Em and Ruby are two young strangers who decide to rent a property together somewhere in an Australian suburb. The neighboring waters host a murky secret and it doesn’t matter what part of the world you’re in because you just can’t have nice things. A young woman does the Macarena to a song that sounds like mass-produced pop recorded in a fog while something dead emerges from the water and walks towards the unsuspecting young woman with no dance skills. Sirens and a concerned and peeping neighbor indicate that something went wrong. Fifteen years pass and we get a montage of people looking at the waterfront property. Bang up job, movie. The two ladies mentioned earlier nab the property and move on in. This, of course, necessitates another low-effort montage. The women have some issues as they get to know each other because only an idiot would decide that cohabitation with an unknown person is a good idea. Social awkwardness will have to be put to the side though because it seems the supernatural is about to claim residency at the rental as well. That concerned/snooping neighbor continues to snoop and be concerned while also having creepy flashbacks that look better-suited to a particularly forgettable episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? The standard haunted house hijinks ensue and Em seems to be a focal point of the paranormal activity. That means she’s getting the auditory and visual horrors while Ruby just stands around getting further frustrated and offering horrible advice. Ruby rightfully believes Em is having a breakdown and offers up such helpful mental health tips as “Go for a walk.” and “Get some sleep.” Em suddenly keeps a vlog so she can fill us in on everything we’ve already seen and unconvincingly lose her mind. Eventually the neighbor breaks the peeper code and talks to Em about the house she’s renting and the history that’s far more interesting than anything we’re shown. Our leads have almost no chemistry and the dramatic chops of a water-logged loaf of bread. The script doesn’t do them any favors asking for melodrama while brewing a soup of predictability and pacing issues. A pretty bad time in Australia. Thank God it’s short and there’s some delightfully awful ghost effects on display.
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