Caveat Review

Review of Caveat (2020) by screenqueeen: 👍 3.5/5

So often we see mental illness framed in horror as the real true thing to be afraid of but not as something that betrays the recalling of events, however as a fate worse than death.

CAVEAT illustrates the former in a nuance I haven't seen used. It does borrow from many cabin in the woods tropes and some plot points (mainly a bit of EVIL DEAD and CONJURING, AMITYVILLE [take your pick on that one]) but it manages to carve out something unique.

Despite its narrative insistence on showing you (but hey it shows you in spite of telling which is a plus in itself) what happened before in order to really hammer in the need for you to feel a certain way about the characters. While I appreciate the filling-in, a lot of the uncertainty introduced by Isaac's intermittent amnesia that was already coloring in the film's tone gets washed out. But at the end it still maintains something ineffably sorrowful.

While I'm not enamored by the brunt of the Shudder exclusive offerings, every once in a while something reaches out and sticks with me. CAVEAT had something to show me that I won't forget.