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CADDO LAKE

​I Crave/Max Original I October 10, 2024 I 105 mins. I

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TBA%

* As of 10/10/24

Starring:  Dylan O’Brien, Eliza Scanlen, Diana Hopper, Caroline Falk, Sam Hennings,

Eric Lange, Lauren Ambrose

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Directed By: Celine HeldLogan George

When an 8-year-old girl mysteriously vanishes, a series of past deaths and disappearances start to link together.

REVIEW BY: Darren Zakus - 10/08/24

RATING 3 out of 5

Caddo Lake has a promising premise that invests the audience in the mystery and family drama; even with two strong performances from Dylan O’Brien and Eliza Scanlen, the narrative unfortunately gets bogged down in the swamp with its rapid-fire, overreliance on numerous plot twists.

 

It’s hard to say much about the story of Caddo Lake as there are lots of plot twists that the film relies on to build suspense and hold the audience’s attention as the story progresses, which comes as no surprise with M. Night Shyamalan as a producer of the film as he loves a good plot twist. Following Ellie, a young woman trying to find her sister who has disappeared on the waters of Caddo Lake, and Paris, a young man grappling with the death of his mother, the mystery builds as the history of Caddo Lake and a string of unsolved disappearances and deaths begin to reveal themselves that point o a larger mystery as to what has been happening at Caddo Lake for decades. This propels the story forward, with the individual character arcs being fueled by their broken familial relationships to help build the emotional stakes for the audience. There is no question that it is an intriguing premise from writers and directors Logan George and Celine Held, that despite having promise and easily draws viewers into the film, is not able to fully deliver on its setup. 

 

With a runtime of just under one hundred minutes, while setting up the mystery of the strange events that occurred on Caddo Lake and the arcs for Paris and Ellie are important, so is resolving them. The film’s first hour does a wonderful job doing the former, introducing some intriguing twists and turns that will keep audiences actively engaged in the film while building suspense, but it is evident by the time the story enters its third act that George and Held are slightly too ambitious for their own good. The plot twists are piled on the audience at this point, with some truly wild stretches and reveals that while shocking, leave audiences with more questions than answers due to the lack of explanation of the mechanics behind them. It is a product of the time constraints of the film, while the twists themselves push the story into the cuckoo realm rather than the grounded character thriller it started off as. Unfortunately, this really dampens the gravity of what is revealed, because the reveal is rather shocking and is not revealed until the film’s final fifteen minutes, forcing George and Held to wrap everything up quickly rather than exploring the effects these reveals have on both Paris and Ellie. Never for a second does Caddo Lake become a bad film by any means, but given the potential that George and Held had with this story, it’s rather disappointing that it feels incredibly rushed by the end and becomes a perfectly fine film rather than the enticing thriller it could have been. 

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While the story may stumble as it crosses the finish line, Dylan O’Brien and Eliza Scanlen give exemplary performances throughout the film. Both of them do a great job capturing the family trauma that has shaped their character’s life, while navigating the confusion and emotional catharsis that their characters encounter as the story progresses. Scanlen continues to impress as younger actresses, while O’Brien once again makes a great case for why he should be cast in more leading roles for major studio films. The good performances do not end with the film’s two stars and extends to the supporting cast that includes Lauren Ambrose, Diana Hopper, and Eric Lange, but with the majority of the screen time being devoted to both O’Brien and Scanlen, they are all there to support O’Brien and Scanlen who capably carry the entire film on their shoulders.

 

Shot on location at the real Caddo Lake, the natural shooting environment helps to create an immersive experience for viewers. The cinematography captures the natural beauty as well as the mystery of Caddo Lake itself, while the sound design and visual effects help to generate the mystery of the story, all of which works hand in hand to fulfill George and Held’s vision for the film. It's an all encompassing experience from start to finish, which showcases George and Held’s talent as storytellers, which is without question impressive and holds great promise for their future in the industry.


Even if Caddo Lake does not fully stick the landing with the intricate story it is weaving, it is no doubt still an entertaining watch from start to finish. Weaving a twist fuelled narrative with an emotionally compelling family drama that bonds the audience to the film’s lead characters thanks to the strong lead performances of Dylan O’Brien and Eliza Scanlen, Logan George and Celine Held’s second feature film shows their great potential as ambitious storytellers even if they run out of time to fully realize the promise of Caddo Lake.

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