‘The Beach House’ is eerie, disgusting, and fantastic [Chattanooga Film Fest Review]

A review of the new horror film, on the #ChattFilmFest now and on Shudder this summer

From May 22nd to 25th, the Chattanooga Film Festival is streaming its lineup over the internet for cheap. I’ll be reviewing films from the fest all weekend!

It’s quickly becoming beyond cliché to relate everything in every movie review to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. I wish that specter wasn’t hanging over so much of modern entertainment consumption, but it is, and it’s certainly affecting how I respond to certain things. Like, say, a horror movie about a mysterious airborne microbe that brings the world to a standstill.

The Beach House, from writer-director Jeffrey A. Brown, is the story of two sweethearts who head to a remote beach house for a romantic weekend. The beach house belongs to the father of Randall (Noah Le Gros), a recent dropout. His girlfriend Emily (an excellent Liana Liberato) is frustrated with his aimlessness but still deeply in love, and they hope their weekend away will let them work out some of the difficulty that’s crept into their relationship.

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to them, Randall’s father has already promised the beach house to two of his friends…