Technology has been used in horror films in compelling ways for a while now. After 2014’sUnfriended, which sees friends chatting online and being visited by a spirit, 2019’sCountdownfeatures an app that predicts when people will die. The latest film to venture into this territory isMargaux,which was released in early September 2022.
While the idea of a house that murders people is definitely interesting, the movie doesn’t deliver on that promise and, instead, is a confusing story that doesn’t seem to really go anywhere.
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Directed by Steven C. Miller,Margauxwas released on July 05, 2025 and was written by Chris Sivertson, Nick Waters, and Christopher Beyrooty. The movie has a 55% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes and follows friends who stay at a “smart house” that can speak, open and close doors, and even put impressive food in the kitchen. While the premise is intriguing, the movie misses the mark and doesn’t seem to be about anything.
One major problem withMargauxis the characters, who feel too cookie cutter to care about. The opening scene feels like the beginning ofThe Cabin in the Woodsbut without the same self-awareness. In both movies, a group of college students head out for a weekend away, excited to have some fun and spend time in a remote house out in the country. But inThe Cabin in the Woods, which is one of thebest 2010s horror movies, archetypes are used (a jock, a good student, the hot popular girl, the stoner) to make a point.
InMargaux, the characters are cliches: vapid and ditzy influencer Lexi (Vanessa Morgan), the couple Kayla (Phoebe Miu) and Devon (Jordan Buhat) who are always all over each other, the always high Clay (Richard Harmon), the sweet and attractive Drew (Jedidiah Goodacre) and the smart Hannah (Madison Pettis). The movie doesn’t go deeply into anyone, and while it’s interesting that Drew and Hannah seem to be secretly in love with each other, that chemistry and attraction doesn’t go anywhere.
Another problem?Margauxgives away its big twist too early. There are someunpredictable horror movie plot twistsand it’s always nice to be surprised. Only a little while into the movie, audiences find out that the house can create clones of each person who stays there. It’s too bad that this is revealed early on because when the house crushes Devon to death and then kills Kayla when she tries to escape, Hannah sees her friends outside by the pool. This isn’t effective or scary as audiences already know that Devon isn’t really swimming laps and Kayla isn’t really relaxing in the sun. Thebest movie plot twistsneed to come out of nowhere and really be a shock.
From the house doing a retina scan of each guest’s eyes to the strange robot arms that put food in the kitchen, the film also has some strange effects that aren’t scary at all. Since it’s clear from the opening scene that the house kills its inhabitants, it’s hard to be afraid or surprised when something bad happens to the guests staying there. Another problem is that it doesn’t seem like it would be that great to stay in this house and there’s nothing about it that really makes it stand out as agreat horror movie setting. It’s cute to see Clay enjoying a massive breakfast spread of waffles with chocolate sauce, but nothing that the house does is that fun or exciting to watch, which ruins how terrifying it’s meant to be.
Margauxalso uses thehorror movie final girl tropewith Hannah, who is the smartest character as she loves coding and has a big future ahead of her. She’s able to figure out how to escape, which is satisfying. But besides Hannah, none of the characters are given personalities or agency. Lexi loves posting selfies and videos on her social media and complains that her boyfriend Drew doesn’t know how to take good photos of her, which is more irritating than funny. Lexi never redeems herself, which makes her tiresome to watch.
Margauxdoesn’t seem to be about anything or have a major point. Audiences will likely get to the end and think “So the house kills people… but why? And how did this start?” Unlikesatisfying horror movie endings, this one falls flat and audiences don’t get an explanation of how this house came to be. Is Margaux a supernatural presence? Did someone create her? Was it the builder? After reaching the end, audiences will have many questions, and sinceMargauxdoesn’t answer its central question about the house, it’s hard to really enjoy it.
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