Neighborhood Watch Review: Jack Quaid and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Mismatched Dynamic Can’t Do Much to Overcome This Prosaic Crime Thriller

Here’s an unlikely character team-up in Neighborhood Watch that got my attention. And that is a mentally ill — paranoid schizophrenic, to be exact — ex-patient Simon (Jake Quaid) joins forces with a retired campus security guard, Ed (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Their mission is to investigate the missing young woman. But here lies the problem, which poses an all-important question: Is the young woman really abducted in the first place? Because the only person who witnessed the incident was Simon, whose illness might be playing tricks on his mental health.

He is also prone to stress, and he’s been out of work for far too long due to his condition, meaning securing employment remains futile. Not to mention, he constantly hears voices that keep bugging him from time to time. His statement might be unreliable, and the cops are having trouble believing him when he attempts to file a report at the station.

Even his older sister, DeeDee (Malin Akerman), can’t help much. This leaves Ed, his next-door neighbour, for assistance. In the beginning, Ed doesn’t want to be bothered and couldn’t care less about Simon since he knows well about his condition. But a few hesitations later, he reluctantly agrees to help Simon and start delving into their own investigation.

Frankly, the mystery about whether Simon is telling the truth or simply a figment of his hallucination barely matters here in Neighborhood Watch. I was hoping The Clovehitch Killer‘s Duncan Skiles, who directed Sean Farley’s first-time screenplay, could do more to make the story intriguing with elements of tension, suspense and stakes. Too bad he would rather keep it mostly neutral, which in turn, slackens the momentum. Even clocking in at just 92 minutes, the movie feels like it trudges through the clunky pace.

Still, what keeps me watching is the mismatched dynamic between Jack Quaid and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. They don’t get along well from the first time they meet, but after a while, they manage to strike an unlikely bond to work together as a team to solve the case. Individually speaking, Jack Quaid does a good job playing the schizophrenic Simon struggling to keep his sanity in check. In case you are keeping count, this is the third time we see The Boys actor in 2025 following Companion and Novocaine, both sadly underperformed movies that deserve better, thanks to his charismatic performances.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is an ideal choice to play a world-weary old-timer who hasn’t been in action for a long time. His retirement is pretty much mundane, where he would spend time with his stagnant lifestyle playing online poker and downing alcohol while ignoring his own health issues. But the arrival of Simon asking for his help makes him feel alive once again. It also gives him a sense of purpose, even if Simon’s claim of seeing a young woman getting kidnapped is questionable. Again, their odd partnership is the best thing that happens in Neighborhood Watch.

The rest of the cast, namely Malin Akerman, provides adequate support as Simon’s sister, DeeDee. Compared to Companion and Novocaine, where both movies made good use of Jack Quaid’s talents without sacrificing the respective movies’ unique selling points, Neighborhood Watch ends up as a missed opportunity.

Sure, the second half does have its moments once Simon and Ed find out more clues regarding the young woman’s disappearance. But the overall thrilling aspect of the movie is flaccid. If only Skiles can find a balance between the quirky team-up of Jack Quaid and Jeffrey Dean Morgan and the thrills of the missing-person investigation, we have a third winner in a row — creatively speaking, that is — for Quaid.