Thriller buffs are in for a treat with the upcoming movie See For Me. Directed by Randall Okita, this spooky home invasion flick follows its main protagonist, Sophie (Skyler Davenport), during a fight for her life. The visually impaired young woman is first introduced as cold and dismissive. She chooses to live an independent life, keeping her friends, family, and clients at a distance.
Working as a cat-sitter, Sophie finds herself staying in a beautiful mansion that's sectioned away in the middle of nowhere. But, her workcation doesn't go as planned as a group of thieves raid the house trying to find a safe filled with riches. The young adult uses an app called See For Me to connect with an Army veteran, Kelly (Jessica Parker Kennedy), who assists Sophie over the phone in her search for safety. Set to the stunning backdrop of a wintery forest, Okita brings in comforting imagery of snowy trees and chilly weather as the suspenseful story plays on. He masterfully plays with his craft to deliver a solid, well-paced movie.
In a conversation with Game Rant, Okita shared his experience working with the visually impaired actor Skyler Davenport, the See For Me character he's most excited for viewers to meet, and how he shakes off the nerves after working on such an intense project.
Game Rant: What stood out to you the most when it came to reading the script for the first time?
Randall Okita: Great question. You read a lot of scripts that are in the works, in development. First of all, it was really tight. To increase tension over the course of a thriller film like this, in a genre space that we may have seen some things in this world before — to do that in an original way — and to do that with great timing and unexpected twists and turns is difficult. The writers, Tommy Gushue and Adam Yorke really pulled that off. That is what initially drew me in, just the quality of the work and the time that they had spent thinking about the space and trying to put an original spin on it. Which included this element of representation of somebody whose perspective we don't often see. A character with visual impairment. And in a story that included the aspects of those experiences and those challenges, but it wasn't the main thing. That wasn't the main part of the story, that was just part of this character's life journey.
But they were also this like bada** underdog that gets to go through this heroic experience. Those two elements — to be able to incorporate aspects of representation and authenticity— and, of course, working with Skyler Davenport, who is a visually impaired person. [They] have this lived experience in [a] genre space where you get to have fun and run around the house and chase the good guys and the bad guys. The combination of those two things was what got me excited.
GR: When you were casting for the role of Sophie, were you intentionally seeking out a visually impaired actor to reach that authenticity? Or did it just happen that Skyler came on the radar and was incredible?
Okita: No, it was absolutely intentional. And we searched high and low. That was a big part of the formula for the team to be able to represent those experiences authentically and to involve somebody who could bring those experiences to the table. So, we searched high and low and we were so blessed to find Skyler. To then be able to talk about these elements of the story, to talk about these moments up front, and sort of tweak some of the dialogue and trajectories of the character within the story. And then on set, when we're talking about navigating, you know, I don't have that experience. Skyler was able to inform the way that we would move through these spaces in a very specific and physical way. So that it is not only more authentic, but that authenticity also created opportunities for different kinds of thrills and different kinds of shots and ways of visually reflecting the way that they actually move through the world. It was a huge opportunity and a huge part of the fun of developing the visuals and the script itself.
GR: Is there a character that you are excited to see everyone's reaction to? For me, it was the cop. She was so cool and phenomenal for only having like 10 minutes on screen.
Okita: We were so lucky to have these characters come out. I think you're absolutely right. Emily Piggford, as the police officer, does an incredible job in this very short space. And to pull out this tension and this balance of suspicion and investigation... not to give too much away. I think each of the characters has their own flavor, especially the bad guys. I love how Adam and Tommy were able to create these different personalities that all have a bit of a different space and whose sequences have a different result to them. I think people might come out to see Kim Coates, who plays the big bad guy, or Laura Vandervoort, who came out and plays a role for us. I think Jessica Parker Kennedy as Kelly does an incredible job in that partnership between her and Sophie. It is really strong. I think that's where people will fall in love with their partnership and take it away as the big transformation piece. But I really think it's Skyler. Viewers will go away remembering Skyler's performance. At least that was the experience for me. Skyler playing Sophie, and taking on their first role as a lead, over-delivered.
GR: Here's a fun one while we're on the topic of the cast. So, where was the cat the whole time? Was that intentional?
Okita: You have to wait for the sequel to learn about the backstory of what was happening with the cat. [Laughs] People have asked about the cat. I will say this: The cat is okay. There was a lot of talk about how to tie in the cat piece. But we had to focus on the other characters.
GR: Since you gave us that little joke about a potential sequel, what are your hopes for the future of See For Me?
Okita: I'm so excited to get the film out there. And for people to experience these characters. Obviously, there's a sense of isolation that runs through the film. But there was also this reflection of the making of the project because Sophie's running through the house trying to survive, and calling and interacting with these other characters, often remotely. Her main relationship with Kelly takes place through this app. And we made this film during the pandemic. So there was a lot of pause and separation, and a lot of it was edited over Zoom. A lot of the actors weren't in the same space, or they were on different schedules. I think for the actors themselves, as well as the audience, to be able to see the whole piece together. And for people to experience it as this constellation of performances as a whole is really what I'm excited about.
GR: I want to commend you for the incredible lighting. The visuals, the photography, that sequence towards the end... Fantastic. What made you want to get a little advantageous?
Okita: This space, again, is that opportunity to really lean into that stuff. If you're shooting something that takes place at night, you have these different levels of darkness. And you are talking about trusts, about awareness, about movement, through space. About how close or how far people are and how danger can be represented differently in some of those sequences over the course of her [Sophie's] interactions with the different kinds of bad guys, I worked with two Directors of Photography, Jackson Parrell and Jordan Oram, who are both these incredibly talented artists. They were able to really take that language and make it terrifying, but beautiful. Kind of poetic, but also really jarring at times. It was a visual language that we really had a blast exploring. A lot of the things were very difficult to pull off. But, I think it was worth it.
GR: How do you recoup at the end of working on an invasion storyline? Does that ever follow you home?
Okita: That's really funny because whenever that kind of thing happens — you know, that feeling like I left the door open or if somebody came for me— what happens is that I start designing the sequence. I start thinking about what it would look like. So then it gets into a fun space and it becomes a film. That my trick. If you're scared— if you hear a noise and you start going down that road, you just have to turn it into a movie. Sometimes it helps. Not always, but it usually will help. I'd be like okay, well what lens would that be, and how much dolly track would we need to get that shot.
GR: I love that. Do you have an invasion plan? Are you a "run straight at it" type of guy or would you just hide and hope it plays out well?
Okita: Well, listen, I can't give too much away publicly. But I definitely have a go-bag within reach. I have an escape plan. I have a go-bag with a little bit of cash and some necessities, a change of clothes, water purification. And, I definitely have nunchucks hidden in three or four different spaces around the house that I can always access.
See For Me opens in select theaters, digital platforms, and VOD on January 7th.