Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Damian McCarthy
Starring: Jonathan French, Leila Sykes, Ben Caplan
After several millennia of storytelling, it's rare to come across a
premise – whether in movies, TV, lierature or theatre – that makes you sit
up and remark "Hmm, I haven't seen that before." For his feature debut,
Irish writer/director Damian McCarthy has devised a setup that
would make Edgar Allan Poe fist pump the lid of his coffin in
appreciation.
Suffering from amnesia in the wake of an accident, Isaac (Jonathan French) is approached by Moe (Ben Caplan), who claims to be an old
friend, and offered 200 quid a day for five days' work. The job, while
unconventional, seems easy enough. Moe's brother committed suicide in his
family's isolated home, and since then, Moe's troubled niece Olga (Leila Sykes) has been visiting the home, where she regularly succumbs to a catatonic
state. Moe wants Isaac to stay with Olga and make sure she stays safe.
Seems simple enough.
When Moe takes Isaac to the home, it becomes clear he's held back some
vital nuggets of information. For one, the home is on an island,
accessible only by boat, which means Isaac, who can't swim, will be stuck
there until the five days are up and Moe returns to fetch him. But the
real caveat is that Moe doesn't trust Isaac to stay out of his niece's
bedroom, and so Isaac is forced to wear a harness on a chain, which
restricts his movements to certain areas of the house.
Reluctantly, Isaac decides it's worth the money and accepts this odd
assignment. It's not long before it becomes clear that he's gotten himself
involved with something very sinister. Isaac hears whispers in the dark; a
creepy painting seems to keep turning itself around when Isaac hides it
against the wall; an even creepier mangy toy bunny bangs its drum in a
manner that suggests it's powered by something other than Duracell. And
then there's Olga, who walks around the house wielding a crossbow. But the
real trouble begins when Isaac decides to explore the basement…
As a piece of storytelling, Caveat is close to flawless.
While its premise boasts an extravagant scenario, McCarthy ensures it
plays out in simple fashion. Taking place entirely, save for a few
flashbacks, in one crumbling, damp-ridden house, it's a textbook example
of economical filmmaking. As screenwriter, McCarthy dishes out information
without ever getting bogged down in exposition, and as a director he
manipulates the limited, claustrophobic geography of his setting in expert
fashion, wringing out every last drop of tension from this narrative.
McCarthy's expertise in establishing his setting's geography pays off in
spades in the final act when a cat and mouse game kicks in, as Isaac and
Olga stalk one another like the protagonists of that old 'Spy vs Spy'
video game.
Caveat keeps both the audience and its leading man guessing.
Neither we nor Isaac are sure who we can trust. Has Isaac been set up by
Moe? Is Olga involved with Moe's possible scheme or is she too being
duped? Is Isaac really as innocent as his limited memory leads him to
believe? Is there a supernatural force at play or will this all culminate
in a Scooby Doo reveal?
With his wide eyes, French perfectly embodies someone trying to put two
and two together when he can't even remember the number four. Caplan is a
slimy presence from the off, while Sykes' closed face acting keeps us in
the dark regarding her involvement in the shenanigans.
If it opens like an adaptation of some lost Poe tale, or a late addition
to BBC's 'Ghost Stories at Christmas' canon, Caveat climaxes
in EC Comics fashion, with a final twist deserving of its own lurid splash
page. What's so impressive about McCarthy's film is how smooth this
transition plays out. Devoid of jump scares, loud bangs or an overbearing
score, this is horror at its most effective, scaled down, pared back and
tight as a possessed toy bunny's snare drum.
Caveat is on Shudder UK/ROI from
June 3rd.
