CAVEAT (2020) (Acorn Media International Blu-ray Review)

CAVEAT (2020) 

Label: Acorn Media International
Release Date: February 28th, 2022
Rating: Cert: 15
Duration: 88 Minutes 
Audio: Uncompressed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p Had Widescreen (2.35:1) 
Director: Damian McCarthy
Cast: Jonathan French, Ben Caplan, Leila Sykes

In the indie chiller Caveat a partial amnesiac Isaac (Jonathan French) has struggled to recall his recent past after a traumatic accident has erased it, but a ‘friend’ named Barret (Ben Caplan, Band of Brothers) shows up and offers to help him earn some quick cash, it's a profitable five-day gig that pays $200 a day. What is it? Simple, babysitting Barret's adult niece (Leila Sykes) at a remote house. 

It seems a bit too easy, and a with most things to good to be true... there's a caveat. Several in fact, and none of which Barret discloses before it's basically to late to back out, for starters the place described as an isolated house is located on a small island in the middle of a lake, and Olga is  psychologically disturbed as it's also where her father killed himself... oh, and Isaac must wear a locked leather harness and chain restricting his movement to certain rooms, including the bathroom! 

Now locked into the harness, apparently a leftover once used by the grandmother who live din the house to restrict her sleepwalking movements, Isaac attempts to settle into the unsettling house, his new charge usually locked away inside her room, often in a catatonic state with her hands covering her eyes. Considering that there are two people alone in the house there's not much conversation happening between them which further sets the cold and detached tone. 

Also figuring prominently into the story is the issues of Olga's missing mother who may or may not have practiced witchcraft, a creepy painting, and a very unnerving toy rabbit that is nightmare fuel to look at. We also have Isaac's fragmented memory coming back, which sheds light into not only his own murky past but some eerie happenings at the isolated house. 

A wonderfully creepy film that sets a dreadful tone from the opening seconds and never lets up, very well executed and deftly directed with a cast that nails the tone. It also features some terrific hider-in-the-house type claustrophobic moments and a wonderful nod to the "Drop of Water" segment of Mario Bava's Black Sabbath that gave me the chills. 

Audio/Video: Caveat arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Acorn Media International in 1080p HD framed in 2.35:1 widescreen. A solid presentation that doesn't have a lot of color to it by design, the color palette reserved to autumnal browns with a coldness to it. There's some slight black crush in the darker scenes of which there are a lot of, but overall I thought it acceptable. Audio comes by way of uncompressed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. Everything delivered crisply with good use of the surrounds, the tense tonal score ringing nicely and dialogue was not hard to discern even during whispers. 

Extras include both a Producer's Audio Commentary and a Director's Commentary, neither of which I have taken in just yet. We also get a feature-length split screen storyboards versus finished film comparison that I watched a bit of. We don't often get a feature length storyboard comparison so I appreciated it, complete with uncompressed audio.  The single-disc release arrives in an oversized keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork branded with the "A Shudder Original" branding and a UK ratings logo and Rotten Tomatoes icon, the disc inside featuring the same artwork as the wrap. 

Special Features:
- Director’s Audio Commentary
- Producer’s Audio Commentary
- Feature-Length Storyboard to Film Comparison (91 min)

This Shudder original is a isolated horror gem, one that gets under the skin with some eerie atmosphere and genuine skin-crawling dread, a definite recommend for lovers of well-executed indie chillers. 

Screenshots from the Blu-ray: