Caveat

This is the story of Isaac , who is enlisted by a shady stranger Barrett , to look after his psychologically disturbed niece Olga in a decrepit house on a deserted rural island following her father's recent suicide. The question is - has he been there before?

Not being a horror movie fan , I have to give writer and director Damian Mc Carthy credit for what it a entertainingly creepy movie.

The setting is the star of this show . The house on an island with a chain coming from the cellar. The peeling wallpaper and secret passageways. Why anyone would would agree to stay there , especially if they had been there before , Is beyond me but that's horror films for you .

The viewer is left with lots of questions.

What is the rabbit all about ?

What was the accident?

Is Mother dead?

87 minutes is a good running time for a horror film as the cliches don't outstay their welcome.

A decent first time attempt from a debut director.

This film is a descent into madness and horror as it unravels a mystery surrounding a decades old murder. Things don't add up starting immediately from the very first scene in the film. Something scary is happening but you just can't figure out what it is. That's what you feel like through the entire movie. Something unravels in the mystery that is the main plot and it connects to another mystery.

This film is terrifying on so many levels. I won't give away any spoilers but one thing is certain and that is, is that murder is afoot.

7/10. Worth the watch, but you better not watch this one alone in the dark!

This movie is going to lose a lot of people in the first 30-40 minutes unfortunately. In the modern world of cinema where audience attention spans are at an all-time low, people just aren't going to stay focused on a movie with this slow of a start. If there was an opening scene that hinted at things to come, maybe. But there really is nothing promised in that opening. Some people love the slow-burn, no doubt about it, and those people are going to have a great time with this one. But not the majority I fear.

After that slow start things do start to pick up a bit and an interesting set-up finally arises. I was ready for this. But then no sooner has this set-up presented itself, before it falls back into the recesses of nothingness for another period. This was a little frustrating and by this point in the movie I really wasn't having a good time. So how did I come to a score as high as 6/10 you're probably wondering?

The ending to this movie was very interesting. It still struggled mightily with pacing issues, however there is one scene near the end that was as well done of a horror scene as I have seen in a while. Rarely does anything potentially supernatural give me the slightest bit of interest these days, but this had me on the edge of my seat. A very impressive scene.

I also liked that the film was in no way relying on jump-scares. For my memory there isn't a single one throughout the film. All the horror is done through slow reveals, tension building and creepy imagery.

It's important to remember this is a debut effort from Damian Mc Carthy (interesting name). He'll learn a lot from the feedback he gets on this film and with the small showings of excellence that this film has he could put out something truly special one day. Watch this space.

First off I relish watching any Irish horror film being from Dublin and a big horror buff I'm always on the look out for a great Irish horror film and there have been at least a couple. I really wanted to love this film after seeing the great trailer and poster. Top marks for the trailer and poster. This film had my full and undivided attention up to the first hour passing and unfortunately it really began to lose me thereafter. I really wondered why that was. I think the story is gaining momentum for the first hour, it's really well shot, it sounds great and the story is original but when it boils down to it the characters in the film were quite difficult to really relate to and emphathize with. I didn't care what happened to the main character in the latter moments of the film and the suspense had vanished. 'Caveat' feels like a great idea for a short film that was then used for a feature film instead. It feels very long and a bit repetitive after a short period of time. I wasn't interested in any of the characters and I think that's the film's downside. There wasn't any bad acting or anything like that I just didn't feel anything for any of those characters. Maybe such a small cast also added to my feelings of disinterest. The ending in particular felt very weak, there was no pay off at the end at all. Great photography, great sound design but uninteresting characters, a muddled narrative, very light on any horror of any kind. I really wanted to love it but the last half an hour lost me completely. There is certainly real talent behind this film in particular behind the lense but it won't be a rewatch for me. 5/10

If I would collect movie props that drumming rabbit toy would be the first thing I would buy. I'm not sure, no in fact I'm 100% sure, that thing wouldn't be allowed in the house by my wife. It was creepy and fun to watch. The movie has a good suspense level, and some mystery that keeps you interested. I thought Jonathan French was very convincing in his role, pretty good acting of him. The horror is there but it's mild, it's all more about the suspense and mystery. Overal the story is fine but could have been better. It's good enough for a one time viewing though.