Caveat (2020)

Caveat

• I was pretty impressed by Damian McCarthy’s ‘Oddity’, which I watched a week or two ago, so I backtracked and checked out his first feature film, ‘Caveat’. I wasn’t as impressed as I wanted to be, but this film still has plenty of shock value and fun little sequences. It definitely leans farther into the psychological aspect, though it still has enough physical scares and violence. The story felt a bit scrambled and in pieces, which is the way it’s supposed to be, but it wasn’t always appealing. There were some moments where I was just like, “Alright, let’s get a move on.” Not often, but it happened. There’s still a lot of mystery, though, and you want to keep finding out more. I didn’t really care for any of the characters, because they were all kind of insufferable. There wasn’t anything special that stood out from any of them, both within the film, and acting-wise. The performances were alright but nothing was memorable. The production design was fantastic, and the highlight of the film. The house was very creepy and the absolute perfect setup for this kind of tone and mood. It reminded me a LOT of Granny’s house from the game “Granny”. It’s very spooky and visually, everything was ominous. The lighting and framing of each room was magnificent. Overall, this is a solid film, but it definitely lacks substance for the plot and characters. But that’s offset by the drab cinematography and overall energy that comes out from the TV. I would probably recommend this to most horror fans, and I can definitely see myself rewatching it down the road to see if I like it more.