X
- 2021
- Not Rated
- Tiberius Film
- 1 h 28 m
- 2021
- Not Rated
- Tiberius Film
- 1 h 28 m
Summary Lone drifter Isaac accepts a job to look after his landlord's niece, Olga, for a few days in an isolated house on a remote island. It seems like easy money, but there’s a catch: he must wear a leather harness and chain that restricts his movements to certain rooms. Once Olga's uncle, Barrett leaves the two of them alone, a game of cat an...
- 2021
- Not Rated
- Tiberius Film
- 1 h 28 m
- 2021
- Not Rated
- Tiberius Film
- 1 h 28 m
Caveat
60
6.3
Where to Watch
Summary Lone drifter Isaac accepts a job to look after his landlord's niece, Olga, for a few days in an isolated house on a remote island. It seems like easy money, but there’s a catch: he must wear a leather harness and chain that restricts his movements to certain rooms. Once Olga's uncle, Barrett leaves the two of them alone, a game of cat an...
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
60
43% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
57% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
60
43% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
57% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Caveat is a masterpiece of understatement for a title, and a witty opener to Damian Mc Carthy’s directorial debut, an impressive and often terrifying film, taking place almost solely in one location, with two people trapped in a moldy dimly-lit house.
With a tight 87-minute runtime, Caveat would have made for a perfectly lean chiller had it opted to maximize the claustrophobia inherent in literally chaining the viewer to one terrifying location for the entirety of the film.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 User Ratings
6.3
45% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
45% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
10% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 User Ratings
6.3
45% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
45% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
10% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Concentrated atmospheric horror. More like a thriller. There is no back to back killing but it is terrifyingly scary. There are a few loose ends but that should be the biggest problem with the film. I was very scared, I liked it a lot.
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Caveat exists in a liminal space between genres, which is fitting for a film about the skeletons that might hide inside the walls of an old house. However, Mc Carthy’s mix-and-match approach reveals the story’s need for a more solid foundation.
Caveat is like a gothic horror tone poem, with pungent notes of decay.
The final endgame is a little unsatisfying, but this is a very interesting debut for McCarthy.
The visuals ooze creepiness, even if the payoff doesn’t arrive until the very end.
Mc Carthy serves up a generically foreboding premise and pulls off several efficiently traditional jump scares in this variation on a haunted-house formula, but it’s the shape-shifting mind games of his own narrative that most unnerve the viewer, as seemingly fixed plot points of who is under threat — and when, and why, and so on — keep darting out of sight.
An aversion referenced throughout Caveat is claustrophobia. It's woven into the very DNA of the film itself as due to a low-budget this largely takes place in a single rundown location comprised of tight hallways and a handful of small bedrooms that will certainly leave the right viewers in need of a little free-roaming space afterwards. For me though, the terror came from a mix of cleithrophobia and a more general fear of the unknown.
A problem the horror genre often runs into is that it can feel too plausible for the characters to escape the danger they're in with relative ease or receive outside help, and the threat itself being either the usual ghost, monster, or maniac we've seen enough times over the years to have developed an understanding of. Completely isolated and unable to leave for reasons I won't spoil, here the protagonist, and therefore the audience, are stuck in a shady situation that reeks of a setup with very little (mis)information to go on. An air of ambiguity and deceit hang over the entire scenario because of the immediately dishonest, manipulative personality of our lead's shifty landlord making it clear he's hiding quite a bit about this weird job from the tenant he's convinced to take it. What those withholdings may be however, you have no clue. So when things start getting freaky your mind will race with all the possible causes behind the incomprehensible. Effectively allowing your own imagination to scare you just as much as the unnerving atmosphere and horrific secrets to be uncovered will.
The only other movie I've seen that takes this kind of approach is In Fear. Another feature that made my blood run cold as it left me in the dark for my mind to play tricks on me. At least until I began to figure out what was going on, at which point its effectiveness at alarming you decreases significantly. That's where Jeremy Lovering's directorial debut and Damian McCarthy's (Mc Carthy?) differ. When the mysteries start to get revealed in this it doesn't take away from the frightening nature this supremely messed up babysitting gig has. Instead, each new insight led to me getting more emotionally invested in the tale as the true tragedies of it came to light. Plus, not every question receives an answer leaving you with plenty to ponder over and draw your own conclusions on until the ending and even beyond.
Nevertheless, despite all this praise I'm heaping on the picture it does have a pretty large flaw. The concept requires its principal figure to agree to a series of questionable stipulations so absurd it nearly defies believability to the extent where it can derail the experience for some before it ever truly begins. It's an issue that could have been explained away had any sort of reason, like a severe financial need, been established to help people understand why this man said yes to all this strangeness when the majority of others would say no, but none ever is.
Still, those who can look past that will be treated to one the most terrifying releases since the first Conjuring. Many of the comforts we are unknowingly used to are absent by the way of the unfortunate subject of this nightmare's trapped status, and the means in which it leaves you constantly guessing what the danger actually is until the big revelation. Whether you can buy into its logic or not, viewed strictly for its ability to rob individuals of their composure this in top contention for the title of best content on Shudder. Not least of all because of what was able to be accomplished under such a modest production.
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+Interesting plot/suit mechanism design ideas
+Decent production quality considering the low budget
-LFE is far too loud -Overreliance on genre tropes
There are some great ambience effects that build nicely with some decent editing and pacing. Sadly the standard tropes of the genre with peeking and loud sounds is overdone. Character motivations are rather unclear but somehow despite the flaws I found this to be compelling to watch all the way through. Intriguing stuff!
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Although the 2020 production is stated as horror, it is more of a thriller. In fact, the tension gradually increased. But he could not pass from here to fear. He had to make better use of the dead woman and the schizophrenic girl for the last half hour for it to be frightening. Even a toy bunny could have been used more. The deserted place, the schizophrenic girl, the gloomy house, the toy bunny reacting to paranormal events, and the dead woman were good material for the horror movie. But there was no subject. That's why the movie couldn't get above average. I think it could have been a much better movie with some (see: blair witch) and (see: evil dead) sauce. There are no nudity or brutality scenes in the movie. Can be viewed comfortably with the community.
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I just cannot believe this dude put on the vest. He was talked into it so easily. He didn’t even check for food or where this chain was and went. Just so so so stupid.
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