Synopsis
Voyeurism received its latest shot of adrenaline courtesy of Michael Mohan’s The Voyeurs, a contemporary erotic film that combines elements of mystery, a psychological narrative, and sensuality, fusing themes of voyeurism pioneered by Hitchcock with contemporary voyeuristic classics like De Palma’s Body Double. The film is set in Montreal and delves deep into the dark outcomes of curiosity, obsession, and blending the line between watching and doing.
The Voyeurs stars Sydney Sweeney, who plays Pippa, an optometrist that relocates to an ultra-modern apartment with her boyfriend, Thomas, a music producer played by Justice Smith. The couple is new to the area, and the apartment is a definite upgrade, modern, spacious, and boasting a breathtaking view of the Montreal skyline. Moreover, the couple’s attention is instantly captured by their new neighbors, a glamorous couple that consists of a photographer named Seb, played by Ben Hardy, and his model girlfriend Julia, played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo.
As Pippa and Thomas settle into their new life, they indulge their curiosity by watching their neighbors entertain themselves through mundane, and some not so mundane, daily interactions that include a fair share of heated exchanges. Pippa becomes fixated with Seb and Julia’s intense romance which is turbulent and passionate. This obsession proves to be more than just idle curiosity, especially for Pippa, who grows more and more wrapped into the drama.
Witnessing Seb cheat on Julia with multiple women both disturbs and intrigues Pippa. Her curiosity only deepens from there, leading to ethically questionable decisions such as using her workplace at an optometry clinic to find Julia’s email only to later inform her anonymously about Seb’s affairs. This choice begins a chain reaction, leading to events with shocking and disturbing outcomes.
When Seb and Julia confronts Pippa, they expose both sides, telling her they want to engage both her and Thomas to sabotage their engagement, only for Julia to impersonate Pippa on Insta and make her look dumb to Pippa’s followers. This incident leaves Pippa and Thomas stranded, deprived off followers and hence lower their engagement ratio. Her and Thomas’s relationship, mentioned above, leaves Thomas horrified at how low people are willing to stoop and ultimately choose to end things. Pippa ultimately feels ragged and aka her’s Thomas’s fellow feels trapped. Discovering, she takes a surprising turn to aid or assist her.
The story takes a completely new turn when it’s revealed they plan on breaking everyone with a psychotic plan and from where they are going to stalk and ultimately end up trapped at. Their sob sob algorithm used to track and later predict/ / manipulated their all bind purple. This even goes to pursue Thomas where it captures where they used to watch and streaming their footage where fictional means play a role in stripping everyone off their emotions leave. Seb and Julia teamed Pippa and Thomas as witnesses, J at his with a disguised z to break her emotionally.
The last section of the screenplay takes on a dark, vengeful tone. After enduring an emotional violation and deep humiliation, Pippa takes it upon herself to exact retribution. In the morally gray conclusion of the story, Pippa poisons Julia and Seb during a gallery event meant to display photos of the couple’s private moments, including Thomas and Pippa in scandalous poses without their consent. Pippa then walks away, leaving the audience to grapple with the question of whether she simply became part of the darkness she once observed, or whether she does, in fact, find peace in knowing justice has been served.
Cast & Crew
Director and Writer:
Michael Mohan– Markedly more provocative with The Voyeurs than in previous works such as co-creating the Netflix series Everything Sucks!, Mohan has a distinct style. Where he introduces elements of sleek cinematographic suspense to The Voyeurs, he does this to mask its deeper psychological themes. The gloss the film is draped in is Mohan’s. With The Voyeurs, Mohan has showcased a deep understanding of viewer’s seduction and discomfort balance. Even viewer expectation has been manipulated so well the film can only be described as a thrilling windy road until its final moments.
Main Cast:
Sydney Sweeney as Pippa – As Sweeney is a household name after starring in Euphoria and The White Lotus, it comes to no surprise that she showcases a captivating performance. Sweeney has showcased Pippa’s character as a mixture as a deeply rooted naive curiosity, to an unhinged obsession, and to a calculated vengeful woman. Sweeney’s vulnerability, coupled with emotional metamorphosis is what anchors the film.
Justice Smith as Thomas: Smith’s performance as the voice of reason in the relationship is solid. His character’s path toward complacent participation and ultimate betrayal is more nuanced than the grounded individuality he first presents.
Ben Hardy as Seb: Hardy is captivating in the compelling and manipulative role of the photographer. His performance is both charming and cruel, oscillating between the two in a way that is at once attractive and repulsive.
Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Julia: Bordizzo’s performance is both intriguing and menacing as the enigmatic model. Julia transitions from a seeming victim to a clever schemer with a sinister undertone, and Bordizzo’s depth in portraying the character is striking.
Cinematography:
A standout element of the film is Elisha Christian’s cinematography. The light, shadows, reflections, and even the framing with windows give the feeling of voyeurism and the sensation of being trapped at the same time. The way the apartment is situated next to the other building creates constant surveillance, serving the film’s exploration of privacy, performance, and the gaze.
Music:
Will Bates’s score is ethereal and sensuous, providing a palpable atmosphere that builds around the tension and eroticism while remaining discreet. In addition, the score features curated pieces that echo Pippa’s obsessive descent.
The Voyeurs (2021) – IMDb Rating
The Voyeurs (2021) has an IMDb rating of 6.0/10 as of 2025, with over 35,000 ratings submitted. The viewers seem quite conflicting about the tone of the film along with it’s message. While some viewers applauded the stylistic choices and the twists in the story, others found the ethical overtones and provocative nature thoroughly polarizing.
Review Responses
The responses critics had to offer for The Voyeurs were freshly unique but quite moderate in rating. The critics praise to the films production quality and it’s unique atmosphere as well as the bold and daring narrative. Sydney Sweeney was especially noticed for her dual-role portrayal of a fierce, silently raging, deceptively simple woman, which won her glowing reviews.
The film has been praised for attempting to revitalize the erotic thriller, a genre which has not enjoyed mainstream theatrical exposure in recent years. The Voyeurs, unlike most mainstream erotica used quite the opposite approach of not relying on voyeuristic cheap thrills but, attempts to delve into the more complex psychological themes of depicting people as objects, surveilling in the digital age, and commodifying intimacy.
The film captured and celebrated for some aspects, but there were plenty of concerns that critics had as well. It seemed to some reviewers that the story was overreaching in the final act and morphed into a not-so-believable revenge fantasy. It also appeared to others that the moral aspects of voyeurism were not thoroughly examined, and that the film leaned on style instead of substance.
But many accepted The Voyeurs as self-aware and partially strategically provocative material. It invites the audience to confront their own voyeurism and merges the roles of onlooker and participant. The film elicits discomfort and therefore reaches one of its thematic objectives of interrogating the boundaries of privacy, power, and emotional manipulation.
Analysis and Themes
At its most fundamental interpretation, The Voyeurs conveys a moral lesson on the perilous implications of gazing too deeply, or in this case, becoming too emotionally involved in the lives of others and mistakenly interpreting what is viewed through a constricted perspective. The film depicts the ways in which technology, modern architecture, and contemporary social relationships have increasingly blurred the boundaries between the ‘private’ and ‘public’ spheres of life.
Pippa’s journey depicts a more profound loss of innocence as well as a moral decline, which is accompanied with an increase in moral complexity. Her metamorphosis into an observer, then an active participant, and finally an avenger illustrates the transformation of the audience into a voyeur who mindlessly consumes deception and macabre stories of profound intimacy and trauma.
The film provides social commentary on the relationship between control, desire, and autonomy in regard to gender social constructs. Both Pippa and Julia embody femininity and wield sexuality as a form of power, but with very different outcomes. Seb, as the controlling male artist, perpetuates the criticism about the manipulation of women in the name of art, love, and creativity.
Conclusion
With a striking performance by Sydney Sweeney, The Voyeurs tells a modern story set in glossy visuals. The film is an erotic thriller, and while it might not be for everyone, it certainly provides strong narrative arguments around privacy, social media, moral ambiguity, and curiosity versus intrusion.
As a viewer, you are not guided to simply examine the character’s actions, but reflect on your motivations to view in the first place. The film serves as a provocative and disquieting reminder that the narratives presented to us in the media are often partial and Gazing from the outside in has its consequences.
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