PLOT: When a mentally ill young man thinks he witnesses an abduction and the police refuse to believe him, he reluctantly turns to his next-door neighbor – a bitter, retired security guard – to help him find the missing woman.
REVIEW: Between Companion and Novocaine, Jack Quaid fans have already been eating pretty good this year. Now, Quaid teams with Jeffrey Dean Morgan to try and track down a missing girl, all while dealing with a pretty intense mental issue. But Neighborhood Watch seems to be yet another Quaid-starring picture that isn’t getting the financial success that it deserves. This brings the question: Why is it so difficult to market this charismatic actor’s films?
Neighborhood Watch follows Simon, a mentally ill man, who happens to witness what he believes to be a kidnapping. So he asks his grumpy neighbor, Ed, to help find the abducted girl. Simon is a really tragic character and one I constantly found myself feeling sorry for. It’s clear that he has some deep-seated issues and is just trying his best. Quaid does a fantastic job, breaking more outside of what people have come to know from him. Simon has little ticks and a lack of confidence that he struggles to overcome. Ed Deerman is tragic as well, but in a different way. Having recently lost his security job at the local college, he can’t seem to move past it. Morgan is captivating, really striking that balance of sad but determined. Malin Akerman appears as Simon’s sister, DeeDee, and I feel like the narrative doesn’t completely take advantage of her.
Simon hears voices in his head, and they’re constantly talking down to him. He clearly doesn’t have the highest opinion of himself after years of judgment from the outside world. The film examines the different ways that trauma can manifest and the ways it can be misunderstood. DeeDee, doing a nice act for Simon, inadvertently puts him in a spot where he’s reminded of past trauma. And as much as Ed is helping out, he really has to be dragged along.
This is an independent movie, and it’s very reliant on the stars at the forefront. But they don’t connect in the way that we’ve been conditioned to expect in these kinds of films. They are simply two tragic people who have consciences. That’s their connection. We aren’t getting some opposites attract situation, because they really are two sides of the same coin. One is just much more capable than the other. If anything, Ed is annoyed with Simon for a large portion, and his big acceptance is that he mostly just puts up with him. But the pairing is still intriguing, it’s just more outside the box than the norm.
Where Neighborhood Watch stumbles a bit is in its pacing and logic. The second act meanders more than I’d like, and the limited budget means everything is pared down and simplified, sometimes a bit too much. This is more about the investigation and mystery than anything, but it goes in circles a bit. And the police are a little too forgiving of the vigilantism that Simon and Ed take part in. As much as the film wants to walk the line of realism, the ending still takes a decidedly Hollywood approach.
Sadly, Neighborhood Watch is likely going to be skipped over and discovered via streaming in a few years, where people go, “Why have I never heard of this movie?” The generic title doesn’t help, nor does the dumped-out-of-nowhere release. Which is really too bad, as Quaid and Morgan deliver fantastic performances and make for an interesting pairing. I really enjoyed my time with the film and hope that it’s able to find its audience. It’s somber and visceral, anchored by the idea of human connection and what it means to do the right thing in the face of crippling doubt.
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH IS IN SELECT THEATERS AND VOD ON APRIL 25TH, 2025.
