Surveillance

R

Released Jun 26, 2009

1h 37m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

List

55%

74 Reviews

Tomatometer

43%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

After a spree of horrific murders in the New Mexico desert, two FBI agents arrive at a small Sante Fe police station to interview the key witnesses. Using elaborate surveillance equipment to view the interrogations simultaneously, Sam Hallaway watches as his partner cross examines the three survivors. As several inconsistencies emerge, it becomes clear that somebody in the room knows the truth behind the slayings.

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Critics Consensus

This dark psycho-thriller from Jennifer Lynch, is violent, sharp and baffling, but not to everyone's taste.

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Audience Member

I regret giving some bad critics to some low budget movies when i watched this movie.... what a bad plot, i mean it looks like the director was in a resstaurent had some drinks and the said lets do a movid where 2 FBI agents will be the killers... of course his friends laughed and said yeaaaah great idea... the next day the went filming .... it s bad, the characters are paper i was worried about them i hope they had good career after this bad bad ... really bad movie

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

dave j

Co-written and directed by Jennifer Chambers Lynch with FBI agents of Sam (Bill Pullman) and Elizabeth (Julia Orman) stopping by at a small local police station head by Captain Billings ( Michael Ironside) to solve a series of serial killings as well as interviewing witnesses.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Felt this was a reasonable watch. It has a promising premise, starts well, interesting format, very well shot (IMHO), and then speeds up towards the end following a big revelation. Could be better but, enjoyable nevertheless.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

nilufer e

I quite enjoyed it and I believe it was under-rated. The acting was good and I loved the twists. It was thrilling and exciting even though it was a low budget flick.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Obviously Lynchesque, This modern film noir plays upon the stereotipical fears that permeates consistently throughout the history of hollywood storytelling - authority and untamed depravity. Despite the text book thrills there is enough here to push the genre forward. Strong, diverse female characters, dealing with a mysoginistic society are a welcome addition and then of course there is the western obsession with the ultimate, alternative American Dream - Bonnie and Clyde.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

ronald h

This film is a crime against humanity. Despicable garbage. Not one ounce of intelligence. The so-called "black" humor is clumsily juxtaposed against the grisly violence. An utterly pointless, disgusting pile of excrement. The "twist" in the final act is abhorrent. Not funny, not clever, just nauseating. I never liked David Lynch, and it's apparent that he has passed his genes on to his daughter, whose apparent view of the world is on par with a mentally sick 12 year old kid who is destined to commit a school shooting---just because it's "fun." Well, it's not fun to waste an hour and a half of screen time on the lowest depravity imaginable. Shame on Jennifer Lynch and every actor who agreed to appear in this piece of garbage. Shame on the parents who let their child actor participate in this. Shame on every critic who gave this film a positive review. It's films like this that illustrate how low Hollywood has descended. Do yourself a favor and avoid this, even if you're curious, as I was. Save yourself the regret.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Jennifer Chambers Lynch

Director

Julia Ormond

Elizabeth Anderson

Bill Pullman

Sam Hallaway

Pell James

Bobbi Prescott

Ryan Simpkins

Stephanie

Cheri Oteri

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

It's a great whodunit.

Rated: B+

Sep 12, 2017

Full Review

S. James Snyder

Time Out

Rated: 3/5

Nov 17, 2011

Full Review

Jason Anderson

Toronto Star

Pullman's striking performance here is undermined by Lynch's overreliance on those same grisly shock tactics, as well as a script that fails to capitalize on a promising premise and then swiftly collapses upon the revelation of a not-so-shocking twist.

Rated: 2/4

Jul 24, 2009

Full Review

Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

Taut, edgy, titillating, thrilling. Surveillance is a masterful examination into the dark side of the human condition.

Nov 15, 2019

Full Review

David Harris

Spectrum Culture

Surveillance will create almost no ripples whatsoever as it slithers in and out of theaters to find a second life on late-night cable.

Rated: 1.5/5

Oct 9, 2019

Full Review

Mike Edwards

What Culture

This strange thriller mixes a penchant for grittiness with the surreal and very very dark stylings of David Lynch, who happens to be the father of the director...

Rated: 3/5

Mar 13, 2011

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

After a spree of horrific murders in the New Mexico desert, two FBI agents arrive at a small Sante Fe police station to interview the key witnesses. Using elaborate surveillance equipment to view the interrogations simultaneously, Sam Hallaway watches as his partner cross examines the three survivors. As several inconsistencies emerge, it becomes clear that somebody in the room knows the truth behind the slayings.

Director: Jennifer Chambers Lynch
Producer: David Lynch, Gary Hamilton, Jeff Geoffray, Walter Josten
Screenwriter: Jennifer Chambers Lynch, Kent Harper
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Film Star Pictures, Stephen Onda Productions, See Film, Lago Film, Blue Rider Pictures
Rating: R (Scene of Aberrant Sexuality|Pervasive Language|Some Drug Use|Strong Bloody Violence)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 26, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 18, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $25.4K
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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