Caddo Lake is the newest venture from writer-director duo, Celine Held and Logan George, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, whose influences are so apparent in the film in the best possible way. Read our review of Caddo Lake below.
I will be honest, I did not have much expectation for a horror movie filmed 3 years ago to be dropped onto streaming but Caddo Lake blew me away and is easily one of my favorite horror films of the year.
Caddo Lake, set on the titular lake that sits on the Texas-Louisiana border, is the story of a family rocked to its core when the disappearance of a child opens up a can of worms relating to previous tragedies. The film excels most at crafting this lived-in small town feel and a very engaging family dynamic that takes centerstage and makes the mystery feel so much more real and gripping. At first, I wasn’t really into the film’s real premise and thought a straight-up missing person storyline may have been more interesting. Once the realization of what was happening set in however, I found it to be one of the most insane reveals in a horror movie in recent years. Without revealing the film’s mystery, it’s one of my favorite ventures into the [REDACTED] sub-genre maybe ever.
The film uses a dual-narrative that feels very disconnected at first and I have to admire how the film deftly ties the two to each other. It’s really quite efficient storytelling. The way it builds to its climax and reveal that feels so clear once it gets there but never predictable before is so impressive. The film and the two sides of it are led by Eliza Scanlen and Dylan O’Brien who are both excellent in their roles. I haven’t seen O’Brien in much before but his performance is incredible, I would love to see him in more horror-thrillers. Scanlen also severely needs to be in more leading roles.
Held and George are clearly alumni of the Shyamalan School of Tension because Caddo Lake very much succeeded in unsettling me. Fortunately, the film is only Shyamalan-esque in its focus on family and in the nature of its storytelling, because only he could make the charm of his dialogue work. It feels like a refined take on his type of filmmaking. And refined is exactly how I would describe the film. An intense and intricate 100 minutes of some of the best horror-thriller filmmaking I could ask for. I think it could’ve been longer in fact to stretch out some of its ideas, but the pacing is so perfect and kept me on the edge of my seat for its entire runtime.
Though not exactly scary, the film uses its focal point to create what feels like a very grounded family tragedy and later utilizes its setting to its fullest by hiding its real mystery in the waters and greenery of Caddo Lake. I love rural settings in horror films and Caddo Lake is a great entry into the backwoods horror canon.
I’ve mentioned the family dynamic in the film but I’d like to highlight just how good and emotionally resonant it is. Caddo Lake seamlessly balances both its horror and family aspects so well and by the end I felt so connected to this family. The closure offered by the film’s ending felt earned after the ordeal I’d been through with these characters. The film reminded me a bit of another horror film set on a lake, Lake Mungo, with the way it focused on familial tragedy and used that element to explore the actual horror under the surface. Character work is often an overlooked aspect in horror films which instead treat them as fodder for the unfolding events but I’m so glad Caddo Lake avoids this.
It’s also quite refreshing to get a horror film that doesn’t beat its audience over the head with exposition and allows what’s actually occurring on screen to carry its story. It’s a great exercise in “show don’t tell”. Two other horror films I really liked this year, Longlegs and The Substance, had this issue ironically, despite being much higher profile movies helmed by filmmakers with a lot more experience. To get something like Caddo Lake is such a pleasant surprise.
The Held-George duo has immediately become one of my favorite emerging voices in the horror genre. I will be going back to watch their shorts and first feature, Topside, and I hope their next project is just as refreshing. I loved Caddo Lake and I can’t wait to rewatch it once it properly releases with its twist in mind. It should be on everyone’s October watchlists.
Caddo Lake, directed by Celine Held and Logan George is streaming on Max on October 6th.
If you liked this review of Caddo Lake, check out more of our stuff here at Feature First!
