Between social media and the readiness and availability of smartphones, the normalcy of broadcasting every bit of our lives across multiple platforms is more prevalent than ever. The need to peek into someone else’s lives isn’t looked at as invasive, but accepted, because the subjects are willing participants. What happens, though, when we aren’t aware we’re being watched? When our need for privacy and seclusion is invaded so erroneously, that even our own home isn’t a safe place anymore? 15 Cameras, the third entry in a trilogy of voyeuristic thrillers, takes us down a dark, skeevy road to this possibility. 

Young couple Cam (Will Madden) and Sky (Angela Wong Carbone) purchase a duplex with plans to fix it up and rent out the other unit as a source of supplemental income. Despite the fact that they’re aware the home was the site of a scandal involving the previous landlord who illicitly installed hidden cameras to watch his tenants, they’re undeterred. They’ve been assured that all cameras have since been removed, and the former landlord is no longer a problem – so what could possibly go wrong?

Enter new renters Mina (Courtney Dietz) and Amber (Hannah McKechnie). They’re young, excited, and the very definition of perfect tenants. Unfortunately for them, not all is as it appears to be, as Cam discovers there are leftover cameras still installed in the building, set up to view all rooms and inhabitants. The wanton need to participate in the voyeuristic opportunities this presents proves to be too much for Cam, who rapidly descends into a dark place, affecting his relationship, his reputation, and the lives of all involved.

Directed by Danny Madden and written by PJ McCabe, this is the third film in a series (with 13 Cameras and 14 Cameras preceding it) that all center around slumlords using cameras to unknowingly spy on their residents. The plots of each are different enough that you don’t need to see all of them to know what’s happening in this latest installment…and that may be a good thing.

This movie is not for the faint of heart. While there’s very little gore or traumatic scenes, it hits on a very deep, inherent aspect that should be rooted in all of us to not invade someone else’s privacy. As the story progressively shows more and more of the violating spying that takes place, we as the audience are the reluctant passengers on a twisted ride none of us can jump off of. The end result leaves you with a feeling of general…ickiness. 

Of course, that’s the point and intent of what the filmmakers were trying to achieve, and boy, do they. On one hand, it’s commendable, because the purpose of storytelling is to invoke feelings from your viewers. On the other, this greatly divides your audience, because only a portion will be able to handle the discomfort that comes along with watching it. 

Taking all that off the table, 15 Cameras is well paced, pressing on the accelerator of tension evenly from start to finish. The performances are also notable, particularly from Madden, who excels in playing a hyperactive, stressed out maniac who clearly is in over his head. Carbone, for her part, does a great job playing opposite of this, with level-headed skepticism once she begins to uncover Cam’s secrets.

Overall, this is a difficult movie to recommend based on subject matter alone, but deserves praise for creating a riveting, but stomach-churning tale. 

5.5 out of 10