The Blackcoat’s Art Dealer: A review of “Masquerade”
Bella Thorne is up to something, and it ain’t waitressing.
“Masquerade” deserves credit for making you think a lot of its choices are dumb, when they actually turn out to be intentional. There’s a lot of fat to cut through before the climax, but writer/director Shane Dax Taylor is hoping you’ll go along for the ride. Without spoiling anything, the film has a twist ending so bonkers, I almost wanted to re-watch it. Almost.
Young Casey (Alyvia Alyn Lind) is just trying to watch horror movies with her babysitter (Joana Metras), when thieves break into her house to rob her wealthy parents. A cat-and-mouse game ensues between Casey and the thieves throughout her big, dark, house. There are a few surprises, but the home invasion plot still drags in some spots. Casey’s parents are oblivious since they’re throwing a masquerade (ahem) gala for their art collection. When they’re too drunk to drive home, they’re offered a ride from a catering waitress (Bella Thorne), which isn’t suspicious at all since she’s just an admirer: one who owns the same mask as the thieves their daughter is trying to hide from.
The premise makes it sound like a mix between “Home Alone” and “The Collector,” but Taylor has other plans. Aside from a gasp-inducing act of violence towards the end, it’s fairly bloodless. The cast gets into it, especially Lind. It’s easy to think kids have plot armor in a movie like this, but she sells fear and resourcefulness as effectively as she shared sass and vulnerability in Netflix’s “Daybreak” (one of the best shows Nexflix was dumb enough to cancel after one season). Thorne doesn’t have many notes to play at first (maybe because you’ll be wondering why people who are “gala rich” don’t have a chauffeur, but I digress), but eventually you’ll see it’s no accident she’s steadily building a genre resumè. Their roles are memorable, which is impressive considering the film straight up forgets about two other characters by the end.
At 80 minutes, “Masquerade” is a tight little thriller that doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s pretty generic for a stretch, but if you stick with it, you might be impressed by the end.
“Masquerade” is streaming July 30th from Shout! Studios.
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