Chateau Review (2024)

Synopsis

While on a French vacation funded by odd jobs, an aspiring influencer covertly films a vlog in a reportedly haunted chateau she’s been hired to clean.

My Thoughts

You ever notice how there’s always some new horror movie about influencers?

I mean, fair play as they’re the perfect target, as social media types are already halfway to being in a horror movie because they willingly walk into the dumbest situations just to get clicks.

In Chateau, we have James, who is an influencer but lets say she is not great at it, and her follower count is in the toilet, and her ‘friend’ Dash, suggests to her that she needs a gimmick.

A place called The Murder Castle is hiring a maid, and James takes the job, smuggles in her camera, and decides to fake some ghostly shenanigans for her channel to get herself trending and to go viral.

The location is gorgeous, and the movie leans into classic haunted house vibes, and the usual haunted house tropes are in full swing, and the film does have an overly familiar feel to it.

The acting is also pretty good, especially for a found footage movie, and both Cathy Marks as James and Colton Tran as Dash bring some relatability to the characters, and they will resonate with a lot of viewers, which is good.

The film takes a little while to get going, but I was never bored, and it has enough tension and spooky scenes to make this watchable, even if it doesn’t re-invent the wheel.

And by the end, the movie ties everything together pretty neatly, as we find out what’s really going on with the house, but I won’t spoil anything more about the ending.

So yeah, Chateau, it’s not reinventing the wheel, but it’s a decent watch with some creepy vibes, a few good scares, and solid performances.

Good Points

Beautiful Setting: The location is stunning, with its winding staircase, sprawling grounds, chandeliers, and a barn that adds to the creepy atmosphere.

Strong Performances: Cathy Marks does a great job portraying James, shifting convincingly from confident to terrified and Colton Tran also brings a lot to the film, and they both bring some fun dynamics to it all.

Classic Haunted House Atmosphere: The film uses some classic horror techniques like background scares, lingering shots, and creepy sounds effectively, and while it isn’t anything new, it’s executed just fine.

Bad Points

Predictable Scares: While effective, some of the scares feel overly familiar and lack originality.

Limited Creativity: Compared to similar movies such as Deadstream, it doesn’t push the found footage style in any new or creative ways.

Slow Pacing at Times: While I personally wasn’t bored, certain scenes do drag on, and the buildup to the main scares might feel drawn out to some viewers.

Is It Worth Watching?

Chateau is worth a watch I think, and while it doesn’t break new ground, it has some things to like and appreciate about it.

Has some decent scares even if they can be a bit predictable.

Chateau On IMDB
Chateau Trailer

Where To Watch

Amazon Prime

Director and Cast

Director – Luke Genton

Main Cast – Cathy Marks, Colton Dran, Rachel Alig, Mikayla Soo-ni Campbell, Hettie Lynne Hurtes