Blackwater Lane

Blackwater Lane
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jeff Celentano
Screenplay by	Elizabeth Fowler
Based on	The Breakdown by B.A. Paris
Produced by	Shaun Sanghani Lucinda Rhodes Thakrar Elizabeth Fowler Warren Ostergard
Starring	Minka Kelly Maggie Grace Dermot Mulroney
Cinematography	Felix Cramer
Edited by	Douglas Crise
Music by	Nathan Halpern
Production companies	Grindstone Entertainment Group Clear Pictures Entertainment
Distributed by	Lionsgate Films
Release date	June 21, 2024 (2024-06-21)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Blackwater Lane is a 2024 American supernatural horror film directed by Jeff Celentano and written by Elizabeth Fowler, based on the 2017 novel The Breakdown by B.A. Paris. The film stars Minka Kelly, Maggie Grace, and Dermot Mulroney.

The film was released theatrically in the United States and on demand by Lionsgate Films on June 21, 2024.

Plot

Directed by Jeff Celentano, Blackwater Laneis a mystery thriller based on B. A. Paris’ novel, “The Breakdown”. The film takes forever to build up suspense and comes up with an unimpressive explanation in the last few minutes. It revolves around a happily married couple (or so it seems), Cass and Matthew. They had recently moved into their new home, and they were still getting accustomed to their countryside neighborhood. Cass Anderson was a schoolteacher, and she enjoyed her job. She and her colleagues celebrated the onset of term break over a few drinks, and on her way home, something strange happened. It was a stormy night, and even though Matthew warned her not to take the road through the woods, Cass did not pay heed to it. On her way, Cass noticed a car parked by the side of the road. A woman was seated inside, but Cass continued to drive, assuming that she was not in any danger. The next morning, she found out that the woman was murdered, and her body was discovered by the police. Somewhere deep down, Cass regretted not helping the victim, but then again, it was raining heavily, and she could barely see anything. Cass’s life was unexpectedly affected by the incident. After the incident, Cass would often notice a stranger standing outside her house. After her mother’s death, Cass had a tough time dealing with her mental health, and she was admitted to a psych ward for some time. Cass could not believe that she was once again seeing things, and she started to doubt her memory. Whenever she was alone, she could feel the presence of an entity around her, but she could not pinpoint who it was. The lights flickered, and this one time she felt as if someone was trying to drown her in the bathtub, but when she woke up, there was no one around. Cass was also surprised that the police were constantly tipped off about her connection with Walters’ murder case. Cass knew Jane, but on the night of the murder, she did not recognize her in the car due to the heavy rain. When the police asked her about it, she tried to recall as much as she could. To her surprise, the next time she visited the spot to pay her respects to Jane, she found her earring in the bush. When the police inquired about her visit to the crime scene, she handed over the earring without much hesitation. She added that the earring belonged to her, and she did not expect to find it in the woods. It was all too strange for her, and Matthew suggested they visit her psychiatrist, Dr. Deakins. Cass’ mother had an early onset of dementia, and Matthew wondered if she too was experiencing the same. The doctor did not dismiss his theory, and he prescribed some medication to help Cass feel better. Cass was devastated. She was finally getting better when, all of a sudden, the murder occurred and her life turned upside down once again. She was frustrated, and she found it strange that instead of supporting her, Matthew constantly gaslighted her. He was a little too happy when Dr. Deakins recommended some tests to detect the early onset of dementia. Cass started to doubt him all the more when the security company that worked on their new system informed her that they had two bills for the same purchase in their books. Cass realized that Matthew was trying to play with her mind, and she suspected that he was having an affair. Cass met Rachael to discuss Matthew, and she noticed that her best friend was visibly uncomfortable when she wanted to know if Rachael had ever had an affair. Rachael always pretended to hate Matthew, and Cass could have never guessed that the two were having an affair behind her back if she had not found Rachael’s second phone. Rachael left to attend a call when her other phone buzzed. Cass was curious to find out if Rachael was having an affair, and she slyly kept the phone with her. After she returned home, she went through every voice message, and she realized that Rachael and Matthew had together planned the murder of Jane Walters. Jane was Rachael’s colleague, and she had also met Cass and Matthew at a party. One night at the office, she came across Rachael and Matthew secretly making out. Rachael saw Jane staring at them, and she later asked Jane to meet her at Blackwater Lane. Jane perhaps assumed that Rachael would try to explain her situation or that she would beg her to remain silent, but she surely did not think she would be killed to keep their affair a secret. Rachael and Matthew’s next target was Cass. After listening to the voice messages, Cass assumed that her husband and best friend were tired of tip-toeing around her, and that was why they wanted to get rid of her. Matthew and Rachael tried to convince Cass that she was losing her mind, and while their plan was almost successful, there were a few mistakes that gave them away. Cass decided to end her life, and she overdosed on her medication. She used the murder weapon to slit her wrist, and she bled to death (or so we were asked to believe!). Surprise surprise! Cass was still alive! She faked her death to catch Rachael and Matthew red-handed. She knew they would return to the house to get rid of the murder weapon and the cell phone, and she and her colleague-turned-friend, John Collins, waited for them. They played the same tricks on the murderers to make them realize how traumatizing it was for Cass. John grabbed hold of Matthew, and they got into a fight. Rachael struck John and helped Matthew escape from the situation. Rachael saw a glimpse of Cass running away, and she followed her. The best friends broke into a scuffle, and Matthew attacked Cass, and they finally managed to hold Cass captive. Cass warned them that she had the mobile phone as evidence, and they could not get away with killing her. Rachael continued to gaslight Cass, but this time it did not work. While Cass had assumed that the torture and murder were all for love, Rachael revealed that they did it for money. Rachael and Matthew were not having an affair; they were in a relationship even before Cass was introduced to Matthew. Rachael envied Cass from her school days because her best friend always flaunted her wealth. She believed Cass never helped her or her family when they were going through a financial crisis. Cass was shocked, to say the least. She disagreed with Rachael’s assumption, stating that her parents reached out to Rachael’s family, and she chose not to discuss the situation with Rachael because she was afraid of embarrassing her. Rachael could never accept the fact that Cass’ parents bought her ancestral castle, and eventually, Cass inherited it. Since Cass was married to Matthew, he would have inherited the property upon her death. This had been Rachael’s plan all along, and that was why she had introduced Matthew and Cass. In Blackwater Lane‘s ending, when Cass walked towards Rachael, she was fuming with rage, and she ended up stabbing Matthew. Rachael blamed Cass for her actions; this particularly indicates how Rachael had lost touch with reality and blamed Cass for everything that was wrong with her life. It was her way of escaping her failure. The police entered the scene and apprehended Rachael, while Matthew was taken to the hospital. During Blackwater Lane‘s ending, DC Lawson revealed that Matthew and Rachael met each other in college; he was the TA of the computer science course she took. After Cass’ mother passed away and her mental health deteriorated, Rachael thought it was the perfect time to introduce Matthew and Cass. She had assumed that it would be easy to break Cass’ confidence after the incident, and they would convince her that she had an early onset of dementia, which would eventually drive her to suicide. They were afraid that their elaborate plan would be ruined when they discovered that Jane had seen them together. Rachael thought murder was the only option, and she planted evidence at the crime scene to make the police suspect Cass. So, how did Cass figure out what was going on? Well, other than Matthew’s over-enthusiasm about the doctor’s report and the cell phone, Cass had also found a hidden camera in her house. She realized her movement was being monitored, so she met John and DC Lawson outside her house and discussed her suspicion. She also appointed her student, Andrew, who pretended to discover her body and informed Matthew about it. Her plan worked out, and Rachael and Matthew were caught in the act. Matthew passed away that night, and Rachael was locked up in prison. Cass narrated the entire incident to Jane’s husband, Alex Walters, at the very end of Blackwater Lane. He was shocked by the turn of events. After the incident, Cass felt all the more confident in herself because she had managed to overcome her self-doubt. Even after everything, she missed her best friend and her husband because they had been an integral part of her life. Rachael had always been Cass’ support, and for the first time, she was all by herself. Cass trusts herself and her instincts now more than ever, and hopefully she will manage to figure out her life on her own. Summary credit to www.dmtalkies.com

Cast

• Minka Kelly as Cassandra "Cass" Anderson
• Maggie Grace as Rachel
• Dermot Mulroney as Matthew Anderson
• Natalie Simpson as DC Lawson
• Kris Johnson as Alex Walters
• Edward Baker-Duly as Dr. Deakins
• Pandora Clifford as Susie
• Henry William Galpin as Cafe Waiter
• Mike Ray as Teacher
• Alan Calton as John Collins
• Judah Cousin as Andrew
• Sally Blouet as Jane Walters

Production

In October 2022, it was announced that Minka Kelly, Dermot Mulroney, and Maggie Grace were set to star in Blackwater Lane.

Also in October, it was announced that filming had begun in Suffolk, England.

Release

Blackwater Lane was released theatrically and on demand on June 21, 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Blackwater Lane at AllMovie
• Blackwater Lane at IMDb