The Caretaker – FrightFest 2025 Movie Review
First Reaction – The Caretaker is a tense journey exposing bigger traumas in the character’s lives.
Director: Luke Tedder
Writer: Luke Tedder (Screenplay)
Cast
- Ben Probert (Bob Marley One Love)
- Mackenzie Larsen
- Scott Hume
- P G Pearson (Star Wars The Last Jedi)
- Lauren Shotton (The Regulars)
Plot: Eddie is mute, he takes a caretaker job at the coastal Lockbridge Academy to avoid homelessness. There, he forms a bond with cleaner Marie, while uncovering dark secrets that threaten the Aberdeen family’s control of the school.
Runtime: 1 Hour 54 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Caretaker starts when mute Eddie (Probert) takes a role as a caretaker at a coastal academy. He has few options but to take the role and meets cleaner Marie (Larsen) who has her own problems she is trying to solve. Meanwhile, Charles Aberdeen 3rd (Hume) has a controlling presence in the academy.
Eddie tries to keep to himself but is quickly drawn into the bigger problems in the academy. He is forced to investigate the secrets to understand the darker things happening, while building a relationship with Marie.
Verdict on The Caretaker
Recap
The movie follows a mute taking a role at a local academy. He wants to keep to himself, but eventually gets drawn into the bigger secrets the academy holds. As the mystery comes to life, he finds himself needing to do the right thing to help a new love interest.
Best Parts
The movie uses the communication barriers for people with disabilities. Elsewhere, we get a mystery that slowly unfolds in little moments creating bigger moments of shock and reveal. The performances are chilling and keep you on edge throughout the movie. We get a lot of exposes to past traumas, which help make the movie has a tense feeling throughout.
Worst Parts
There are slower moments which might not give enough for the bigger mystery. It uses a lot of how Eddie is seeing the world, and he is often outside the bigger mystery.
Final Thoughts – The Caretaker is a tense, disturbing mystery.
