The Voyeurs believes itself to be a steamy, saucy and tense thriller with an intriguing twist, yet the reality is a messy and often laughable story that becomes goofier by the second.
Written by Becca Johnson
Directed by Michael Mohan (Save the Date) and starring Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria) and Justice Smith (Detective Pikachu), The Voyeurs sees a loved up couple move into a gorgeous new apartment together. After noticing that their window looks directly into the apartment opposite, things turn from bad to worse as the pair become obsessed with the attractive couple whose relationship appears to be volatile.
Sydney Sweeney and Justice Smith do their best with the material given. Their performances are far from career best, yet they make the movie watchable with their chemistry and sweet romance. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the main characters is very surface level as the script only tells us what they do for a living and nothing more, making it difficult to root for them entirely. Pippa and Thomas frequently make stupid decisions that not only completely oppose their personalities, but make no sense and turn them into terrible people. Their actions are purely there to drive the plot forward, turning this stylish thriller into a story that's impossible to believe. Ben Hardy (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Natasha Liu Bordizzo (The Greatest Showman) also try their best as the mysterious and eccentric couple that live in the opposite apartment, yet their characters are too barmy and surface level to get behind. With not one likeable or morally good character, it's impossible to enjoy The Voyeurs in its entirety.
The film attempts to function as a thriller, meaning there are shocking moments and plot twists aplenty. However, these only make the plot more convoluted and ridiculous. Shock factor is reduced by the simple fact that the twists and turns come completely out of the blue and make little sense, making them borderline laughable. The characters massively overreact to minor upsets which makes them all the more unlikeable, and the final big twist comes when the audience already believe the movie to be over.
The Voyeurs having a run-time of 120 minutes is far from warranted. Some sharper editing to create a 90 minute watch would have been preferable as the story goes into unecessary territory in the final half an hour. However, some scenes that don't add much to the wider plot undeniably add some fun to the otherwise drab story. There are more erotic and sexual scenes than one can shake a stick at, and though they often feel unnecessary, it's good to see Hollywood take a risk and be more sex positive. There are some really wholesome character moments between our leads Pippa and Thomas, and the scenes where they meet up with friends to discuss their opposite neighbours grounds the movie a little.
The Voyeurs is a sincere disappointment. The plot is utterly stupendous, the characters are bland and seriously unlikeable and the run-time drags at least half an hour over what it should be. Our actors try their best, yet the material doesn't give them good enough writing to work with. It tries to be a stylish and modern Rear Window-esque thrilller, and though the performances are watchable and the story offers a semi-interesting premise, The Voyeurs frequently becomes a ridiculous and far from believable mess.