REVIEW: A House On The Bayou Has Potential, But Lacks The Scare
A House on the Bayou is the first of eight horror films being released to EPIX as part of the collaboration between the television channel and Blumhouse Television. Written and directed by Alex McAulay, this indie thriller centers on a couple on the brink of divorce, and their teenage daughter (Lia McHugh), as they venture to the House on the Bayou for vacation. They hope this vacation will save their crumbling family. It’s at this house where strange things begin to occur and two locals take it upon themselves to rid the family of any evil that may lay within their lives.
McAulay, who is no stranger to thrillers (see his 2020 film, Don’t Tell A Soul for reference) struggles to create an identity for his latest venture. His oscillation between the destructiveness of human nature on their loved ones and the paranormal encompassing the house ends up creating a fairly confused film. McAulay utilizes so many aspects of different horror sub-genres, from paranormal to slasher, the film never establishes an identity. The entire journey is spent bouncing between so many of these horror tropes that it eventually loses all its horror potential, especially at the end of the film. Instead, if he had opted to focus on one main aspect, such as the paranormal activity surrounding the two “locals” Issac (Jacob Lofland) and Grandpappy (Doug Van Liew) the true horror of the film would have been easier to follow and the scares would have been more than just subpar.
Jacob Lofland as dysfunctional teenager/righteous vigilante Isaac, is the true standout of the film. He combines the perfect level of creepiness and smug righteousness that it’s hard to decide whether you are weirded out by his performance or wanting to punch him in the face. Angela Sarafyan (Jessica) and Paul Schneider (John) do what they can with the material, specifically Schneider who has the meatier of the roles. Neither is spectacular but they get the job done. Lia McHugh as their daughter spends most of the film crying, which is a major step down from her recent role in Marvel’s Eternals.
A House on the Bayou isn’t exactly the best film to lead off the Blumhouse Television and EPIX collaboration. It’s scares are subpar, the performances are phoned in at times, and the film answers none of the viewer’s questions when the credits start to roll. Hopefully, the other seven films will only go up from here.
Grade: C+