Caveat requires patience. It’s a slow-burn, a film heavy on atmosphere and mood more than anything else. It has a unique premise and generally chilling concept, but too many frustrating plot holes and unanswered questions. Still, Caveat is worth a watch for its cinematography and unsettling narrative potential.

Directed and written by Damian Mc Carthy, the Irish film has a creative storyline. Lone drifter Isaac (Jonathan French), who suffers memory loss, agrees to look after a young, troubled woman, Olga (Leila Sykes). Olga’s mother is missing and her dad committed suicide, according to her uncle, the grim and serious Barret (Ben Caplan). Because Olga fears someone attacking her, Isaac must wear a medieval vest attached to a chain leash and stay out of her room where she crouches in a corner with her hands over her eyes. Why anyone would chain themselves to a house situated upon an isolated island is beyond me, but perhaps Isaac simply needs the money.

Something is unnerving about the first time that Isaac slips into the leash and the chains rattle and clank with each of his movements. The house itself becomes an arresting character, too. It looks dilapidated, with torn and peeling wallpaper, holes in the walls, and creaky floors. There’s even a creepy painting that torments Isaac while he sleeps and an old toy rabbit that drums at random times. All of this creates a haunting atmosphere, and it’s one of the film’s real strengths. Spooky images fill several frames.

Add to this Kieran Fitzgerald’s impressive cinematography and Richard G. Mitchell’s foreboding score, and you create an eerie sense of isolation. The minute that Isaac straps on that leash, you doubt he’s going to be able to leave that house. Some narrative details are sprinkled throughout Caveat about Olga’s family, and they add to the sense of imprisonment. Olga’s mom locked her claustrophobic husband (Conor Dwane) in the basement and wore the key around her neck, taunting him. The mom shows up eventually in hair-raising fashion, looming over the rest of the narrative like a phantom. This is a house with buried secrets, as Isaac slowly learns, just as parts of his memory return in fragmented flashbacks.

The film also plays out like a cat and mouse game. Because Olga doesn’t trust Isaac, she walks around the house with a crossbow. In fact, more could have been done with this dynamic to add some much-needed suspense to the otherwise slow pacing. Furthermore, there is a major plot point regarding Isaac and Barret that’s too thin. It’s one of the film’s main drawbacks. In short, it’s unclear why Barret charged Isaac with a grisly task in the past, which Isaac slowly recalls after finding a picture and his red jacket in the house from years ago. Some of these narrative gaps and unanswered questions lead to an ending that will test your patience and make you wonder if sitting through the 90 minutes was worth it.

That said, Mc Carthy’s film has some stunning cinematography and an inventive premise. Ignore some of the plot holes and enjoy the ghoulish atmosphere. This feature is a decent start for the director. I look forward to what he does next.

Caveat will stream on Shudder beginning June 4.

6.5 Out of 10 Creepy Rabbits