Chateau (2024) review – Dollar-store scares and genuinely funny leads

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are taking a look at influencer-themed, paranormal horror movie Chateau by writer and director Luke Genton. This is an ultra-quick review, as I don’t want to harp on redundant points too much.

It’s another influencer-themed horror movie

Chateau follows an aspiring social media influencer as she is given a cleaning job in an old French chateau. Allegedly haunted, our protagonist, James (Cathy Marks), sees this as an opportunity to increase her fame, so secretly films the inside of the property, little realising just what she has gotten herself into.

“It’s hard to shake the feeling that the team used whatever was at their disposal to manufacture scares, whether it be a white sheet or a dollar-store Halloween makeup kit.”

There will be something of a caveat to my feelings regarding this movie coming up but, first, I can’t ignore the obvious. This is an extremely trope-heavy movie that feels formulaic, a bit cheap, unoriginal, and rather poorly made. Some people are going to be so tired of the whole influencer thing that they will hate it straight from the jump. It’s ruthlessly generic, too.

It’s hard to shake the feeling that the team used whatever was at their disposal to manufacture scares, whether it be a white sheet to throw over a character’s head or a dollar-store Halloween makeup kit. There is nothing here that feels particularly creative or smart.

Throw in a whole bunch of “seen it all before” found footage clichés, as well as a recycled plotline as old as the house the movie is set in, and it is hard not to feel like Chateau has very little to offer.

The distinct DIY nature of the film belies a filmmaker (Luke Genton) and producer (Colton Tran) combo that have actually worked on decently well-produced films like Sorry, Charlie. It’s almost as if they had some spare time and a free location, so decided to throw together a movie. I doubt that a film like this even breaks the overdraft limit on the producer’s bank account, let alone has a special effects budget.

With that being said, I kind of enjoyed it

I mentioned a caveat a little earlier in the review, and that caveat is something of a contradictory one. I actually enjoyed Chateau. Yep, both my fiancée and I found ourselves laughing at, and enjoying, this film. The movie is so silly that it is actually quite fun.

“The movie is so silly that it is actually quite fun. Cathy Marks is actually believable as an aspiring influencer and comes across as legitimately likable.”

Cathy Marks is actually believable as an aspiring influencer and comes across as legitimately likable. She has great comedy timing and some of the more throw-away lines in the movie are actually really funny. Well, if you have a childish sense of humour, that is.

Marks and Tran (who is pulling double duty as producer and actor) have great chemistry together. Their interactions feel authentic and the, potentially improvised, dialogue feels like two friends hanging out. Some of it had us legitimately chuckling far more than we expected. They are a lot of fun when on screen together and make for a great horror duo.

There is something of an old-school feel to the scares, as well, with an abundance of hokey makeup and hammy acting making up for the lack of special effects. It’s rather charming in a bizarre kind of way. The runtime works in the movie’s favour, as well, with the clock running out right before the film wears out its welcome. Chateau feels like a horror movie you would have watched on late-night television in the 90s and enjoyed a lot more than you expected.

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A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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