When his increasingly depraved behavior spirals out of control, Marcus retreats to his family home along the New England coast. But instead of finding solace, Marcus is haunted by his darkest fears and deepest desires.

Seeds open to a young girl playing in the ocean, with her finding an odd creature in a shell. Then a jarring jump occurs to a different point, where we meet Marcus Milton (Trevor Long) engaged in general debauchery that seems to go bad. After enlisting some help, he runs away to an old house where he starts becoming more and more unnerved. Life becomes even rockier when his niece and nephew, Lily (Andrea Chen) and Spencer (Garr Long) come to stay with him.

Marcus and Lily start pushing boundaries while glimpses of a creature are seen throughout the house. As their relationship become more and more questionable, you begin to wonder if the creature is even real or if it’s all in Marcus’ head as a metaphor for some underlying issues. The plot becomes even more confusing as more is thrown at the viewer with the inclusion of Even (Kevin Breznahan) at random points of the movie, only to give Marcus random pills and say random things. It all comes to head in the last fifteen minutes of the film, but only kind of. The “payoff”, if you want to call it that, is not earned in the least. It seems that we’re supposed to feel something at the end, but I don’t think the relief that I felt when the credits started was the feeling the filmmakers were going for.

Trevor Long (Ozark, Low Winter Sun, After Adderall) does okay as the lead. Andrea Chen (Boyhood, The Trinket, Fortune Sun) was able to do more in her role though not much more as her character wasn’t given a whole lot to do. The problem was the script as a whole, it was all over the place. The characters would flip from one extreme to the other on a dime. Whether it’s Marcus insisting he’s crazy to something being in the house. Or it could be Lily being cryptic about a monster while trying to seduce Marcus to her being a concerned sister and niece. The film, in general, has no idea what it’s trying to be and it shows. One of the problems with the script is that it seems to rely on the trope of a young women’s pursuit of validation through an older man. This narrative feels audacious and dated against today’s social norms. At best it comes across as eye-rolling and at worse downright offensive.

It’s a shame that the script and story hurt the movie so much because it is beautiful. The camera work and scenes are expertly done. Add to that the well-done soundtrack and you have the makings of an atmospheric and engaging film. This is Owen Long’s first time in the director seat and I wouldn’t have known by just watching this movie. He has a true talent for filmmaking and it shows, unfortunately like the monster in the movie, it has a gorgeous shell but you want no part of what’s inside. Here’s to hoping his next chance will involve a story on the same level as his technical skill.