'The Beach House' (2019)



I've been hearing good things about 'The Beach House' (thanks Twitter!) and I had a little time to myself last night so I thought I'd give it a go. As blog post introductions go, that was one of my more succinct openers ;o) Normally, I'd try and be a bit more interesting but sometimes that's all there is to it. I've got two books on the go, neither of which are anywhere near being finished, and work had been tough so I thought I'd watch a movie instead of reading.
This is going to be a short review because, well, you'll see why...

Emily and Randall have gone to Randall's family beach house in an attempt to reconnect after a rough year. Things aren't about to get any smoother though and it's not the unexpected guests that are the the worst of it. There's something in the water and very soon, it will be on dry land and at the door...

'The Beach House' totally redefines the whole meaning of 'slow burner'. Seriously, it got to a point (about half an hour into an hour and a half long film) where I was seriously wondering whether I was playing the wrong movie. It's all beautifully shot but there's very litle going on in these opening moments, and beyond. Be warned...

Stick with it though. It's worth it if you do.

A little bit of perseverance really pays off as the film starts to build up the tension and kicks things off the following day with all the stuff that you'd expect from a horror film that caters for the slightly more thoughtful fan but has a couple of moments for gorehounds like me. Lets just say that I'm never going near a jelly fish after watching 'The Beach House'... I'd still argue that this movie could have done with a little more energy, at the beginning, but it knows how to step up a gear when it really matters.All of a sudden, we're following Emily as she tries to make sense of what is happening as well as staying ahead of whatever the townsfolk are transforming into. All of a sudden, we're into body horror and a sense of creeping dread that isn't helped by the fact that we never really understand just why all this is happening (underater gas is fair enough but it's never really expanded upon). I actually like this approach more as it adds to the dread when characters are dealing with something that they cannot rationalise. It certainly challenges Emily to step up and be more than Randall's girlfriend and watching her chracter develop over the course of the film is brilliant as well. This sense of reality breaking down reminded me of 'The Colour Out of Space' albeit not quite as Lovecraftian.

I thought Liana Liberato's Emily carried the film superbly, right up to that deliberately underplayed but definitely awesome ending. I loved Jake Weber in the 2004 'Dawn of the Dead' and I'm not afraid to admt that I did a little yay when he walked into the beach house. His 'everyman' act was just what 'The Beach House' needed as it really sets off the slightly weird horror happening around him. And the way he exits the film was very well done indeed.

I told you this would be a short post, mainly because there's not a lot going on in the opening parts of the film, just shots of how nice the beach looks (and it does, to be fair, but even so...) Stick with it though and you've got a very nice little slice of weird horror that I'm hoping you'll enjoy as much as I did. A slight lack of balance in the pace of 'The Beach House' is balanced out by the film really stepping up to the plate and delivering when it really matters.

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