Caddo Lake (2024) review – Dylan O’Brien stars in a swampy puzzle-box mystery
Caddo Lake: Quick Verdict
The Verdict: A masterfully constructed mystery that rewards patient viewers with a deeply satisfying payoff. While it leans heavily on a “Shyamalan-esque” central twist, Caddo Lake is executed with far more precision and emotional weight than many of its genre peers. Excellent performances and a swampy, oppressive atmosphere make this a standout thriller, even if the non-linear timelines might confuse some early on.
Details: Directors: Logan George, Celine Held | Cast: Dylan O’Brien, Eliza Scanlen, Diana Hopper | Runtime: 1h 39m | Release Date: 2024
Best for: Fans of high-concept mysteries, “puzzle-box” thrillers, and viewers who enjoy a well-earned plot twist.
Worth noting: Produced by M. Night Shyamalan – a fact that becomes very clear once the film’s central mystery begins to unravel.
Where to Watch: Streaming on Max.
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
(Compelling, twisty, well-acted)
Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are checking out the mystery horror, thriller, Caddo Lake.
Table of Contents
A Compelling Mystery Thriller
This movie was very well received last year and turned out to be something of a sleeper hit. It follows the story of the disappearance of an 8-year-old girl on Caddo Lake. A mystery which uncovers a series of links and connections between the past, and the present of the strange location.
I suppose Caddo Lake should be classed predominantly as a mystery thriller movie. Sure, there are horror elements, but this is an old-fashioned mystery thriller and, for what it is worth, it is pretty compelling. A girl goes missing while looking for her older sister, only for the search to uncover some extremely strange secrets about the location of Caddo Lake.
The story plays out in something of a non-linear nature, offering up two individual stories featuring a few, seemingly, unconnected characters that don’t meet, despite sharing a location. You aren’t quite aware of when the stories are taking place. You only know that there are a few links between them, but the two never seem to intertwine.
One story features a family searching for their missing daughter on the lake. The other features a young man, Paris (Dylan O’Brien), trying to get to the bottom of his late mother’s death in a car accident. It isn’t until the end that the two stories collide, and that’s when things get a little strange.
A Shyamalan-esque plot
My quote to my fiancée while watching Caddo Lake was one drawn from a fantastic episode of The Simpsons when Homer refers to M. Knight Shyamalan: “Now that’s a plot twist worthy of one of his increasingly lousy movies“. The reason being; I had clocked what the big mystery behind Caddo Lake was fairly early on. I related it to my partner, and we both chuckled about it. This was at about the halfway point.
I am sure you can imagine my surprise when my exact prediction came true, only for the credits to roll and for us to see Shyamalan’s name pop up in a producer role. My fiancée and I both burst out laughing. Caddo Lake is, very much, one of those types of movies that builds its entire foundation on a shaky plot twist that comes together later on in the film. It is, for lack of a better description, extremely Shyamalan-esque.
“Caddo Lake is very much one of those types of movies that builds its entire foundation on a shaky plot twist… It is, for lack of a better description, extremely Shyamalan-esque.”
The entire movie’s build-up is for one big payoff at the end, bringing everything together, and then dumping it out onto the table like a huge Louisiana seafood boil for the viewer to either stare at in disgust or tuck into with vigorous enthusiasm.
But does the twisty plot work?
Like many movies of this type, whether it works or not is partly up to the viewer. The truth of the matter is, much of the movie feels extremely chaotic and quite confusing. There are numerous scenes that feel ruthlessly redundant, all because they will come into the big reveal later on. There are a lot of individual cogs moving here that don’t always feel like they are sharing the same timing. It can feel a bit awkward, and a bit messy, at times.
Caddo Lake is, really, one of those movies that you will reflect on and, either, really love or simply dislike. I didn’t find too much of what was happening to be all that interesting, but it wasn’t difficult to stick with it. Around the last third of the film, things pick up a lot. Much of what came earlier suddenly makes sense, and the movie becomes immediately more compelling.
Although I had figured things out, I felt as though the exposition dump towards the end, though heavy-handed, does a nice job of bringing things together. Potentially offering up a good excuse for certain viewers to fire it up in the future for another watch. I mentioned Shyamalan earlier on but, to be honest, Caddo Lake is a lot more enjoyable, and executed a lot better, than the majority of his movies. The mystery here is actually satisfying. Hell, it’s even quite touching, at times.
Extremely well put together puzzling
The satisfying feeling of the puzzle pieces suddenly sliding into place is rewarding to anyone who took the time to pay attention to every detail. There’s a reason for everything that happens here, and you can go right back through everything and put it neatly into its own section of the picture.
“The satisfying feeling of the puzzle pieces suddenly sliding into place is rewarding to anyone who took the time to pay attention to every detail.”
It’s very well done, and it’s tough not to appreciate just how much work went into making this story logical. There are a couple of things that, I feel, don’t make a lot of sense, but they are quite forgivable in the grand scheme of things.
Acting is excellent, throughout. Committed performances from Dylan O’Brien, Eliza Scanlen, and Diana Hopper make the story very easy to buy into. The location, and the difficulties it causes for its residents, feels suitably oppressive and fitting of a movie like this.
The need to get around using boats adds a dimension to the movie that makes it feel quite timeless, while also fitting nicely into the overarching narrative of the film. Direction is decent. Logan George and Celine Held do a very nice job of keeping things interesting enough to get to the really compelling stuff, while deserving a lot of praise for how they bring it all together towards the end.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Good
- The Puzzle: The way the disparate narrative threads eventually intertwine is incredibly rewarding and logically sound.
- The Performances: Dylan O’Brien and Eliza Scanlen deliver grounded, emotional performances that keep the sci-fi elements believable.
- The Setting: The Caddo Lake location is used perfectly, creating a sense of isolation and timeless mystery.
The Bad
- The Early Confusion: The non-linear structure and dual narratives can be quite messy and disjointed in the first half.
- Heavy-Handed Exposition: The final act requires a massive “dump” of information to ensure the audience is up to speed.
The Ugly: The Predictability. If you’re a fan of mystery thrillers, there’s a good chance you’ll figure out the “big secret” long before the characters do.
Should You Watch Caddo Lake?
Yes. While it borders on horror-adjacent, it’s a fantastic mystery that respects the viewer’s intelligence. It’s a sleeper hit for a reason – just be prepared to push through a slightly muddled first hour to get to the genuinely great stuff.
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