The Beach House

A timely and atmospheric eco-thriller hamstrung by a plodding plot where the slow-burn comes in the last act, not the first. Add a slacker boyfriend that is so completely annoying and useless it makes 88 minutes feel like three hours.

There’s something in the water

Two college youths (Liana Liberato & Noah Le Gros) take a romantic getaway to the lonely shores of Cape Cod before the Summer season hits. An unexpected older couple disturbs them a bit (Jake Weber & Maryann Nagel), but that’s nothing compared to the curious goings-on in the environment.

"The Beach House" (2019) is a capably made slow-burn ecological mystery with a Northeastern coast milieu. It starts out similar to “Beach House” from the year prior, but takes a sci-fi/horror turn in the second half.

The landscape is scenic in a typical coastal sense, but desolate and somehow haunting. The tone is mundane and increasingly nihilistic. The film shoots for creepy mood rather than over-the-top thrills, although there are some shocks in the last act.

Winsome Liana works well as the protagonist but, really, the entire cast are effective (four people, basically). The proceedings get kinda boring by the mid-point, unfortunately, but the writer/director obviously wanted to keep things plausible, as in: What would happen if this took place in real life?

So, if you appreciate lowkey drama and eerie ambiance, this is worth checking out. If, however, you need exaggerated dramatics and explosions every five minutes, stay away. Even if you don't like the story, the flick's a great way to visit Cape Cod without actually going there.

The movie runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot at North Truro, Massachusetts, which is near the tip of the Cape, facing the bay.

GRADE: B-/C+