Home invasion films like Paradise Cove are fun to watch until reality strikes to make you think it could happen to you. But what if the film took a spin on the formula and questions who the intruder is when a woman tries to get more than revenge–she wants her house back and if she can’t have it, no one will.

Paradise Cove tells the story of a couple inheriting a beach house destroyed by time and a careless owner. While trying to fix it because the couple realize they need to work on something other than on their own problems, they realize that below their house they have an uninvited guest: a woman who claims to be the owner. The couple believes that it will be easy to get rid of her but when you no longer have anything to lose and only have the memories of the place where you had everything before it was taken from you; the couple realizes they have more to lose— even their lives.

While some of the actors keep a single tone to their roles, sometimes even going borderline annoying, Kristin Bauer van Straten goes on the ride of her life leaving everything on the screen to uplift a film that is very toned down even when intercourse is acted out. You can tell she’s having fun playing the antagonist even when the rest of the characters dragged the rhythm of the plot slower by the minute. Her scenes are the most fun to watch and it makes the film enjoyable but it could be because I like to see strong women taking charge even when it’s obvious the character needs to work on their mental health.

The photography of Paradise Cove overworks the color saturation giving it a wrong vibe, maybe even stereotypical, to the film. Rather than causing tension and mystery, it looks more like a vibrant episode of Real Housewives of whichever-county-is-left-to-film. I know they may want the viewer to be aware of their Malibu setting and that life seems richer when you have a beachfront house but in this case it does not help to create an atmosphere of suspense. For a film that wants to bring out the aesthetics of its images, it completely forgets the small details like the cast’s makeup–with the lighting it handles and the dark color saturation it makes everyone look pale and dehydrated like sandpaper.

Paradise Cove tries to give an interesting twist to the home invasion subgenre but it’s emptier than an uninhabited house. Even when it tries to play smart but ends up being dull and incoherent, the plot tries to make the audience root for the couple but it may push you into cheering for a hopeful ending for the so-called villain.

3 OUT OF 10 BEACH HOUSES