Horror movies and thrillers haven't been kind to influencers. They're almost exclusively portrayed as shallow narcissists, and for the audience half the fun lies in seeing them get their comeuppance. Initially it seems that's all writer/director Luke Genton has in store for us with his found footage chiller Chateau. From the off the film's influencer protagonist is set up as a borderline sociopath, but we soon come to realise she's simply running away from a past she wants to escape. Rather than gleefully waiting for her to get what's coming, we grow to like James (Cathy Marks) enough for us to root for her to make it to the end of her ordeal.
We're introduced to James as she reluctantly takes a video call with her sister Lila (Mikayla Soo-ni Campbell). It's the day of their mother's funeral, but James is on the other side of the Atlantic, in Paris to be exact. Having resigned herself to the fact that her sister won't be attending the funeral, Lila instead tries to get James to open up about her issues with her mother, but James hangs up before she can probe too deep.
So far, so shallow and narcissistic. Influencers, amirite? Instead of burying her mother, James has been recording vlogs in the City of Lights, though her YouTube audience has yet to exceed double digits. Funding her trip with freelance cleaning gigs, she accepts an offer to polish up an old chateau a couple of hours outside of Paris. When her roommate (Colton Tran) informs her that the house in question is known as "Murder Castle" and is reputedly haunted, James sees this as an opportunity to ramp up her views. Strapping a steadicam rig to her chest, James documents her time in the house.
Genton brings the found footage format into the modern age by equipping his protagonist with a variety of tools that make for a polished production. The use of a drone allows James to capture atmospheric footage of the mist-shrouded chateau, giving it the appearance of a setting from a Jean Rollin vampire movie. There's an ingenious use of a phone tied to a piece of string and lowered down a staircase at one point. James uses an app that allows her to simultaneously record with her phone's front and rear camera. This means that unlike most found footage movies, where we only see whatever the character holding the camera sees, we also get to witness James's reactions. It also allows for some classic "look behind you!" moments as we can see over James's shoulders and any threats that might be approaching her from behind. In Paranormal Activity fashion, James only becomes aware of such moments when she later reviews the footage.
The main advantage of this dual-perspective setup is that it allows James to be a more fleshed out protagonist than we're accustomed to in this sub-genre. For about 90% of the film her face is front and centre, and Marks does a great job of portraying James's evolution from cynical influencer to a frightened little girl who will quite literally be crying for her Mommy by the end.
The footage we get to see is split between that which James has shot for her audience and the outtakes. In the former James is putting on a persona, clad in the sort of chic outfit more befitting Lily Collins in Emily in Paris than a cleaning lady. In the outtakes we see the real James, the one wrestling with her recent history with her mother. As the chateau gradually reveals its true horrors, James drops the act and endears herself to the audience with her vulnerability and growing self-awareness. In a year that's given us a host of great performances from women in horror, Marks is up there with the best.
Chateau is available via Video on Demand
Directed by: Luke Genton
Starring: Cathy Marks, Colton Tran, Rachel Alig, Mikayla Soo-ni Campbell, Julie Tessier
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