Movie Review: Masquerade (2021)

Synopsis: A pair of thieves break into a mansion, seeking to steal valuable artwork hanging on the wall. However, things don't go as planned when 11-year-old Casey, who watched the thieves kill her babysitter, manages to elude them. Meanwhile, a bartender, Rose, gives a pair of wealthy art dealers a ride home but has an ulterior motive.

Who's in it? The movie stars Bella Thorne, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Skyler Samuels, Mircea Monroe and Austin Nichols.

Review: I came across this film a couple weeks ago and, thinking it looked interesting, added it to my movie library. My wife and I ended up watching it last night and, unfortunately, it turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment.

I usually try to give a movie credit for at least trying to be somewhat unique and throw in a surprise twist and this film did attempt to do that. However, the overall execution of the surprise twist was poor, making the movie's ending much more confusing than entertaining. In fact, it took several minutes of discussion with my wife for us to have even a basic understanding of what happened and I don't think that's what the movie intended.

Not helping the film's ending was the fact the overall movie itself was kind of weak as well. For a pair of burglars who were only interested in stealing the priceless artwork on the walls, the intruders sure spent a lot of time hunting down an 11-year-old Casey (Lind) that frankly posed zero threat to them. She was hiding rather than trying to call the police and, since they were wearing masks, would not have been able to identify them. I still have no idea why they were so determined to find her.

I also have to say the layout of that house was uncomfortably weird. Casey blocked her bedroom door with a dresser but they could still get in by walking through a closet? The house seemed more like a maze than a home and I found myself wondering why anyone would build a place like that. I guess it was designed to be as confusing as the overall movie turned out to be.

Final Opinion: I think the movie had a good premise and the ending, once I understood it, added an intriguing twist to what would have otherwise been your average home invasion movie. It's just too bad the execution prevented this movie from living up to its potential.

My Grade: C-