“Behind You” (2020) is about an estranged family, two nieces and an aunt, reunited under tragic circumstances. Suspicion and strange occurrences plague the reunion and threaten to separate them once more until they recognize that they have a common enemy. Will their disagreement about how to handle the threat destroy them and their relationship forever?

“Behind You” lost me after one hour. It became monotonous and dull. I love bad movies. I love scary movies. I hate movies that are not well thought out, or if they do not provide answers. At least the film should feel as if the filmmakers had a complete story when the project started. It felt as if they had certain ideas that they wanted to play out, but did not flesh out: misunderstanding intent, the logistics of the supernatural, practical workarounds those logistics, really into blonde female relatives. 

Here are some never answered questions so you can set your expectations low from the start. The two most recent generations of this family had such a dramatic origin story, but the nieces’ mom never whispered a word about why she went no contact with the aunt? People talk, and kids eavesdrop. I cannot buy this premise for a second. 

“Behind You” never explains the backstory for why them? I love arbitrary, inexplicable evil, but since rules govern this phenomenon, there needs to be an explanation regarding the location’s past. If it is related to the family, what did they do to trigger it? If it is not related to the family, then there should have been a sequence explaining what happened to previous occupants? You cannot just toss out “Coptic necromancy” and not expect a history lesson. 

“Behind You” wanted to repeat the same sororal dynamic with decades difference, but did not earn it. Were they going for a “Children of the Corn” aesthetic or was there a grander significance to generations of sisters going through the same tribulations. Since they were determined to have a sisters dynamic, why and how would it be connected to the supernatural? It goes nowhere other than the disaster film dynamic of showing that family loves each other regardless of appearances, which yawn and again, unrealistic. 

What happened to the nieces’ mom? Something! We never find out more than an “accident.” What about dad? They could have written this off-screen character in multiple plausible ways, but they went with could not reach him because he is out of the country for work. At one point, these underage girls were just going to go home with no adult supervision with everyone’s blessings. Fair considering the circumstances, but again, awkward. Make him a jerk who never hasn’t talked to him for years. Kill him off too in the same accident or earlier. I don’t care. “Behind You” really wanted an all-woman family, which is fine, but it was just a sloppy construct.

What did mom do for a living that made her awesome coworker, Camilla (Aimee-Lynn Chadwick), ride so hard for her? Based on the wardrobe choice, I thought it was something in health care, but nope, never mentioned. If I feel bad for any of the characters in this film, it is Camilla, and the way that the movie just brushes over her storyline. They treated a pivotal supporting character like an extra so I concluded that they were not emotionally invested in any of their characters. The unceremonial way in which Camilla was ushered out was so matter of fact and never revisited at the end that it annoyed me on principle. Give me a throwaway line or something. I saw her husband in the background helping her move. “Behind You” feels unfinished because there is this character who will want answers, and the threat remains. I do not want a sequel, and I do not think that the movie was angling for one. It was just a loose thread.

“Behind You” had some assets. The cast cared. My favorite character was Aunt Beth (Jan Broberg). I am unfamiliar with Broberg, but you may know as the child abducted in the documentary “Abducted in Plain Sight” (2017), which is in my queue, and I have not seen it yet. I did not know about her connection prior to watching the film, but I thought that she was the best part of the film. She played the role two ways, and I recognized the aunt’s real story that she projected on her face, but could see the misunderstanding that the film was trying to create among the characters. She plays multiple emotions well and considering that she has a thankless role as the crazy crone, she does her best to elevate it. 

I also thought Philip Brodie, who plays Charles, Beth’s childhood sweetheart and friend, did an effective job playing the character two ways. He had moments of seeming sincere and then sinister, but was a likeable, good cop character. Also great hair! No shade intended on either Brodie or Sterling Evans who plays Charles as a teen, but I read the character as gay and not out of the closet yet. There was no chemistry with Charles and Beth though I bought their platonic devotion to each other than the obvious reason revealed at the end. I think that this opportunity was missed. Beth’s family, The Molnars, represented something to Charles more than what Beth did for him. The house is grand. We could have gotten more out of exploring the family history and why he was attracted to them, not necessarily Beth.

I also thought that “Behind You” could have been better if the writers just eliminated the misunderstanding, have the mother keep the girls away for obvious reasons then every in the family could still be tense, but on the same page from the beginning. I would have preferred if Camilla was clueless why no one wanted to go there, and the girls would not want to say because then they would sound insane. Camilla could still come back if the girls still wanted to peace out, but they would not tell her everything and would feel culpable. The film could have explored themes of the consequences of running away from family responsibility and adultification. The only ambiguity should have been them wondering if their mom was telling the truth or if it added ambiguity to the “accident.” I would have loved to explore a theme of weakness exhibited in Claire, not Olivia, Beth’s sisters, but not Beth. Exploring the similarities between Beth and Olivia throughout the film as they start to experience a kinship could have been interesting then we could have spent more time in Beth’s gorgeous study. Horror is at its best when the sensational aspects are placeholders for real life issues, but here the horror is a rip off better films such as “The Exorcist” (1973) or “Paranormal Activity” franchise.

“Behind You” did a cool, deliberate thing with dilating characters eyes. While it worked hard to be visually sumptuous in distinguishing the supernatural from the normal world, and it looked great, combined with the story’s shortcomings, it fell flat. While the miming scene was filled with pathos, I hate scenes like that on principle because I cannot stop thinking about how silly the actor must feel. The film kept shifting among characters’ POV, and when it did it again at the end, I felt completely disengaged from the film. While it fit the story’s structure in the abstract to toggle between Olivia and Claire’s perspective, it only works with Olivia at the end.

“Behind You” is disappointing. Unless you love the cast and must see everything they are in, I would skip it. It is a pretty film, but without a story, it feels like a waste of production value. It adds nothing to the genre.