Neighborhood Watch – Review

Mental health challenge gold medalist Simon McNally (Quaid) suffers from audio and visual hallucinations, verbal communication word salad scrambles, anger issues, constant anxiety and more, all while not getting much help from a slew of heavy-duty medications. While he is trying to land a job, he can’t help but know every time that his mental illness will keep him from any offers.

Retired ex-security guard Ed Deerman (Morgan) tries to help society with blasting stealing college kids in the face with hand sanitizer and bringing them to his old campus security office. They don’t seem to appreciate his efforts, and his doctor wants to make sure he takes his cholesterol meds. Deerman lives next door to Simon, who lives with his sister DeeDee (Ackerman) after his hospital release.

Simon struggles with anyone finding anything he says or does reliable, based on his previous struggles with mental health. This is put into focus, as he appears to witness something while walking home. Simon is pretty damn sure he saw what he did, but no one else is, especially the cops. Maybe the neighbor Deerman will think differently?

Well… probably not. But the unlikely duo may wind up looking into the incident, since Simon needs an ex-cop, and Deerman is suddenly looking to fill that role, despite only having been a campus security officer and often sneered at for it.

Jack Quaid plays overly-stimulated and manic well, while Jeffrey Dean Morgan brings his veteran skills to his role, nailing a few nice subtleties. The story is basic, but sound and Simon’s frustrations are often well presented and well understood. Both main characters are both damaged in at least one way, and it makes for an interesting dynamic. The runtime is short, which keeps the film trucking at a decent clip.

Check out Neighborhood Watch if you want an interesting and quick amateur investigation/crime thriller.

Comparisons below aren’t quite right, but in the vein.