Director: Jeffrey A. Brown
Year: 2020
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Body-Horror
Plot:
Attempting to reconnect their relationship, a couple arrives at a secluded beach-house for the summer only to find it rented out to another couple as well, and agreeing to spend time together they find themselves stuck in an apocalyptic scenario with no way out of the situation alive.
Review:
This was an enjoyable if highly flawed genre effort. Among it’s brightest aspects is the fine sense of dread and atmosphere that arise throughout here as it sets up the main storyline. The eventual discovery of the source afflicting them is subtly weaved throughout the first half once the revelation drops, where the discovery of the squished snail on their step, the strange water they find from the faucet but mention nothing about and the girlfriend studying this in college, which all allows for a fun time looking back at the warning signs that were ignored once the film gets going as the atmosphere is built up pretty nicely.
The other enjoyable feature here is the eventual payoff to this build-up where the film sets off into a highly enjoyable and intriguing direction filled with some terrifying images. The infection spreading through the group and turning them into gooey, slimy beings with their skin falling off, burn marks on their body, obvious signs of living beings crawling under their skin and the gradual paranoia of the environment around them closing off not only chances to escape offer up some gruesome ideas and plenty of remarkably well-done tension. The mix between suspense and gross-out gags are alternated extremely well with high-quality effects, generally giving this one a lot to like for the most part.
There are some issues with this one. Among it’s biggest drawbacks is the utterly dire and dreadful pacing in the first half where it takes forever to get going, as the series of relationship struggles and getting to be friendly with the couples living together aren’t that interesting. The teens have no chemistry at all together and don’t seem in the slightest bit like a happy couple due to all the different conversations about focusing on him rather than her needs, causing everything they do to feel strained and unrealistic which goes hand-in-hand with the overlong conversations that take place over the dinner. Coupled with a lack of action to occur until the fateful morning incident and this one has a long way to go before it gets enjoyable.
The last problem with this one is a decidedly obvious tun towards the apocalypse that has no business doing so. The last half of this one turns into a nightmarish scenario with the supposition that the invasion has started to overtake the town and is spreading onward into the rest of civilization but the course of action required to do so makes no sense to have done so in the amount of time presented here. Merely moments earlier the film featured a noon-time encounter with several infected figures yet the escape from this battle puts them in a darkened escape nearly around midnight filled with abandoned vehicles and homes that is highly unrealistic, making for an unconvincing turn here. These are what hold the film back.
Overview: ***.5/5
Despite a few issues here and there that do crop up, when this one works it’s incredibly enjoyable and even outright chilling with the visuals and ideas presented here even if the rest of the film doesn’t work as well. It’s still well worth a watch for those who find themselves creeped out by these efforts or enjoy these small-scale ambitious projects while those who are turned off by the flaws might not enjoy it as much.
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