Caught

UK • 2017 • 86m •

• Directed by: Jamie Patterson. • Starring: Cian Barry, Ruben Crow, Aaron Davis, Dave Mounfield, April Pearson, Mickey Sumner. • Music by: Moritz Schmittat.

A journalist couple invites a man and woman into their idyllic village home, but what begins with an informal interview descends into a nightmarish fight for survival.

Review:

Look, I get the whole idea of a film that doesn't spell out every detail for the audience. I have thoroughly enjoyed such films in the past. I did not enjoy this. The sad thing is, I saw a preview for this movie some time back, and have been trying to recall the title for months, because I really thought it looked like a great movie. By some conincidence, I was thinking about it again this evening when suddenly my desire was made manifest, and an ad for the film-- on a no-charge streaming channel!--suddenly appeared on my television. The fact that it was nearly 1am didn't stop me from watching immediately, even though it wasn't likely that the film would vanish overnight. If I had waited, and the film had vanished, I would be well-rested and not annoyed by having wasted my night's rest on a half-baked, unresolved and ultimately frustrating movie experience.

It's a beautifully filmed movie with a lot of fascinating moments, but ultimately I felt as if I'd overheard an interesting snippet of conversation before moving out of earshot -- never to know how it began or ended, and ultimately, not caring much.

Yes, the acting is quite good. Yes, the movie has some thoroughly creepy moments. But it was in no way satisfying for me. I also didn't at all understand the motivation of those who sent "Mr and Mrs Blair" to the house. If the.. er... aliens? Mutants? Other-Dimensional-Beings? knew they'd been photographed, and for whatever reason this was a huge problem for them (maybe they shouldn't hang out around inhabited sites with a military presence?) why didn't they just scrabble and lurch over to the copulating couple, vomit and spit on them a few times (eventually giving up on the venomous saliva idea), bashing in their heads with a convenient rock and then scuttling away with the camera?

Why send heavily disguised agents to spit on, torment, scream at, show flashes of near-understanding that humanity could be a beautiful thing, hint at a hive mind, puzzle over voice recorders and music players (but they understand cameras? and can put together perfectly lovely (albeit short-lived) human skinsuits?) wait patiently for photos to be developed in order to see the one that proved their existence or whatever it proved (we never get to see it, another fun chance for YOU to use YOUR imagination)... and yet they seem incapable of understanding or even having an awareness of human military, human journalists (or hobby photography), journalism, babies, families, and never do understand that drooling thick gray saliva onto someone is not ever going to do what you're clearly hoping it's going to do, so you may as well give up and grab a rock.

May I say that my one moment of startled, unrestrained laughter was when we saw the small boy fleeing for his life with his baby sister in his arms? There is a young man who does not understand the concept of "run" in any way.

Not sure why I wrote this review. I guess so I could vent a bit of spleen, since I'll now work to forget I saw this after trying to remember it for these many months. Oh, and perhaps to push some version of me into making better choices for his or her evening.

Review by Steven Denver from the Internet Movie Database.

Off-Site Reviews:

Mar 2 2017, 15:33

[Review] - 'Caught' is an Escalation in Terror.

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