Caveat (2022) Dir. Damian McCarthy

Caveat, a Shudder Exclusive is set for its UK Blu-ray debut from Acorn Media International on 28^th February & also available on DVD and digital.

Straight off the bat, it’s been an incredibly long time since I’ve been even remotely terrified of a horror film basement but new film Caveat reinvigorates the trope with petrifying success.

We’re introduced to drifter Isaac (Jonathan French) who is offered a house-sitting job by man called Barret (Ben Caplan) to help him get back on his feet.

He’s also asked to look after a disturbed woman Olga (Leila Sykes) who lives in the house, which is situated on a remote isolated island. Surrounded by a lake and asked to stay away from her as she has a fear of being attacked in her sleep, Isaac agrees to these strange but necessary conditions.

Another “caveat” he’s given means Isaac must wear a metal “leash” which will enforce the distance between himself and the lady in his care and restricts him to certain rooms of the house. Quite the work uniform! Despite all of this Isaac, who is desperate for money, agrees and so Barret locks him into the harness and leaves.

So far, relatively standard horror fare but where Caveat excels is the new twists it adds to well-worn horror staples. Paintings falling from walls, strange noises and a house with its own horrific history are twisted into tense scenes of confusion and panic.

This is bolstered by excellent lighting with the cinematography from Kieran Fitzgerald being sublime. The mould covered walls and the dingy basement are filmed fantastically in depressing hues which reminded me of the best of Fincher’s Zodiac. Jonathan French delivers a great anxiety-inducing performance as Isaac, who has his own demons to deal with - suffering as he does from partial amnesia. He has to contend with his fleeting flashbacks as he explores the secret history of the house.

As per the film’s poster, one of the most striking aspects is a toy rabbit. This clockwork novelty with its tangled fur is frankly terrifying as it plays a ‘pa-rum-pum-pum-pum' on a small drum like some kind of possessed Duracell bunny.

Without deep spoilers, the film continues to examine the dark past of the house as Isaac tries to discover what happened in his own murky memory, whilst trying to determine the truth about who was responsible for Olga’s parents’ deaths. With crossbows and bone-breaking the film doesn’t shy from a fare share of crunching violence too.

The sequences in the basement are some of the scariest moments in film from last year. As an hardened horror viewer, the film surprised even me with its unsettling undertones. And be aware, extreme claustrophobia hasn’t been this well captured since The Descent!

With palpable danger and dread pouring out of every foreboding scene, Caveat is an extremely strong calling card from the director McCarthy. Horrifying, tense and frightening it hits all the right scary beats to stake its claim as one of the best horrors of 2021.

★★★★☆

Michael Sales