Jack Quaid, best known for his role in The Boys, has had quite the year. The actor has appeared in a number of notable releases over the past twelve months, such as horror Companion and action-comedy Novocaine No Pain. Before 2025 ends, he has another title to add to his growing filmography, which is crime-thriller Neighborhood Watch.
Quaid plays Simon McNally, a young man living with a mental illness (while the illness is never specified, it is implied to be schizophrenia) who is trying to get back on his feet and out into the world after spending time in hospital. However, the deafening voice in his head and disorientating hallucinations he experiences make this a very difficult task. One day, from a distance, Simon witnesses a young woman being beaten and thrown into a van. Despite his hallucinations, Simon knows that what he saw is real. When he reports the abduction to the police, they don’t believe him due to his medical history, and refuse to look into the incident any further. Knowing that time is running out for this woman, Simon finds an unlikely ally in his neighbor, retired and hardened security guard Ed Deerman (Jeffery Dean Morgan). Ed has been let go from his security role at a local college, which he is bitter about, and decides to help Simon – despite his reluctance.
Neighborhood Watch is a film with many admirable elements, such as its empathetic and sensitive portrayal of mental illness. This is largely thanks to Quaid’s endearing performance, and the relationship that builds between Simon and Ed. When Ed first meets Simon, he calls him derogatory names and rides him off as ‘crazy’ like everybody else does. Soon, there’s a shift in the relationship and narrative, where Simon, fed up, stands up for himself and assertively demands to be called by his actual name. It’s the first time Ed truly understands Simon, creating a dynamic between the pair that grows increasingly heartwarming. Morgan, best known for playing the villainous Negan in The Walking Dead, is a lot less sinister here. This retired cop is struggling to move on from his job, still hanging around at the campus despite no longer working there, and using hand sanitiser as a substitute for pepper spray, which he no longer has access to. Morgan definitely provides most of the comedic relief, bringing levity to balance out the heavy themes and topics in the story.
Despite being labelled as a thriller, however, Neighborhood Watch often lacks any real tension. The story moves along at an engaging enough pace, but is delivered in a somewhat conventional and lackluster way. The appeal lies more with the central characters and their relationship, rather than the mystery at the film’s center, which isn’t particularly engrossing. It feels more suited to the drama category, but then there are moments of all-out humour, and on the other end of the spectrum, gritty violence, making the tone feel slightly uneven and jarring. As previously mentioned, the film’s strength is its characters, and particularly the emotional journey Simon goes on. It is revealed that the monstrous voice in Simon’s head is his abusive father, who he also has disturbing visions of. Simon’s sister, Deedee (Malin Akerman), who is also his carer, attests to this, but some further exploration into that toxic father-son relationship would have helped to flesh out the story and further understand Simon’s trauma. It also would have helped to further push the emotional payoff (though still highly effective), which sees Ed become the supportive figure to Simon his father could never be.
Neighborhood Watch is a solid – if not entirely memorable – effort that excels in character work and development rather than its crime or mystery elements. It’s also a great showcase for both Quaid and Morgan.
