Damian Mc Carthy’s ‘Caveat’ (2020): This Old House Has Rotten Secrets – Movie Review

Growing up, the dark was a common fear for many of us. The idea of something in the shadows, a figure watching us and waiting to attack, was nearly paralyzing. It was the fear of the unknown and what’s hidden there. Perhaps we grew out of it, or perhaps we are still afraid? This is what happens in the film, Caveat, directed by He Dies At The End’s Damian Mc Carthy (read our interview with him here) on Shudder.

First of all, I want to say that I give Shudder a lot of credit for taking chances on films that explore different territories and don’t always rely on a lot of genre clichés. They show all types of horror movies ranging from cheesy B flicks to award-winning films. They have a knack for pleasing genre fans and, at the same time, introducing them to both classic and contemporary horror films that can bridge age gaps and spark up conversations. Caveat is a film that will surely do that.

Synopsis:

Isaac is a lone drifter suffering from partial memory loss who accepts a job to look after a psychologically troubled woman in an abandoned house on an isolated island.

Unfortunately, Caveat is a bit slow in the beginning. A lot of films use the formula of the slow burn to take the time to build character development. In the beginning, there are parts where Isaac (Jonathan French: A Soldier’s Voice 2014) explores the house. It feels a bit slow watching him just walk around. However, the film does pick up, and it gets quite interesting.

Caveat is a unique horror movie that doesn’t rely on traditional genre routines. It has a few jump scares—and they aren’t the usual jump scares—which I really love. There are great moments with no music and no quirky dialogue. The film has natural sound and the darkness in the basement adds a major factor of terror.

Caveat doesn’t really have a timeline, so I don’t know what decade the story takes place in. It’s not a huge deal because this film is timeless. It has a ’70s feel to it, a great decade for psychological horror. Leila Sykes does a great job playing this unique character—not a scream queen or a badass final girl. She plays a regular yet damaged person who doesn’t talk a lot. When she does talk or fight back, she impressed me, and I found her to be interesting. One of my favorite non-traditional aspects is using an evil doll/drumming rabbit to create tension in scenes. All you need to see are those creepy eyes.

Overall, I enjoyed Caveat, and I feel that, in around ninety minutes, it packs a lot of terror and suspense with an interesting twist. Caveat is a film that doesn’t try to go overboard with gore or to be too smart. It’s a throwback to the ’70s but makes it all its own.