Things Heard & Seen (Exclusive Series Mini Review)

Things Heard & Seen (Exclusive Series)

Initial release date: April 29, 2021

Studios: Netflix Likely Story

Plot: Catherine Claire reluctantly trades life in 1980s Manhattan for a remote home in the tiny hamlet of Chosen, New York, after her husband George lands a job teaching art history at a small Hudson Valley college. Even as she does her best to transform the old dairy farm into a place where young daughter Franny will be happy, Catherine increasingly finds herself isolated and alone. She soon comes to sense a sinister darkness lurking both in the walls of the ramshackle property - and in her marriage to George.

Cast

Amanda Seyfried (Netflix’s Mank) - Catherine Claire

James Norton (Little Woman) - George Claire

Ana Sophia Heger - Franny Claire

Charlotte Maier - Peg

Kristin Griffith (Netflix’s The Devil All the Time) - Audrey Claire

Kelcy Griffin - Lynne

Cotter Smith (Netflix’s Mindhunter) - Tom Claire

Dan Daily (The Kitchen) - Pat

Karen Allen - Mare Laughton

Alex Neustaedter (A-X-L) - Eddie Vayl

Jack Gore (SpongeBob: Sponge on the Run) - Cole Vayle

F. Murray Hamilton (Disney Plus’ Lady and the Tramp) - Floyd DeBeers

Natalia Dyer (Netflix’s Stranger Things) - Willis

Rhea Seeborn (AMCs Better Call Saul; Inside Man: Most Wanted) - Justine

Michael O’Keefe - Travis Laughton

Writers/directors: Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (American Splendor; The Nanny Diaries)

Rated TV-MA (121 min)

‘Things Heard & Seen’ does deliver some decent chills and a few good scares. Some of these scares work around the subplot of a young couple whose marriage is sort of on the rocks.

Some of the supernatural visual effects could have been a little better and a few of the “jump scenes” have been done many times in many movies (ghosts knocking over a rocking chair; sudden appearance of a raven, for example). This Netflix Original Film has that gothic 1970s/1980s old school horror feel and isn’t a typical gore-fest that is usually released anymore.

Throughout the movie, there are some moments that can slow it down a bit. A few moments that involve the husband acting erratically can feel weird and sort of out of place at times. The last few minutes of the movie falls apart as well and needs some work.

Other than that, ‘Things Heard & Seen’ does have a creepy feel at times and can have some scary moments. So, this movie isn’t all that bad. A nice little movie to check out while scrolling through Netflix.

Here are a couple interesting tidbits about ‘Things Heard & Seen’:

• Based on the novel ‘All Things Cease to Appear’ by Elizabeth Brundage.

• Quite a few nods to ‘The Amityville Horror.’ The father is named George and the mother Catherine (Katy), just like the ‘Amityville’ movie and its 2005 remake.