Duncan Skiles’ “Neighborhood Watch” (2025) shows a cranky old man teaming up with an anxious young man to solve a mystery about a kidnapping case. Although an investigative crime thriller, it is just as much a buddy dramedy that follows the tropes of the latter genre. It shows these two characters as an unlikely duo that slowly warms up to each other’s company. That might be a treat for ‘The Boys’ fans who barely saw these two together in the show. Their dynamic here is much more subdued, and their performances are more grounded than in the heightened satire.
Jack Quaid plays Simon McNally, a 20-something man who seems like a version of Hughie Campbell. He is just as reserved and emotional, and often seems just a few moments away from breaking into tears or a scream. However, unlike Hughie, Simon’s fears are rooted in a traumatic childhood that offered him more challenges than a child could handle. So, he has grown socially anxious and unable to work through his life like a responsible adult. With no parent in sight, his sister DeeDee (Malin Akerman) becomes his partial caretaker and support system.
Simon hears voices in his head that make it nearly impossible to get over his trauma. They limit his skills and keep him at odds with reality. He doubts anything and everything he comes across, unsure whether it’s the truth or a figment of his imagination. In that mental state, he spots a young woman getting abducted in broad daylight. Despite his best efforts to report it, he cannot convince others that he actually witnessed it. That’s when he seeks help from Ed Deerman (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), his retired security guard, who looks like he is always a step away from calling you by the vilest expletives you can think of.
Ed is grumpy and bitter and faces health problems that a 60-something person usually would. He refuses to compromise and is not over the mental high his past job offered him. So, he often looks for a case to crack because it makes him feel as important and respected as he once used to feel. This desire for acceptance and human connection, along with a penchant for seeking justice, connects him with Simon on a deeper level. So, they join hands in a ‘Neighbourhood Watch,’ even though, on the surface, they seem like the farthest of people.
One looks perennially terrified, whereas the other wears his confidence on his sleeve. They seem like an oddball duo of criminal investigators who do not fit the usual description of ‘Bad Boys.’ However, their underlying qualities make their team-up seem convincing. At the core, they both are trying to prove their worth to the world that has given up on their ability to do anything worthwhile. This charming thought holds the ship together in this Duncan Skiles directorial that pulls most of its punches just right.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a highlight in this crime thriller despite playing against his usual type. He is handsome and charismatic, which often makes him look appealing even in the toughest roles. However, as Ed, Morgan embodies the disgruntled old-man persona while nailing his body language and mannerisms to the T. Of course, Sean Farley’s script offers him enough material to work with to present the dissonance in his angry-old-man exterior and an attention-hungry-old-man turmoil. Still, Morgan manages to churn out the humanity of this character, whom we would often not even want to cross paths with.
Morgan’s performance makes his conventionally unsympathetic character easy to empathize with. Unlike him, Quaid’s Simon plays into the archetype of a miserable young man whom you would naturally root for. The film follows his underdog character seeking redemption, not to make a grand gesture but to prove to himself that he is as worthy of dignity and kindness as any other person. Although Quaid’s performance is sincere, the presentation of his mental illness feels outdated. It looks and sounds similar to how Rami Malek’s isolated hacker is shown hearing voices in “Mr. Robot.” However, the depiction lacks the dramatic heft of the former project.
Despite these minor qualms, “Neighborhood Watch” is a captivating thriller despite being set in a fairly humdrum setting. Neither the two characters nor the setting naturally promises something as thrilling as what Skiles manages to execute. It works well because it manages to churn out as much drama in its seemingly minor moments while often staying as grounded as possible. Around its midpoint, you get more invested in the characters than in the case they try to solve. So, it excels as a character study that rewards us with the sense of discovery, achievement, and catharsis that the characters feel.
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