A House on the Bayou
A House on the Bayou is a 2021 American horror film written and directed by Alex McAulay. It stars Paul Schneider, Angela Sarafyan, Jacob Lofland, Lia McHugh, Doug Van Liew, and Lauren Richards. The film was released on November 19, 2021, on digital by Paramount Pictures and streaming on Epix. Plot. Jessica (Jess) (Angela Sarafyan) confronts her husband John (Paul Schneider) over an affair. John admits he has been seeing Vivienne, one of his students. John agrees to break things off with Vivienne, to not tell anything about his affair to their daughter, Anna (Lia  McHugh), and to go on vacation with his wife and daughter to mend their family. The family travels to a house on the Louisiana bayou that Jess manages through her job as a realtor. The family will vacation at the home while Jess sets it up for the market. Jess and John argue over whether to have hamburgers or veal cutlets for dinner. Jess sends John and Anna for a veal dinner. While at the store, Anna meets and flirts with a boy named Isaac. The store owner writes a cryptic message on John's receipt that says: "The devil  is watching you." John leaves without buying the veal and lies to Jess, saying the veal was sold out. Isaac soon appears at the door and manipulates Jess and John into having Isaac and his Grandpappy, the store owner, to cook veal, exposing John's lie. Over dinner Isaac hostile towards John and psychologically tortures the three family members with vague threats. Grandpappy explains that Isaac is a mysterious force and plays a record while Isaac is away. The disc plays a conversation that reveals John planned to leave his family for Vivienne. John denies this and is goaded into  going outside with Isaac, where John reveals he paid Isaac and Grandpappy to murder Jess for a payoff. Isaac suggests he is controlling things now as inside Grandpappy insists John is guilty of being a poor husband and father. Upon his return, Jess tells John she is divorcing him and that she sees through his gaslighting. Isaac tricks John into entering a room and locks him in. Vivienne shows up at the door, lured there by Isaac using John's phone. Grandpappy forces Anna to burn Vivienne, locked in her car, for her transgressions but Jess burns her instead. In  the chaos, John is killed by a coyote inside the locked room, and Jess murders Grandpappy and Isaac for their torturous evening. Jess and Anna go to the police to report events but find the house gone and the terrain vacant. On the ride back to the station the sheriff reveals Isaac and his Grandpappy clean the town of evil-doers and sinners and to take her survival as a boon and never return to the town. Isaac and his Grandpappy ride by in their truck and wave farewell as if they never died earlier. Production. In March 2021, was  announced that Alex McAulay would write and direct the television horror thriller film "A House on the Bayou". The film is the first of eight films that Blumhouse Television will develop and produce exclusively for cable network Epix. On March 29, 2021, it was announced that Lia McHugh joined the cast of the film. Paul Schneider, Angela Sarafyan, Jacob Lofland, Doug Van Liew and Lauren Richards were cast in April. Principal photography took place from March 22 to April 19, 2021, in New Orleans. Release. The film was released on November 19, 2021, on digital by Paramount Pictures and on  Epix.