The Beach House

Our society today is going through a global crisis not only related to the coronavirus pandemic but also to economic concerns. With this fear of an even darker future, the fear of losing one's loved ones, one's work but also one's true inner balance, the first film written and directed by Jeffrey A. Brown deserves to be discovered. After a world premiere last September at the European Fantastic Film Festival in Strasbourg, The Beach House was recently broadcast in the United States on the Shudder distribution platform.

This film, despite its low budget, proves to be quite effective and above all is a continuation of the excellent films The Mist (2007) by Frank Darabont and The Color Out of Space (2019) by Richard Stanley (two successful literary adaptations). In this case, Jeffrey A. Brown's screenplay clearly shows that by not respecting our environment, by not respecting certain elementary rules, our current society must prepare itself to undergo several mortal dangers.

Emily (Liana Liberato) and Randall (Noah Le Gros) are two young lovers who, after a couple's worries, decide to go to their father's summer house to try to save their couple. This house, which was supposed to be abandoned, turns out to be occupied by an older couple Jane (Maryann Nagel) and Mitch (Jake Weber) who know Randall's father. While this romantic getaway in an idyllic seaside setting was supposed to go perfectly, disturbing elements disturb their quiet moments. The presence of a form of fog as well as disturbing sea creatures (worms and cocoons of sorts) on the edge of the beach turn out to be the cause of a worrisome pandemic and simply herald the end of humanity.

While director Frank Darabont had benefited from a substantial budget to bring his film and its various creatures to life, Jeffrey A. Brown can only rest on natural settings, a house in which most of the film's scenes are set and a very small cast. Thus, after a good twenty minutes globally long and introducing the characters, the beach house finally manages to set its scenery not only by showing the disturbing seabed but also the disturbing metamorphosis of Jane and then Randall. Emily thus turns out to be the only one to really try to survive in this apparent end of the world which has begun and from which no chance to get out of it exists.

Despite a number of weak points, unspectacular special effects and a scenario too linear to really convince, Jeffrey A. Brown delivers a disturbing debut film that benefits above all from the presence of the young actress Liana Liberato (Trust (2012), Break-in (2012), If I Stay (2014), The Expatriate (2017)).

The Beach House
Written and Directed by Jeffrey A. Brown
Produced by Andrew D. Corkin, Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
Starring Liana Liberato, Noah Le Gros, Maryann Nagel, Jake Weber
Cinematography : Owen Levelle,
Edited by Owen Levelle
Music by Roly Porter
Production company: Low Spark Films, Uncorked Productions
Release date: September 14, 2019 (SEFFF), July 9, 2020 (Shudder)
Running time : 88 minutes

Viewed on 9 July 2020

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