Caddo Lake Review

"Caddo Lake" is one of those movies you need to watch twice to fully appreciate. The first time I was so confused, mainly because I was trying to do house chores and missed some things. After a second viewing, I really came to appreciate it. Just a heads up—you need to pay close attention.

The story revolves around a teenage girl named Ellie, played by Eliza Scanlen. Ellie is constantly at odds with her mother and often leaves home to stay with her friend. One of their biggest arguments is about Ellie’s father. Her mother only says he left with a blonde woman she met at a grocery store and never returned. Keep that in mind.

Then we meet a guy named Paris, played by Dylan O’Brien. His story is tragic—he's in a car with his mother when she drives off a bridge and dies. He manages to escape but is understandably haunted by the incident.

Alright, let’s get back to the search. Ellie heads to the lake, which looks like it’s in the middle of a drought. The water has receded enough that she can walk along parts of it. After searching, she returns home only to find out that it’s three days in the past. Panicking, she goes back to the lake. There, she finds Anna, but it’s Anna from a month ago. We know this because Ellie pulled one of her loose teeth, and when she finds Anna, she has all of her teeth.

So, what have we learned? Parts of Caddo Lake have time displacement properties, creating an eerie phenomenon where past and present moments blur together, defying the natural flow of time. This seems to kick in when water levels drop. Ellie decides to go back to the lake to find her timeline and Anna again.

Meanwhile, Paris is still trying to figure out why his mother had a seizure and drove off the bridge. He finds no answers, so he goes to work. Where does he work? Dredging the lake. Want to guess what happens when he goes to the dry part of the lake? He sees footprints and follows them. Then his hearing gets impaired. When he returns to his boat, he finds his mother’s necklace stuck in the motor. Paris then meets up with his ex-girlfriend, who wants to rekindle their relationship. Keep that storyline in mind.

Ellie and Paris's stories collide when he returns to the lake and passes through the time portals, transporting him to 1952. There, he finds Anna, who is wearing his mother’s necklace. Paris is originally from 2003, but when he tries to return to his timeline, he ends up in 2022—Ellie's timeline. He takes Anna's boat since it was nearby and soon finding himself under suspicion for Anna's disappearance.

Next, Ellie figures out the time portals and travels to 2005. She ends up in a grocery store parking lot and spots her father's necklace hanging on the mirror of a truck. The truck’s owners catch her breaking in to take the necklace. When Ellie asks the woman where she got it, she says it was from her missing boyfriend’s mother, Anna Lang. Ellie then realizes she's speaking to her own mother, who now believes Ellie is the woman her man left her for. Sound familiar?

This movie starts slow, but the anticipation of what’s to come keeps you glued to the screen. I give this movie 4 out of 5 acorns.