So many streaming originals are hits because of their “turn your brain off” appeal. Sometimes it’s nice to sit down with a 100-minute movie and ride along to familiar genre beats. But sometimes your brain needs a little challenge, or even a total shock to the system, and it’s the latter that Max’s latest sci-fi thriller, Caddo Lake, is more than happy to supply.
The swampy mystery is nearly impossible to explain, even for those who’ve already seen it unfold. That shouldn’t come as a surprise if you recognize the team behind it: writer-directors Logan George and Celine Held are frequent collaborators with M. Night Shyamalan, who serves as producer. Caddo Lake banks on Shyamalan’s trademark twists and turns, crafting a tale as winding as the real-life bayou from which it borrows its name.
Fortunately, George and Held also take their time letting the intrigue unravel, placing some much-needed emphasis on their three central characters before exploring the ties that bind them together. That personal tether keeps most of the twists from feeling trite as they make your head swim.
Caddo Lake follows the residents of its title community, a bayou that straddles the border of Louisiana and Texas, in the wake of a tragedy. Caddo Lake is full of unanswered mysteries, but its latest feels indicative of the rot beneath the marsh. Eight-year-old Anna (Caroline Falk) goes missing one morning, but it’s just one of many strange occurrences plaguing the small town. Caddo Lake has been suffering from a drought that keeps the water levels uncommonly low, residents have seen wolves walking across the marshes, and Anna’s step-sister Ellie (Eliza Scanlen) discovers a severed alligator torso.
It’s Ellie who drives half of Caddo Lake’s mystery, as she leads the search for Anna and struggles to reconcile her relationship with her mother (Lauren Ambrose) and well-meaning stepfather (Eric Lange). The other part of our story follows Paris (Dylan O’Brien), who’s still reeling from the loss of his mother. Though it’s been years since her passing, Paris is still investigating the accident that claimed her life. Her doctor claims she had a seizure that caused her to drive over a bridge, but Paris doesn’t believe that, and there’s a good chance he’ll find the answers he’s seeking in the woods surrounding Caddo Lake.
It’s nearly impossible to reveal more without betraying the movie’s bonkers twist, but it’s worth noting that these seemingly disparate narratives will eventually intersect in a way that few could possibly predict. To say Caddo Lake ties itself into knots might be an understatement, but the ride is enjoyable. O’Brien and Scanlen give their all to a tale that, in less-capable hands, would swerve into pastiche. Their performances are just one of the film’s many high points; paired with lush, haunting cinematography and a merciless script, it certainly makes your 100 minutes worthwhile.
