'The Beach House' Review
NRRuntime: 1 Hr and 27 MinutesProduction Companies: Low Spark Films, Uncorked ProductionsDistributor: ShudderDirector: Jeffrey A. BrownWriter: Jeffrey A. BrownCast: Liana Liberato, Noah Le Gros, Jake Weber Release Date: July 9, 2020
Escaping to his family's beach house to reconnect, Emily and Randall find their off-season trip interrupted by Mitch and Jane Turner, an older couple acquainted with Randall's estranged father. Unexpected bonds form as the couples let loose and enjoy the isolation, but it all takes an ominous turn as increasingly strange environmental phenomena begin to warp their peaceful evening. As the effects of an infection become evident, Emily struggles to make sense of the contagion before it's too late.
As far as White people in horror movies go, I genuinely like the leads in The Beach House. Emily and Randall aren’t idiots like most White leads in horror films are. I mean, The Beach House doesn’t necessarily give them any major challenges to overcome, but I was fond of them as characters. These two college sweethearts — one in the medical field pursuing grad school (Liana Liberato) and the other a dropout (Noah Le Gros) — go to a beach house to rekindle their romance. Their relationship isn’t “on the rocks” per se, but you can tell it’s been jumping through some hurdles. With Emily being the most fleshed-out character, Liana Liberato delivers a solid performance and carries the film. Her performance was the only thing that got me through this basic-ass movie.
Indie horror movies are either must-see hidden gems or heaping piles of garbage. The Beach House leans more towards the latter. With an 87-minute runtime, this is the most poorly paced short horror film I’ve seen in a long time. The most frustrating aspect is its tone; it takes itself way too seriously for a setup that’s far too silly. I don’t want to give too much away, but Emily, Randall, and the beach house owners (Mitch and Jane) partake in something drug-related, which kicks off the Lovecraftian horror elements. With such a silly/hysterical setup, you’d expect the film to take on a campy tone.
Nope. Instead, writer/director Jeffrey A. Brown decides to tackle a serious tone that doesn’t match the hilarity of the setup. The film suffers from a sluggish pace as it goes through the motions of a generic horror movie. It’s as if Brown expended so much energy on the first act that, by the time he realized he had to write a full horror movie, he decided to copy and paste bits and pieces of every other generic one in the book. There are brief scenes of effective body horror, which truly display Brown’s potential at the genre considering this is his debut, but because it’s completely hampered by such a dull execution, it fails to leave an impression.
Even when The Beach House emphasizes the Lovecraftian horror elements, Brown doesn’t do anything remotely unique or interesting with his leads. I understand that Lovecraftian horror is based on the horror of the unknown, but part of the fun of this sub-genre is figuring out the mystery. The Beach House is one of those indie horrors that rely on formulaic tropes instead of doing anything original or inventive, which is disappointing because the first act delivers a solid setup. Even when the film nosedives into “WTF” territory, you don’t receive any explanation for it at all. It makes you ask more questions than it bothers to answer, so the end of the movie leaves you feeling utterly unimpressed. Rating: 2/5 | 43%
