Silent House

Logline: Trapped inside her family's lakeside retreat, a young woman finds she is unable to contact the outside world as events become increasingly ominous in and around the house.

Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Adam Trese, Eric Sheffer

Directed by: Chris Kentis, Laura Lau

Remember that movie once upon a time called Open Water? About the two people floating around in the ocean for literally 90% of the story? It got really mixed reviews because some people were terrified and others were bored out of their minds. I was definitely with the people who were bored beyond belief. I get that it was an Indie, I get that it was low budget, but I still very much disliked it.

All of this is relevant because those two people that directed Open Water have made their return by directing this horror flick starring the sister of Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen. Ya... they have a sister. Weird huh?

Summary

Sarah (Olsen) is a young woman who is helping her father and Uncle Peter fix an old Victorian house in the country. That's kind of what they do, and they make a living off it. Uncle Peter and her father get into small arguments which leads to Pete heading out into town to get tools. This area is a deadzone. No phones, no internet, nada.

While Uncle Peter is out, Sarah begins hearing noises in the house that aren't coming from her father. They're not alone.

Review

I turned this on to enjoy a Sunday evening with a decent horror movie.

I was surprised by both the acting and direction. Elizabeth Olsen is legit. I almost want to say I haven't witnessed the typical character of a young woman being traumatized by a killer in the house as well as she pulled it off in this movie. She was really really good. You know those horror movies where girls scream because the killer is chasing them? In this one the girl hides and screams silently so the killer doesn't find her. I found that to be so much more creepy and effective. But that might be because Olsen pulled it off so damn well. And to top off her great acting, the direction was pretty sweet too. It had an indie feel to it. And by that I mean a variety of camera angles working their best to cover up for having a small budget. Kentis and Lau upped their game and I'm curious as to what they'll do next.

I also loved the location. Old and creepy Victorian house, windows boarded up so that even when it's daytime the house is still dark to the point where lanterns are needed. Since they're there to fix it up, the place is pretty trashed, making for one hell of a creepy setting. And, remember during my article on The Raid when I talked about containing your protag to add constant suspense? This setting was perfect in that sense. No car, no houses around, boarded up exits with no key around, no phones/internet. She was literally trapped there with a killer in the house.

Sounds like this was a great movie right? Well, it almost was, and then the ending happened. I won't spoil it in this section, because it's going to be my topic of the day. 

Topic of the Day

I couldn't believe it. The whole time, she imagined the killers in the house when in fact it was actually her the entire time. I don't mean I can't believe it as in "oh man, didn't see that coming!", I mean in the sense that "oh man, are you serious? After all this awesomness, you had to ruin it with that?"

The worst thing you can do is flip the entire story upside down in the third act. When I watched this movie I cared that Sarah might actually die. I felt scared when she was in trouble. And then the ending came and it turns out she imagines things and the whole time it was her doing all the damage? I totally don't even know the main character, let alone care for her anymore. I felt duped. And not because I didn't see it coming, but because I hoped it wouldn't. When she started seeing weird things happening I thought maybe she was dreaming, which would have been equally as bad.

The worst thing you can do is lead an audience on and then completely change the entire story. The whole time the film sets up so the audience can care for the people being tortured. When they take that away, it removes the fear, it removes the tension, and it makes the audience feel cheated. To be honest, it really wasn't even something that was hinted it, which makes it all the more ridiculous.

This movie had such promise...

Consensus

Silent House is filmed with unique direction and a surprisingly powerhouse performance by newcomer Elizabeth Olsen. For the most part it had my undivided attention and creeped me right out, but I can't find it in me to forgive an awful ending. This film is definitely worth the watch, but due to its ending it unfortunately falls short of the well done rating that it could have gotten. 

6.3/10