The Beach House

As I stumbled upon the 2019 movie "The Beach House" in 2021, I had no idea what I was in for here. But I have to say that the movie's synopsis sounded interesting enough, so I opted to give writer and director Jeffrey A. Brown's movie a chance.

And while "The Beach House" started out adequately enough, the movie quickly shifted gears and went into a stalemate. For a long period of time as the storyline progressed, nothing happened. And I must admit that the movie was quickly starting to lose its grip on me as I grew bored. And then out of nowhere, writer and director Jeffrey A. Brown fully turns the movie around and things go from being bored to just being downright strange. And the events that started to happen, definitely had potential, but by then it was just too little, too late, and the damage had been irrevocably been done.

"The Beach House" was a movie of wasted potential. The storyline had some rather interesting elements to it, but the build up of the movie was just not working for me, and I ended up rather bored actually as the storyline went forward with snail speed.

The movie has a small cast ensemble, so there is an increased amount of pressure on the actors and actresses to deliver profound acting performances that will carry the movie. And I will say that the handful of actors and actresses in the movie actually managed to do rather well, especially with the severe limitations imposed on them by a lack of proper script and storyline. Liana Liberato carried the movie quite well, and it was definitely nice to see Jake Weber on the screen.

If writer and director Jeffrey A. Brown had introduced the strange events a lot earlier in the movie, then "The Beach House" would have been a much more enjoyable movie.

The ending of the movie was just one that was so cliché that it almost physically hurt to witness.

My rating of "The Beach House" lands on a mere three out of ten stars.

The reviews for this movie are incredibly inconsistent. However it seems like people are agreeing about certain aspects. Everyone seems to agree with the sentiment that the movie is a slow burn. I personally found the first half of the film to be interesting and it increasingly built tension. Others will say it was boring.

The film is also being hammered on for being mysterious and accused of offering no real explanation as to why certain things are happening. Not true, there are several scenes/conversations that offer theories and possible answers to what is happening. However, the theories are presented indirectly. I personally found the explanations interesting enough.

The climax of the film is ultimately why I recommend this movie. Around the 50 minute mark is when this film separates itself from the pack. There are 2 horrific set pieces in particular that are extremely well shot and present genuine creepy imagery.

It was kinda cool at times. We compromised and we will give it a 5. There were some okay scenes. Tiny twist, maybe. Not a great ending. But oh well. It was really fine, if you wanna watch it you might enjoy it. It was somewhat enjoyable.

Did you ever see a movie that you thought was pretty good, but that was so weird and out of nowhere that you weren't really quite sure how you were supposed to process it as a viewer?

The Beach House is one of the newer additions to Shudder, and, for the most part, it's a pretty standard horror movie. It's a slow burn about a young couple that go to (you guessed it!) a beach house for a romantic vacation together, only to find an older couple also staying at the beach house. For about half of the movie, things are okay - you're just watching a flawed relationship trying to fix itself and grow - but, when things go awry, they really go out with it.

This film has an uneasy feeling throughout. It gives off a vibe of unease, as though it were preparing the viewer for what is to come. There wasn't a moment of the film that I felt I could trust any particular characters, especially once the film really started revving its engine and working toward the final act.

There are a lot of tense moments in the film, which is one thing they pulled off really well. Where it lost me was in the plot, the way it suddenly (and I do mean suddenly) begins to get a little too sci-fi for my liking in a film like this. I'll give it credit for doing something different (it easily could've been very cliched) and trying to be its own thing, but it's an instance where I feel it, perhaps, tried a little too hard to be original and ended up being off-putting as the film went on.

That being said, credit needs to be given where it's due. Everyone acting in this film did a great job. The characters were relatable and believable. And the shots in this thing are absolutely stunning as well. The aesthetic of the film is eye-catching and beautiful throughout, which made it a film that was still enjoyable despite its faults.

If you're not into genre movies, this is not for you. And I am not talking about teenagers horrors films, that are filled with cheap jump scares and special effects, that actually don't work at all. This movie is for audiences that enjoy the ride of building an atmosphere, escalating this until you really are ready to its final destination. While this is not an unforgettable horror film, it will really catch your attention and makes you feel uncomfortable again and again from the beginning, where it depicts common yet weird social situations, till the climax and the conclusion of the story, with some scary dreamlike moments. Ignore the low rating given by some viewers and give to this movie a chance.