It capitalizes on one of our biggest fears: What is in the basement? In a story that follows different people across different decades connected by a house inhabited by a witch.
Directed by Aaron Fradkin and co-written with Victoria Fradkin, Beezel is a movie engaging from the start where, after a series of videos from 1966, we are introduced to Harold Weems (Bob Gallagher) in 1987 talking to Apollo (LeJon Woods), whom he paid for his filming service. Something that might seem similar to Patrick Brice's Creep from 2014, if only at first sight. He wants Apollo to make a series of videos where he, Weems, will talk about the death of his wife. From that moment strange things start to happen, turns that are not seen from the distance owing to how effectively the movie keeps you invested in what is happening in the moment. Beezel, as previously mentioned, encompasses different years, something seen in its cinematography as the movie more than once opts for a found footage style. From the Harold Weems segment to Lucas and Nova's set in 2013, this decision adds to the atmosphere and makes us feel part of the story as well as aesthetically differentiating the decades. One of the best moments is the scene that covers the year 2003, where Naomi (Caroline Quigley), a young nurse, goes to the house to take care of Deloris Weems (Kimberly Salditt Poulin), after the last nurse unexpectedly disappeared. With a resemblance to Zach Cregger's Barbarian from 2022, this moment in the movie captures what nightmares are made of since it evokes fear from everything: the creepy house at night, an unsettling old lady, darkness bathing the setting, etc.
Aaron Fradkin's Beezel is a movie that successfully captures the object of fear to construct a story entertaining from the start, making it worth watching.
