'Caddo Lake' offers detour with supernatural twists

"Caddo Lake," a completely unknown and unadvertised psychological thriller, is now available to watch on Max. Having never heard of the film before I clicked onto Max to see what was available, I had no expectations for the film. In the end, it turned out to be a decent movie, with a few surprising turns.Teenager Ellie (Eliza Scanlen) lives in East Texas on a swampy body of water known as Caddo Lake. Ellie is forever arguing with her mother, Celeste (Lauren Ambrose). Even though he seems to be making an effort to get along with her, Ellie doesn't have any warm and fuzzy feelings for her step-father, Daniel (Eric Lange), either. Really, the only person in her family she gets along with is her step-sister, Anna (Caroline Falk). Anna adores Ellie, and the feeling is mutual.Paris (Dylan O'Brien) is mourning the death of his mother. He was a passenger in a car driven by his mother years earlier when she had a seizure and their truck rocketed off a bridge and into Caddo Lake. Paris refuses to accept the diagnosis that his mother simply had a seizure. He somehow blames himself.One night in the middle of a drought Ellie storms out of her house after an argument with her mom and takes her boat out on the lake and through the dirty water to spend the night with a friend. The next morning Ellie is awakened by a phone call from her mom. Anna is missing. Anna took a skiff onto the lake the night before and no one has seen her since.While working on the lake removing and/or replacing old pipes that lead to old oil derricks, something happens to Paris. Something he can't explain. While walking through the swamp he took one step too many and felt a very strange sensation.Fate brings Ellie and Paris together as one searches for Anna while the other searches for the strange anomaly he discovered.The best part of "Caddo Lake" isn't the acting or the plot or even the directing. No, the best part of the movie is the setting and the ambiance. Calling the body of water in the film a lake is a bit of a misnomer. Sure, there are open channels that resemble the lakes around here, but most of the movie takes place in the swamp. The cypress trees stand as harbingers of doom, inviting to some and foreboding to others. The swamp is a living, breathing thing. It is both amazing and frightening.A nice addition to the setting is the authentic nature of the characters and their environment. Dylan O'Brien, Eliza Scanlen and the rest of the cast seem real, like genuine residents of this rural community rather than actors trying to pretend they belong. Everything from how the actors are dressed to their accents to their homes and the way of life for the people living near this lake screams that they are real.The plot is hit and miss. As the movie begins and Anna goes missing it is clear this is a crime thriller. Who took her and how they will get her back is going to be the whole story, right? Wrong. As Ellie and Paris explore the swamp looking for answers, the story takes a surprising turn to the supernatural. It's after this discovery that the complex plot reveals itself.This is not the kind of story you will understand immediately, it takes a little thought to realize what the writer is trying to accomplish. This is one of those stories where, when the light bulb of understanding glows, you will either love the movie or shake your head in derision at the implausible plot twist that reveals how all the events are connected. Whether you like the supernatural element to the story will likely determine whether you like the entire movie.Bottom line: Subscribers to Max can stream "Caddo Lake" for free and it is likely worth your time if you like what you read above. Otherwise, this is probably a good one to skip.Grade: BRated PG-13 for some disturbing/bloody images, thematic elements, and brief strong language.•••Bradley Griffith is a local attorney and longtime film buff.