The Beach House Review: An Unexpected Weekend Getaway

Release Date: July 9, 2020
Running time: 88 minutes
Starring: Liana Liberato, Noah Le Gros, Jake Weber 

The Beach House is the story of two college sweethearts Emily (Liberato) and Randall (Gros) who planned a beach get away in the hopes of resolving some relationship friction. This quality time is quickly disrupted by the arrival of two unexpected guests.  But to make matters worse, a mysterious purplish fog has fallen over the beach neighborhood causing an infection that is spreading rapidly. After a night of unwinding with wine and edibles, Emily and Randall wake up to the ultimate test of survival as they try to unravel this unknown deadly event.

The Beach House is a good film on its own, and will give you hints of past films such as "The Mist."  And the feeling of being trapped that the couple goes through will resonate with those of us feeling trapped during the pandemic.  This is especially true because the purplish mist is infecting people with little information and understanding of the consequences.  And although Emily (who is studying Astrobiology) provides her own explanation and theory for the viewers, the reasons behind everything going on are left for us to decide.  This film will truly leave it up to its viewers to guess whats exactly is going on, and might cause the viewer to question their own choices and routines.  There were certain parts of the film that made me think twice about some of my own daily decisions.  This keenly personal aspect of this movie will result in everyone having different takeaways from the film as well as different emotions.  

The Beach House has more of an unsettling tone over a terrifying one. This cosmic horror film does an amazing job on many levels. The leads  of the film do a stellar job in their performances, which carry the film and cause the viewers to be invested in these characters.  Their performances allow the viewers to see a human element to this journey of the unknown.  When it comes to cosmic horror films, the job is to drive the ideal of life beyond earth as well as powers beyond our understanding that can lead to a world ending event.  This film takes great visuals and drives some interesting theories hard with solid performances.  All this mixes into a strong film that, despite being fairly short, will leave you with a lot to think about. 

It may not be a perfect time to do a beach trip, but The Beach House is a great way to spend your afternoon with its strong performances and many explanations for this impending threat.

Watch it.