CADDO LAKE (2024) – A somber horror mindfuc* set in the wetlands
Rating: ⭐⭐ 1/2

Caddo Lake takes its time to get to the core of its plot which involves mysterious disappearances of people in the lake over the years. As a matter of interest, the Caddo Lake is a real place located on the borders of Texas and Louisiana in the US. Much of the filming was done on the actual lake itself which provided a beautiful and natural landscape. We are introduced to our main character, Ellie, a troubled teenager who has deep resentment over her mother and step father. Their lives changed however, when her half sister, 8 year old Anna disappears in the lake, and the lake’s mystical power slowly becomes apparent to Ellie as she gets deeper and deeper into the wetlands while searching for her vanished stepsister. Running parallel is the story of another resident of the wetlands, a young adult Paris who is living with regret over an accident where he survived and his mother died. He devotes his time to understand why the tragedy happened which leads him into the deep forests of the lake.
Naturally these two parallel stories would converge by the final act where everything is revealed in a mindfuc* of a plotline. This is actually great for those of you who likes stories which challenges the mind and makes you think hard on what actually happened. I myself always enjoy a creative story that takes us beyond the norm. However, in the case of Caddo Lake, I did find the pacing rather slow especially in its earlier scenes. I appreciate that the mood was done in an authentic manner but sadly I found most of the characters rather boring. Things only began to pick up momentum and interest for me towards the second half as we finally begin to fathom the plot.
The film has the benefit of a cast of mainly unknowns who did a great job in making their characters come across looking realistic. Young Australian actress Eliza Scanlen shows a lot of potential as she carried much of the weight of the movie on her shoulders as Ellie. She might be a name to look out for as she is set to appear in Barbie director Greta Gerwig’s next big movie “Little Women”. Dylan O’Brien is fine but less impactful as Paris. Perhaps the only familiar face in the cast is Lauren Ambrose as Ellie’s emotional mother. Lauren is probably best remembered as Claire Fisher in the long running HBO series Six Feet Under. The other famous name associated with the film is M Night Shyamalan who is the film’s producer.
It took two persons, Logan George and Celine Held to write and director this modest movie. What I say they have going for them here is a unique compelling storyline that demands the viewer to think and unravel the mystery. I admire their style to not comply with conventional horror movies penchant for resorting to gore, vulgar language and jump scares to create the scares. This is not a scary movie in that sense so don’t going in expecting the usual violent gore. It is, however, a mind binding tale involving the paranormal. In its core, the story conveys a beautiful message of family bonding, love and values.