The set/location does the heaviest lifting in Caveat (2020), instantly providing an unsettling vibe. Everything is moldering in a way that sets a tone, like a promise of things to come. Add in leather restraints, the oddity of a semi-catatonic young woman alongside a little drummer bunny, hints of the supernatural, and heaps of strangeness and you have a killer recipe for good horror.
Letting the scenery and situation carry the show offers a less is more approach when it comes to dialogue (something I truly appreciate in just about any film). The suspense mounts steadily throughout the movie, shifting now and then between characters (nobody is truly safe), with sufficient rewards to drive a powerful viewer response…at least in me.
The strangeness is perfectly offset by flashes of humor (those eyes, that grin…if you’ve seen this one, you know what I’m talking about), making this much more than a creepy and mysterious manhunt inside tight quarters. I was completely impressed by Caveat, it’ll likely a real deal treat to anyone who digs oddity with a high creepiness factor. A Shudder Original that got it right from beginning to end.
Available to watch on Shudder.
