Why do I feel this happens a lot more than we know? Because it certainly does! The passages at the beginning of 13 Cameras state that 30 million security cameras are sold per year and eight-thousand people per year are spied on in their own home. There is probably a good chance these figures were fabricated by filmmaker Victor Zarcoff–how the hell would he know how many people are spied on?–but there is unquestionably a great deal of it happening. And I bet a fair number of the peeping toms are just like the slimy landlord played expertly by Neville Archambault. (IMDB tells me that the character’s name is Gerald, though I don’t recall his name being mentioned once in the film.)
Synopsis: A newlywed couple, move into a new house across the country, only to find out that their marital issues are the least of their problems. Unbeknownst to them, their grim and lascivious landlord has been spying on them from day one.
The film is written and directed by little-known Victor Zarcoff. According to IMDB, this is Zarcoff’s sole stint as director and the only other screenplay he’s written is 14 Cameras, obviously this film’s sequel. Though it has its flaws–the husband, Ryan (played by PJ McCabe), is so unlikable that no one cares when he meets his end, and the pregnant wife, Claire (played by Brianne Moncrief) is far too perfect–it still makes for a fun movie that makes your skin crawl. Most of this skin-crawliness is thanks to the performance by Archambault, who has to be the creepiest character on film since Norman Bates. Actually, the landlord is probably creepier than Norman Bates, though Martin Lomax from The Human Centipede 2 probably has him beat.
13 Cameras is probably a one-watch-and-done kind of film, for me, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit interested to see what happens in the sequel. (It too stars Archambault.) It’s an excellent end product for a first-time filmmaker, and I’ll be on the lookout for more from Zarcoff, who seems to have disappeared since the making of this movie in 2015.
Watch it: Amazon
