The Beach House

Director - Jeffrey A. Brown (The Wooden Box, Sulfuric)

Starring - Liana Liberato (Light as a Feather, Haunt), Noah Le Gros (Depraves, Wolves), and Jake Weber (Dawn of the Dead, The Haunting of Molly Hartley)

Release Date - 2019

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Wish you were here"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Shudder has really impressed me.  I was skeptical of the streaming service for some time but after reviewing several of their exclusive releases I decided to take the plunge.  For the most part their exclusives have been very entertaining and their streaming service has some very entertaining releases.  That's why when I saw that RLJE was releasing the Shudder exclusive The Beach House I had to see it.  I reached out to them for a review copy and they were kind enough to send one my way.  Thanks guys!

     The film follows a young couple who visit's their family's beach house for a weekend getaway.  However, they were unaware that the home was occupies by friends of the family.  The two couples decide to share the home for the weekend and catch up.  However, things take a drastically dangerous turn when an unknown spore takes over the beach turning it into a beautiful sight to behold but the following day things are not as they seem.  Strange organisms wash up on the beach omitting a parasitic worm that takes over the host.  

     I got a few press releases in for The Beach House but I never took the time to check out the trailer.  I knew it was one I would be watching fairly soon so I wanted to see it without any prior knowledge of the film like I do most movies I review.  Trailers often give so much away which lowers the impact of the film.  The film was not what I was expecting and I really enjoyed it.  The acting in this one is very well done.  I was really impressed with Liana Liberato and her performance.  Her character starts out as a fairly week and unoriginal and becomes a strong and resourceful character as the film progresses.  She's beautiful and extremely talented.  It was also nice to see Jake Weber in another genre feature.  His performance in the Dawn of the Dead remake is of more memorable from the film and he does a great job here as well.  The story for this one reminded me a lot of Annihilation starring Natalie Portman.  We follow a strange change in the surroundings followed by a luminescent scenery change and then mutated creatures begin infecting the people involved.  The two stories feature almost identical scenarios except The Beach House is smaller in scope and has the undead/infected vibe while Annihilation goes the sci-fi route.  Both films work for different reasons.  The pandemic level atmosphere in The Beach House really works well with the story and slightly mirrors the pandemic of this year.  It does drag it's feet during the middle portion of the film but picks up the pace near the ending.  Finally, this film is not as bloody as most of us would like but it does feature some great practical effects and some prop worms.  The practical effects the film has look great but they are nothing that really stands out.  Overall, The Beach House was not what I was expecting but that's a good thing.  It may not be a film full of action and blood but it does work.  If you are looking for something different then I highly recommend checking this one out.