SILENT HOUSE (2012)
What the hell did I just watch? And not in a good way. The remake of the 2010 Uruguayan horror film "La Casa Muda", or "The Silent House" in English, is one with a premise. Actually, come to think of it, the premise is pretty exploited, so it's more like a gimmick. I'm almost tempted to not say what it is to see if anyone actually picks up on it. Anyway, on to the latest review for the 31 Days series.
"Silent House" begins as we meet Sarah (Elizabeth Olsen) sitting atop of a rock on the bay of a lake. Right from this opening shot, I thought to myself that it could mean one of two things: she's a shy and introverted person or she's in a period of deep reflection. Maybe both? Not in this case. Turns out she's just really shy. Sorry, I went on a tangent. She, her father John (Adam Trese), and her uncle Peter (Eric Sheffer Stevens) are prepping what the dialogue makes out to be a seasonal vacation home to be fixed up and sold. They are in the process of moving their belongings out of the house when our story begins...
... And ends. The entire film is set in and around this house. As is per usual in a scary house type of film, the first thing that appears to be strange is when a girl Sarah doesn't remember shows up at the front door. Sophia (played by Julia Taylor Ross) says that she is a childhood friend and is not surprised when Sarah can not dig up any memories of her. Strange thing #2: After Peter has left, she hears a knock on the door followed by the sounds of strange movements upstairs. Her father is with her on the same floor with her. So, why doesn't she just get out? Apparently, moving out of a house also means locking to doors from the outside, so no one can get in or out. Even though characters still seem to get in rather easily later in the film.
I always hate when people ask why characters ever don't just get out of the house. But this movie really had me asking that. The characters are so unlikeable and really cardboard. It feels like Olsen really wasted her talents on this film as opposed to performing in a one man show that could showcase her abilities with no dialogue.
That really is the plot of the film. Her father becomes incapacitated early on and she has to fend for herself from an unseen person pursuing her. The film tries to use the same "fear of the unknown" story as John Carpenter did with "Halloween" but fails miserably. Olson's character has very little dialogue and what she does have to say isn't very interesting. She didn't pull me in at the beginning, so I wasn't really rooting for her when she was in danger. Her role is that of a scream queen, that's for sure, but there was so little to back her up! The dialogue written is very choppy, particularly in the scene where she is speaking with Sophia. I understand her character is a shy introvert who now has to defend herself, but come on!
Another problem that I had with this film is the fact that everything about it is confusing. The climax, resolution, and falling action seems like it never really moved past the treatment point and that is what was shot. The film is so utterly confusing. The final reveal is confusing, the geography of the shots are confusing, and the person himself who is after Sarah is confusing. After watching the film, my first thought was "who the hell was it after all!?" Was it one guy!? Two!? Three!? The one trick, one shot pony of the film is very cool, but during many times, I didn't understand where the characters walked to or where they had come from.
Elizabeth Olson is as confused as the audience in the American remake of "La Casa Muda"
During a very tense scene down in the basement of the house, Sarah seems to be lost in what appears a regular sized basement, probably a littler larger than one would think, but still essentially just one room. However she still somehow maneuvers past rebar and pipes that make it seem like she's in a thermally cooler version of the nightmarish boiler-room from the beginning of "A Nightmare on Elm Street."And this happens in every single room in the house. Suddenly, there's a third floor as well!? Huh? The audience is lead to believe that because of the two moving out there is no electricity at all in the house, then suddenly, there's a third floor that's been there the entire time with a generator powering lights in this room.
The one shot gimmick though, is extremely effective at making this movie seem ultra-real at the points in which the one shot idea works. If this movie has any redeeming qualities to save it from it's ultra-confusing plot it's the one-take idea that starts at the beginning and doesn't let up until the end. The camera stays with our "heroine" for the length of her ordeal. Which is very cool... Then the score kicks in. I personally believe that this is one of the rare instances in which the film would have really benefitted from no musical score to further push that sense of ultra-realism. But as soon as there's danger, we hear violins bowing below the bridge (that means danger's coming).
However, the coolest scene in the movie has to be one that results from cliche. Then I remembered that the same set up is also in the third act of "Scream" involving our heroine being told to stay in a car with the doors locked, yet the rear door of the SUV is open and we get a shot of it opening in the rear view mirror. The filmmakers must be Wes Craven fans.
3/10
SILENT HOUSE (2012) - Rated R
Directed by Chris Kentis & Laura Lau
Written by Gustave Hernandez (writer of "La Casa Muda) & Laura Lau
Runtime - 86 minutes
LINKS
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1767382/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/silent_house_2012/
Official Website for the original Uruguayan film:
http://www.lacasamuda.com/
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