Director: Samuel Clemons
Year: 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: The Waterhouse
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
After pulling off an art heist, a group of thieves meeting up at a remote coastal cottage find themselves stuck in the location with several strange women who begin to drag them into a supernatural mystery that drives their appearance there, and they must find a way to stop it.
Review:
For the most part, this was a fairly solid genre outing. The main selling point for this one is the strong atmosphere built up that comes about due to the central plotline for the film coming together. Getting the group to the cottage in the middle of nowhere with the group looking to settle up from their successful heist but have to wait around for their missing team-member that hasn’t arrived yet, the gradual discovery that something might have gone wrong when they discover that something left behind clues to a physical confrontation, and the break-down of their relationship starts the film rather well. This manages to provide the necessary context for the important matters within, as they begin to fall apart the longer they stay there, which sets a generally fun starting point.
That also allows the film to contain a fun series of hauntings and encounters that set up the main telling point here. When the women arrive and start seducing the group, it unleashes the kind of ethereal atmosphere that’s quite endearing and enjoyable, where the different scenarios start to present something otherworldly behind the psychological mind games that are at play here. Since it plays with that kind of mythology regarding who’s really behind the interactions, and the purpose for starting everything turns into a far more apocalyptic turn than initially expected, it turns into a somewhat enjoyable time when it finally reveals the whole point of everything. With this all being enjoyably low-budget and not all that much in the way of appropriate effects work as they get to work, there’s quite a lot to like here.
This one does have a few drawbacks to it that hold itself down. The main issue with this one is the generally sluggish and dragged-out pacing that makes the first half take forever to get going. With a focus on generating an ethereal atmosphere and interpersonal issues while they wait around the remote cottage, this one focuses so much on that regard that it feels rather slow to get going, as there’s not much else going on. Since the cast is so low and the majority of them are based on unreliable narratives, there’s not a whole lot in the way of genre action, which might be slightly off-putting for those expecting something far more over-the-top and energetic. Since it’s all designed that way and intentional from the start, it shouldn’t be considered a genuine flaw, unlike the obvious low-budget limitations that appear, which are enough to bring it down somewhat.
Overview: **.5/5
A somewhat intriguing enough if overall flawed genre effort, there’s enough to enjoy here that it comes off nicely enough over the flaws that are present here, holding this one down. Those with an interest in the subject matter or who aren’t bothered by the flaws will have a lot to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
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