes to mind, is "exhausting". I mean it in a bad way. The way this movie is filmed.. it's annoying and I feel like jumping from a hidden camera to hand-held camera to god-knows-what camera took so much away of this movie. I wasn't even remotely scared once, I was wanted everyone dead so they end the damn film. Between the jump scares and "come look at this"-cliches I didn't find a lot of originality and neither was that whole "the killers know every move you make beforehand"-bs very believable. It is literally impossible for the killer to know what is going to happen Every Single Time and I feel like a lot of horror movie makers, especially this "kill or be killed"-genre, relies on it. About the acting I have no massive complaints. Ioan Gruffudd is always believable to me, he's got some talent, and Natalie Martinez handled that "naive, helpless housewife"-part well. Chandler Riggs will always be Carl (CORAL!!) to me and he did what was expected of him. Bella Thorne is new to me, I don't follow Disney stars and don't really give a crap about them. She was okay I guess, could've been worse. At least she doesn't have annoying mannerisms, at least not yet. Leigh Whannell was a fun add, he always cracks me up. I didn't recognize him at first though. So, I could've spent that 1,5 hours a bit better but luckily I never have to watch this again. Hopefully Whannell and Gruffudd score some better movie roles.
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1/10
Predictable and slow moving
nbruesch-6517011 February 2018
This is one of the worst wastes of time I've ever experienced. Im not sure why the family didn't just walk out the front door at the beginning. I guess then we wouldn't have movie. I'm also not sure how the killer(s) can make the lights flicker throughout the house...sometimes they work and sometimes not. Oh and that drone somehow has an endless battery life, flying around the entire movie. It takes FOREVER for anything to develop and the characters continuously do stupid stuff that just makes you angry. For example, stun the killer but then don't grab his weapon for protection later...or actually make sure he's dead. Or, on your way trying to sneak out of the house, make sure you stop to grab some gauze that happens to be in the kitchen to wrap up that cut on your arm. Absolutely nothing about this movie is good at all. Avoid at all cost .
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1/10
Pity the Poor Actors
bababear18 July 2018
Because I'm very kind by nature, I'm not going to mention any of the actors in this turkey by name. They suffered enough while making it: stumbling around in the dark, running, and speaking dialog that is unrelated to human speech.

Sony Pictures sat on this for right at three years before giving it a one night very limited release. That should tell you something.

If you want to watch a home invasion movie that has real suspense I'd suggest YOU'RE NEXT. The title of this epic tells us to keep watching, but I'll confess to using the fast forward button more than once. It should have been called WATCH SOMETHING ELSE.
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5/10
Not as bad as some would have you believe
barcode7227 April 2018
Ok, so we've all seen similar plots before, and this isn't gonna win any awards for originality, but i think some of the reviews on here are WAY too harsh, possibly written by people with some kind of personal agenda(don't like the director or the lead actress maybe) but this was no where near as bad as some reviewers are making it out to be, it's very much a popcorn and switch your brain off kind of movie, but i wouldn't put too much stock in the 1/10 reviews if i were you.
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1/10
I've Taken Craps With Better Writing
dahazard17 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
My god. Apparently, nobody writing, starring, directing, or in any other way involved in making this film has any concept of what actual, rational people would do in a situation like this.

The "jigsaw" person in this film should probably stop making internet torture-porn, and switch to playing the lottery or inventing tech, because they would literally have to be both psychic and a Tony Stark-level of electrical engineer to make anything that happens in this film even remotely feasible.

I mean, this person has somehow figured out how to hide cameras in alarm clocks, tazers, flashlights, and basically every other electronic device known to man, without any signs of added electronics or tampering. Either that, or these people are just really, really, really effing stupid...which is also probably true.

In addition to mad electrical skills, this person has somehow figured out how to anticipate every single stupid move of every single stupid person in this film, from the role-model uncle just magically showing up in the middle of the night within minutes of the family returning from vacation - with a few joints already twisted up, despite having apparently just gotten into a fight with his wife?

Or the idiot boyfriend who just happens to show up while they're all in the basement and gets himself waxed in the precise spot the killer anticipated.

And what the hell is going on where they finally find an open window in the basement? "Yeah kids, here, you stay in the basement with the murderer who can basically teleport around the house without ever making a sound.

Another great example is the part where the two kids suddenly realize they can just break down the gates over the doors because...fire?

Or earlier in the film, where they're screaming out the window for help, and just give up after 30 seconds because they saw a dead body? Hey, howabout tie some bedsheets together and climb down? Have the kid use his zippo and throw some burning stuff outside, maybe people will notice?

Honestly, I wanted to turn it off after the first 20 minutes, but I "kept watching" simply because I wanted to make sure all the cast died. Nope, we don't even get that closure, because the pregnant teenage girl now has to put on a mask and learn to teleport so some hollywood idiot can try milking out this premise for at least 2 or three more sequels.

Save yourself the time...don't watch this god-awful movie. It's bad, and not like a fun bad. The protagonists are stupid, the antagonists are utterly implausible, and there is literally not one plot beat that actually made any kind of rational sense.
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2/10
Can't a movie just END anymore?
momosity23 August 2018
Why does there always have to be some obvious cash-grab to set up a sequel? Some movies are just perfect as stand-alone titles, and this could have been one of them. So many red herrings that never led anywhere. VERY disappointed.
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6/10
Second half turns it into quite a good film
jtindahouse28 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I didn't really get excited about 'Keep Watching' until the moment Leigh Whannell showed up (I had no idea he was in it). The reason being that he seems to attach his name to films with some X-factor and pizzazz. Obviously he was involved with the 'Saw' franchise, but he's also had dealings with the 'Insidious' franchise which is highly respected. Up until the point he arrived in the film things were dragging along quite slowly and I feared we were in for another horror movie dud. The movie does pick up a lot in the second half though and the result is a reasonably well made horror film.

Technically this falls into the "found-footage" category, although it never really feels like it. The "shaky-cam" is certainly apparent throughout the entire film and a number of scenes are incredibly dark making it quite hard to follow exactly what is happening at times. While it is incredibly hard to be original in anyway in modern horror movies the film does give make a solid effort at times to achieve this. I quite liked the polaroid photo scene in particular. There is also a twist ending of sorts that adds a point or two to the film. Altogether I enjoyed this a whole lot more than I expected to and would certainly give it a thumbs up based on modern horror film standards.
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1/10
Total BS
karlzummallen27 March 2020
Pointless. It's frustrating. The only "horror" is poor writing and lack of directing. Useless moments. Useless story.
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8/10
Tense home invasion thriller
Woodyanders30 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A family are forced to participate in a terrifying game of survival that's being broadcast live on the internet by several vicious masked maniacs.

Director Sean Carter relates the gripping story at a constant pace, takes time to develop the characters, maintains a grim and ominous take-no-prisoners tone throughout, and generates a good deal of suspense. Moreover, there's a creepy voyeuristic bent to the violent proceedings that adds an extra unnerving edge while the surprise bummer ending packs a brutally potent gut punch. The solid acting by the capable cast further keeps this movie humming: Bella Thorne as troubled teen Jamie, Chandler Riggs as her loyal younger brother DJ, Ioan Gruffrudd as flawed dad Carl, Natalie Martinez as feisty stepmom Nicole, Leigh Whannell as easygoing stoner uncle Matt, and Jared Abrahamson as concerned boyfriend Josh. A real nail-biter.
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6/10
My horror hunger was peaked but not satisfied.
lojitsu29 October 2018
Oct 18

A-Z Horror Movie of the Day..."Keep Watching" (R - 2017 - US)...great premise, poor execution.

Sub-Genre: Slasher/POV My Score: 6.3

Cast=8 Acting=6 Plot=9 Ending=4 Story=4 Scare=6 Jump=7 F/X=6 Blood=6 POV=7

A family become imprisoned in their home by intruders, who force them to play a life-and-death game, where the mysterious rules become clear as the night unfolds.

"Why are you doing this to us?" Because you were paid, you monkey! I actually loved the concept, but the story did not come together. There was no closure either...the ending just dropped off on us like accidently dropping your plate of food. My horror hunger appetite was peaked but not satisfied. When all was said and done, I liked the movie...just not enough to rave about it.
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4/10
Why Are You Doing This?
Foutainoflife2 July 2018
This is your run of the mill home invasion with all the same screaming, getting locked in and slow attempts to find justification for what is happening. Bella Thorne is the stand out actress, who does a fair job of caring this film to its conclusion. However, even with her B++ acting the movie falls short because it has been done so many times and I think most horror/thriller fans are starved for something new. It is also a total setup for a sequel and I hate when movies have an ending that straight up lets you know that you haven't got the whole story. This isn't an awful film but it fails to satisfy.
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1/10
Whoever Wrote This Garbage Should Change Their Career.
LordCommandar23 March 2018
This was just awful. I watched 34 mins of this shi...fest and turned it and deleted it out of my movie library. The trailer tells it all, so there is no need to go into an elaborate review. This movie stunk worst than my garbage, and whoever wrote this garbage needs to change their career. Truly a very bad film.
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3/10
Have had worse..
moghorva29 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Personally I found this movie wrong and stupid from every possible angle. Though, it wasn't the excitement nor the interest, i have pulled through til the end.. was a heroic task to be honest. The idea and the basic plot was a promising one. Too bad they had to screw up at every key point:
  • the actors and actresses had no chemistry, and the leading characters were downright annoying
  • irrelevant side-plots: like why was it important to share the info on the debts of the father? Why was uncle Matt forced into the movie with a cheesy exuse - just to be killed 5 and 35 minutes later(s)? Not to mention the boyfirend...
  • stupidity all over the place: and both our heroes and the attackers fell into this hole every single time. I mean, c'mon! I am not even going into the typical mistakes, and stupidity happening in most of the horror movies. But why was I forced to accept that the tragic hero(ine) in this movie should be the whiny little brat, who has absolutely no interpersonal skills, makes no sense in any conversations, whines and cries through 90 minutes of the movie, and does absolutely no contribution towards escaping or in any way improving their situaition. She, then, explores the fact that the bad guys targeted her and want her to rise from her prison to be much more, to release her true power. Yep, like that's gonna happen.. with a pregnant minor... And even after this point she fails to contribute to their situation in any way. Her brother, on the other hand, was the only one being able to kill one of the attackers, despite the fact he didn't even wash his hands after peeing. And also there's the camera question. I mean how many cameras were installed? About a hundred? And yet you can't notice one single camera, but you can notice a patch of paint i still fail to comprehend! You've gotta be super-stupid guys, sorry to have to hear this from me.
  • lack of violence, blood, suspense and any horror elements: okay, there were like 2 jumpscare scenes, but literally, that's all. The movie is unfolding so slow, and using so cliché elements, so that actually all the suspense and fear is killed off. The ways of killing people are not creative at all - except may be one, but I am still not convinced if that was a proper way of killing someone. All in all the movie itsel was like a horror made for kids, under the age of 12.
The 3 stars is for trying only. But the fun stops there. The result does not worth your time. Better go and watch Saw episode 156
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2/10
Typical, typical, typical, typical!
lorcan-618813 February 2018
Keep Watching was announced back in late 2013 and announced that it would star Bella Thorne and Chandler Riggs and would be about a family returning home from holidays only to find out they are the next victims of a serial killer who has planted their house with cameras in order to murder them while live streaming it over the interent..(sigh). Keep Watching, I actually was kind of excited for until I heard it was delayed and taking up the found footage genre then eventually it was released for one night and although the viewers who saw it were very limited I managed to see a few reviews posted by YouTube reviewers..wow. Keep Watching shows us that found footage has officially died, it probably died sometime around when the Paranormal Activity films started getting bad and when The Visit, The Gallows and Unfriended came out..so around 2015. The acting in this film was probably the thing that saved it from getting down to a one star, Bella Thorne, Chandler Riggs and Leigh Whannell were actually really good in this film, the film was actually believed to have been filmed back in 2013 and thats everyone looks like they're from 2010. Keep Watching is overall your typical money grabbing film that I'm glad that it did'nt make money because if so, everyone would be broke over a lousy no good camera made horror film.
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2/10
I Only Got 20 Min In
bfslamin17 March 2018
Not a fair review necessarily but it screams lame from start to 20 minutes in. Bless all of the souls who made it further. I gave two stars because the people who spent their time on this should have more than one.
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2/10
Life and death
TheLittleSongbird7 June 2018
'Keep Watching' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an slightly intriguing but very derivative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws those films have are present here, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'Keep Watching', with a plethora of problems (huge ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There is next to nothing to recommend and it is a sleeper.

Lets start with the sole positive. The scenery is atmospheric and spooky.

Unfortunately, it is not done justice by the rather direct to video schlocky way it's shot and edited, it was very clear that the film was made in a rush with no care or enthusiasm.

Going on further to the negatives, the story does feel paper thin, disjointed and over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their annoying and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates.

Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The effects are ropy at best, the sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions) and it's best not mentioning the uniformly lumbering and histrionic acting. The less said about Bella Thorne the better.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, with lots of clichés and no depth whatsoever, while the pace goes to a standstill very quickly and drags on forever with next to nothing going on worth caring about, never recovering. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments and explanations and the lack of tension and suspense. Would not have minded the lack of originality (the film is extremely derivative and in a dumbed and watered down way) if the story and atmosphere were at least alright in execution, in reality they were both dreadfully done.

A lot of 'Keep Watching' has underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you jump or shocked are far from creative or scary and are pretty tame. The ending makes the film finish on an incomplete and confused whimper.

There is not enough threat here and what there is of it tends to be used poorly, it is completely unimaginative and more odd than creepy, completely failing to show any sense of horror. Some badly sagging momentum too. The direction is leaden, inexperience seems to be all over the film, and the music doesn't really fit and is quite monotonous.

All in all, very bad. 2/10 Bethany Cox
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6/10
Typical but not bad
caugustave3 September 2018
Good B movie....if you are looking for a decent horror/suspense check this out. Critics are really hard on this movie. Now I watched it on Starz. If I would have watched it at the movies then maybe I would have judge it harder.
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5/10
Meh it's alright!
UniqueParticle18 March 2019
Very poorly filmed & not very suspenseful! I don't know what the director or writers were thinking; at least they tried. I definitely understand the hate it got, it's very cheesy and there's not much to say about a movie like this except it's a little creepy and mildly entertaining although not worth paying for - glad it's on STARZ for free.
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Get some Friends and a Fridge full of Booze and play the Game:
DIGIMATlC15 April 2018
"Who can find the most mistakes and ridiculous, illogical acts" in this piece of crap! The winner gets tickets to a good Movie that hopefully erases all memories to this wannabe "horror movie"!

Only one example: Wouldn't the Police be all over the place 10 minutes after the first outside Shot of the Property flickers over the screen (Remember: Its a Live Stream!) It's´so ridiculous!

Plain and simple: Do yourself a favor and just skip it!! Don't waste your valuable time with this!
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8/10
A lot better than I expected it to be. A solid effort by everyone involved.
manuelasaez7 February 2018
I have to admit, this is one of those movies that you have the lowest expectations for; it took forever to release, after years in studio limbo, and when it was finally unleashed to teh masses, it did so with little fanfare. I understand that found-footage isn't really a viable genre choice in 2018, but still, I gave it a chance. Boy, was I happy I did! This was one of those movie that got so much right, that i began to wonder why anyone sat on it for so long.

The story was interesting and fast paced. The set-up was clear, and everyone did their absolute best with what they were given. No complaints there.

The found-footage was obviously passé, but the way that it was done in this movie actually made it bearable. The killer used dozens of cameras strategically placed all over the home to film each kill. So, in essence, the final film is a amalgam of all of the clips each camera captured. It was a unique and entertaining way of showing the action unfold without relying on the old FF tropes.

The acting was great and often very effective, especially when it came to the two kids. Everyone took this script seriously, and it showed in the final product. These people should feel proud that they gave it their all.

This movie hits all of the right notes, so why was it treated like a leper? Well, for a few reasons, actually. The movie has no gore or violence. Everyone who dies does so quickly, and there is very little blood. There is also no foul language in this movie, making me think that it was aimed at children (under 25 years old).

The manner in which it ended validated the entire movie for me, but most people are entirely too sensitive to anything that doesn't conclude in a happy ending. I love movies that go against the grain and actually want to depress their audience, but I can see why this movie wasn't given a theatrical run.

Overall, it's not a game changer, but nor is it as bad as many people would have you believe it to be. If nothing else, it goes to show that even tired genres can be give a new life at the hands of truly talented people with a decent budget.
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7/10
Quite a fun ride
billsorensen3830 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I was surprised at how good this turned out to be. Expected it to be just another found footage and since it was shelved since 2014, thought it probably wasn't going to be that great. But when it gets going, I was on the edge of my seat and the killer(s) were quite terrifying. Except for one annoying character and maybe too much use of the line "Why are you doing this to us", I was impressed. Ending was ok but left open for a sequel. Check it out.
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1/10
Not worth to watch
KAMJONGKAI30 December 2019
Nothing special about this movie, BORING, NOT SCARY AT ALL. 🤐 Sad that movie didn't come out better, I feel sad for actors 😑
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4/10
I struggled to Keep Watching
ivanran-868052 August 2020
Consisting of some relatively well known actors, I thought this movie would be good. Honestly I wanted to turn it off multiple times throughout the movie. Had to force myself to finish. Maybe that's the plot behind the movie? Viewers struggle to Keep Watching. Very unsatisfying ending. This movie lacks substance. We don't get enough about character backstory or motive.
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