Caveat (film)

Amnestic drifter Isaac has been hired to look after the niece of an acquaintance named Moe Barrett. His niece, Olga, will occasionally go catatonic with little to no warning, which puts her at risk as she lives on a remote island. Moe also explains that the job requires that Isaac be chained in a harness that restricts him to only certain portions of the house.

Shortly after beginning the job Isaac begins to experience strange supernatural phenomena. He also learns that Olga's mother went missing after locking her husband in the basement. The father went insane from claustrophobia and killed himself. Isaac later has to investigate this basement after hearing strange noises and ends up discovering the mother's body hidden behind a wall. He calls Moe to report the body as well as to let him know that he wants to leave. Olga warns Isaac that Moe will not let him leave, as Isaac and Moe were the ones who killed her mother and locked her father in the basement. Isaac calls Moe, who confirms the story.

Now aware that he's in grave danger, Isaac manages to free himself from the harness. Olga then tries to stalk and kill Isaac, but briefly goes catatonic. Taking the opportunity to limit her movements, Isaac locks Olga in the harness and hides in the basement with the body. The film then shows flashbacks that reveal that Isaac was not responsible for the father's death, as he had second thoughts and had tried to warn the man via a note that was discovered by Moe. Moe then tried to murder Isaac by pushing him off a balcony, giving him amnesia.

Moe arrives and comes into the basement, where he learns that Isaac has escaped just as the mother's corpse attacks him. Now outside, Isaac stares at Olga, who is still confined by the harness.

• Jonathan French as Isaac[4]
• Leila Sykes as Olga[4]
• Ben Caplan as Barret, Olga's uncle[4]
• Conor Dwane as Olga's dad

Filming took place in West Cork, County Cork, Ireland.[7] According to director Damian Mc Carthy: "My friend Sam White's family owns Bantry House where we filmed. Actually, the house was way too nice—it's so beautiful, for what we wanted for this film, so a lot of it is sets built outside."[7]

The toy rabbit featured in the film was acquired via eBay by Mc Carthy, who "always had an interest in wind-up toys".[7] It was stripped of its fur and sent to costume and prop builder Lisa Zagone, who finalised its design.[7]

Caveat premiered on 4 October 2020 at the IndieCork film festival, where it was the opening film.[8] It went to screen at several other film festivals, most related to the horror genre, before releasing on Shudder on June 3, 2021.[9]

The film was invited at 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival held in July, 2021 to compete in Bucheon Choice Features section.[10]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10.[11] The website's critics' consensus reads: "An effective spine-tingler despite clear budget constraints, Caveat suggests a deliciously dark filmmaking future for writer-director Damian Mc Carthy."[11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100 based on seven critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12]

Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com gave the film a score of three out of four stars, calling it "an impressive and often terrifying film [...] and a reminder of how much can be done on a low budget if one is inventive enough".[4] Noel Murray, in his review of the film for the Los Angeles Times, complimented Mc Carthy's perceived confidence as a director, and compared the film to "a gothic horror tone poem, with pungent notes of decay."[13] Guy Lodge, writing for Variety, called the film "more intriguing than it is rewarding," but wrote that "there's enough tingly, tightly-budgeted atmosphere and witty genre gumption [...] to make one wonder what Mc Carthy could do on a looser, more expensive leash."[14]

• Caveat at IMDb
• Caveat at Rotten Tomatoes