DO You See What I See is based on an episode of a popular Indonesian horror podcast called First Love.
New to Netflix, it tells the story of lovelorn Mawar (Diandra Agatha) who prays to find a boyfriend who loves her.
Lonely after losing both of her parents, the young student visits their grave on her birthday and wishes for a beau to warm the cockles of her heart.
She confides in housemate and closest friend Vey (Shenina Cinnamon) about her lovelorn ways. But be careful what you wish for, as they say.
Mawar’s birthday wish is granted when she meets Restu (Noval TB), and as luck would have it, he has a dark side, and a couple of not so endearing skeletons in the closet.
Mawar’s friends get excited for her whenever she tells them stories about her blossoming romance but find it strange that they have not yet met the new love interest. However, as they start dating, bizarre events begin to occur frequently which raises alarm bells.
The house where the two friends live becomes a stage for various mystical and horrifying events as things go bump in the night, and Mawar appears to have found herself the boyfriend from Hell.
Things take more of a Scooby Doo twist when Mawar’s friends come to the realisation that her new fella just might be a demon. This doesn’t go down at all well, so they start snooping around in the realm of the supernatural to help their strung out pal.
Do You See What I See exudes a beguiling innocent charm and for the most part comes off like a spooky hodgepodge of Nancy Drew riddles and mystery shot through a Blumhouse lens. There’s a captivating Hideo Nakata feel in some of the more shadowy graveyard scenes but director Awi Suryadi’s biggest problem is the film’s frightening running time. This, in my opinion, would be a far better watch with 25 minutes knocked off it.
(3/5)
