Review: Shudder’s ‘The Beach House’ is a Slow Burn Arthouse film

Last week Shudder released its new original film The Beach House. The film stars Liana Liberato, Noah Le Gros, Jake Weber and Maryanne Nagel, and was directed by Jeffrey A. Brown. The film centers on a young college couple with a strained relationship.

The pair head to a family beach house in hopes of working through their issues. After discovering that the house is already being occupied by friends of the family, the couples decide to stay together. Soon a mysterious fog rolls into the seaside town. The next day everyone falls ill and the young couple finds themselves fighting to stay alive. 

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The Beach House is a slow burning tale that builds the tension and mystery along the way. It’s a film where you’re not sure if the information you’re given is foreshadow, misdirection or simply allowing the viewer to draw their own conclusions. Which is what I feel the filmmakers were doing with this film.

As there are only two other actors in the film, in one quick scene, you feel unsettled very early on. The awkwardness of the four main characters interacting adds to the overall creepy tone. The small seaside community helps to enhance the isolated feeling throughout the film. At times the beach becomes its own character similar to Ari Aster’s use of the landscape in Midsommar. 

Overall it’s a nice little terror filled summer delight that adds fear and dread. There are definitely a few times when you’ll get the familiar tropes that all invasion films share. But when isn’t The Emergency Alert System on the TV screen not a little creepy? Maybe it was the inner Carpenter fan in me, but I kept hoping the fog was going to bring in some sort of weird sea monster with it at night.

Moreover, this film feels like an arthouse version of an invasion film. Which seems to be what the director was going for. In any case give The Beach House a watch, draw your own conclusions and “don’t be scared.”

You can check out the trailer for The Beach House below, and the film is now streaming on Shudder. Be sure to follow ScaryNerd for more of all things horror.