'Caddo Lake' review: Familiar themes drown in predictability
Courtesy of Max
As a devoted fan of M. Night Shyamalan, I remain intrigued by the projects he lends his name to, regardless of his mixed filmography. His producing credit on the new supernatural thriller “Caddo Lake” immediately piqued my interest. On the surface, it presents a decently crafted exploration of familial bonds set within a complex mystery. True to the Shyamalan brand, it promises a twist designed to upend character arcs and leave audiences reeling. However, unlike “The Sixth Sense” or, to a lesser extent, “Signs,” the revelations in “Caddo Lake” are far more confusing and less engaging than the writer-directing duo Celine Held and Logan George might have hoped. Worse yet, the film is predictable.
The movie follows two intersecting plotlines: one features a young man named Paris (Dylan O’Brien), who has isolated himself after a car accident claimed his mother’s life, while the other centers on Ellie (Eliza Scanlen), a troubled girl searching for information about her past, particularly the disappearance of her father. As the mysteries of “Caddo Lake” begin to unfold, the connection between Ellie and Paris deepens, especially after Ellie’s younger stepsister, Anna (Caroline Falk), goes missing in the lake.
Initially intriguing, much like another Shyamalan-produced film from earlier this year, “The Watchers,” “Caddo Lake” becomes increasingly convoluted as it introduces its twisty loopholes (or, more accurately, plot holes). It takes viewers down a long, winding road that the studio has asked advanced reviewers not to spoil, even though there doesn’t appear to be much to spoil. Anyone with even a hint of common sense and familiarity with supernatural thrillers will likely be one step ahead of the characters within the first twenty minutes.
This results in a rather tepid experience. While credit is due to Held and George for attempting to channel a Stephen King aesthetic amidst the rough narrative patches, O’Brien and Scanlen deliver decent performances despite the film's many strange detours. At times, it feels as if “Caddo Lake” abandons any pretense of explanation, hoping instead that audiences will become lost in the experience. If the characters were more fully developed and their relationships more fleshed out, this approach might have worked. However, what we’re left with is a film brimming with ideas and potential that ultimately fails to cohesively bring everything together. Like the characters it portrays, the film slips away from itself.
Grade: C
CADDO LAKE streams on Max Thursday, October 10th.
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