I watched “They Look Like People”, a movie about mental illness in the form of a horror film. This particular example is not one of the best I have seen but still a solid independent feature film. Written and directed by Perry Blackshear the film captures some pretty tense scenes. The tension isn’t built upon the normal tried and tested routes.
Instead, cinematography and shots drenched in stillness cause an uneasy feeling that lingers with you after the film is over. They Look Like People is a slow burn that some audiences might not appreciate. But a lot of the better stories don’t rush in. It’s especially common in films that tackle mental illness, and they need to build everything up in layers.
At first, I found this psychological horror movie, They Look Like People, relatively hard to get into. I wasn’t totally on board with some of the voiceover dialogue. In retrospect, it added to what must be a very noisy and chaotic mindset. There is also nothing to write home about special effects or dynamic pacing.
I read a few explanation pieces for They Look Like People too, and I’ll add what I found for you later in the review. However, if you like a story that gets you thinking about things and can convince you its main character might not be crazy, then you should see this film.
Do You Hear Flies Buzzing?
The story for They Look Like People is about two guys who haven’t seen each other in a while but were once close. They fall into an easy friendship. Both are struggling in life. Wyatt is going through a breakup and Christian is full of insecurities. Christian convinces Wyatt to stay with him. That very same night, Wyatt gets a phone call from who I’m personally convinced is the rabbit from Donnie Darko. Perhaps the voice likeness was intentional. It’s a very popular film about mental illness, after all.
Whatever the case, the voice tells him demons are invading the earth. What is astonishingly apparent going forward, is that Christian is simply accepting of Wyatt’s strange behavior. Meanwhile, Wyatt’s escalating psychosis has him almost taking out strangers and stockpiling various ways to rid the earth of these demons.
A Psychological Horror Movie About Mental Illness – They Look Like People
The film’s strength lies in the perfect balance between Wyatt and Christian and their friendship. Even though Christians’ flaws pertain to his insecurities, they do so to the point of crippling his life. He loses his job and the subjective character-building forces you to look away from the seriousness of Wyatt’s actions in the background. His acceptance of the fact he knows his friend is relapsing builds a scary precipice of wondering whether Wyatt will kill him. They Look Like People is an excellent and dark film with a lot to offer. For more from this filmmaker, see Perry Blackshear’s When I Consume You.
They Look Like People is rated
4 movies about schizophrenia out of 5
Movies Similar to “They Look Like People 2015”
In addition, here are some movies about mental illness reviewed on Mother of Movies: Kindred / Swallow / Relic / Hereditary / Daniel Isn’t Real / Unhinged
They Look Like People Explained
In “They Look Like People” Christian is aware of his mental illness. He asks questions at several points in the film about whether he’s seeing ‘them’ again. He also suggests Wyatt make an appointment with a therapist in the second half. It’s pointed out in several places around the internet, that Wyatt is schizophrenic.
Christian is struggling with insecurities to the point that people he works with don’t like him. When he is fired, someone leaves a post-it note on his computer with “goodbye a!s*ole.” Whether or not this note is actually from everyone in the office is irrelevant. It makes him realize his new bravado is not fooling anyone.
They Look Like People Spoilers
Wyatt thinks the world is being taken over by demons. They hide inside everyday humans. Voices call him and tell him he needs to get out of the city. These voices change. He also hears the sound of flies which alert him to the presence of demon possession. As Mara’s voice is one of the sounds he hears on the phone, he believes that she is also aware of the demon takeover. This is why he takes her to see the basement and talks to her as if she is aware of the present dangers.
In the closing scenes, Christian faces his own demon of being afraid by allowing Wyatt to test whether he is a demon. When Wyatt faces the reality of his own hallucinations it enables him to realize his own mental illness.
“GOODBYE A!S*OLE”
Quote from the movie, They Look Like People
They Look Like People, Where to Watch
Where to Watch They Look Like People: Streaming on Prime and TubiTV + Roku, Vudu, and Hulu in the USA. Available as a rental in Australia.
They Look Like People is streaming on:
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