Netflix Unveils A Riveting Trailer For Voyeur
Netflix is out to give you the creeps with its latest documentary offering, sure to have you checking vents and thoroughly vetting your hotel choices from now into the foreseeable future.
Voyeur, directed by Myles Kane & Josh Koury, is taking a deep dive into the life and times of Gerald Foos, a Colorado-based former hotel owner who claims to have spied on his residents for decades through secret chambers in the ceiling, witnessing countless sexual encounters in the process, and even a grisly murder.
The documentary is inspired by a sensational story by the journalist Gay Talese which appeared in the April 11, 2016 issue of The New Yorker, entitled "The Voyeur's Motel", which was later expanded into a full-length book of the same name. But rather than being a strict visual retelling of the story, the documentary goes further and explores the fallout from its publication, as the article's veracity, the author's complicity, and the subject's honesty and even sanity all became subject to questioning shortly following its publication.
Some of the questions as to the accuracy of the article that were raised included reporters noting that Foos did not own the hotel for certain periods in which he claims to have been conducting his secret spying. The documentary will follow up on those questions, seeking the truth of the matter and trying to determine if Foos is lying—and if so, why.
In addition to Foos, the documentary follows Talese as he responds to reactions to the article. Originally, the New Yorker piece was optioned for a feature film adaptation by the director Sam Mendes, but once questions as to the accuracy of the article emerged, the project withered. This very documentary was also responsible for killing the film project, with Mendes not wanting to pursue a fictionalized version of the story while Kane & Koury filmed the real narrative.
Voyeur premieres on Netflix on December 1—check out the trailer above, and the evocative poster for the documentary below.
