Watch The Couch

The movie 'The Couch' is a 2016 independent psychological thriller directed by Owen Dara. It stars Patricia Enger as the protagonist, Dr. Anna Fugazzi, a therapist dealing with her own issues as she struggles with a mysterious patient, played by Doug Phillips. The movie is an eerie exploration of the blurred lines between reality and the subconscious, betrayal and trauma.

The plot follows Dr. Fugazzi, taking us through her life, as she has an affair with a married man, struggles with loneliness, and attempts to make a connection with her patients. The movie takes a dark turn when a new patient requests help from Dr. Fugazzi with recurring dreams of a frightening man. While trying to diagnose and treat this new patient, the therapist's life takes an unexpected and dangerous turn.

The patient that Dr. Fugazzi is treating shows up for their first session with a tantalizing story of frightening dreams they’ve been having about a mysterious man, who's been swiftly entering and disappearing from the patient's dreams. The therapist starts working to uncover the root of these dreams, and soon an eerie sense of danger begins to build up around the practice.

As the story moves ahead, unsettling developments begin to unravel through the course of the patient's treatment. Her unexpected encounters with her therapy patient and her increasingly erratic behavior worsens her own self-doubts as she struggles with her own psychoses while helping her patient overcome hers.

The movie displays the therapeutic process between the patient and therapist as they delve deeper into the psyche of the patient, portrayed through a range of different themes like family bonds, sexual abuse, and the subconscious. The filmmaker uses a disorienting visual and audio effects, which challenges the viewer's perception of reality.

As the plot thickens, Dr. Fugazzi’s own dreams start converging with her patient's, and she is forced to take a step back and examine how her own reality might not be what it seems. Throughout the movie, the brilliant performances by the actors deliver an engaging and genuinely uncomfortable sense of foreboding, while slowly building suspense and tension within the story.

The director, Owen Dara, doesn't rely on typical clichés to create scares, instead keeping the focus on the characters and the exploration of their troubled minds. The movie takes a deep dive into the subconscious with a touch of surrealism throughout, which may be jarring for some viewers but does succeed in creating a hypnotizing effect.

The movie ends with a twist so surprising that it leaves the viewer conflicted and thinking long after the credits roll. The movie, at first glance, might seem ordinary, but as the mystery unravels, it’s sure to raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

In a nutshell, 'The Couch' is one of those indie psychological thrillers that will keep viewers engaged right from the start. From the poignant characters to the deftly handled storyline, the filmmakers inject just the right amount of suspense and horror to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. This movie is highly recommended to all the psychological-thriller movie buffs, who love to experience suspense and horror while watching a movie.