House at the End of the Street

Opening less than two weeks ago was the latest horror film, House at the End of the Street. The term "horror" used loosely, of course. If it wasn't for the group of screaming high schoolers sitting a few seats down, I'm sure the film wouldn't have been as frightening.

Like any stereotypical horror flick, this one starts with a broken family moving into a new home.  As Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence) and her mom Sarah (Elizabeth Shue) meet their new neighbors, they learn about Ryan Jacobson, whose parents were murdered by his own sister.  Because she doesn’t know any better, Elissa accepts a ride home from Ryan (Max Theriot) and befriends him.  Going against the wishes of her mom and the other residents of her new town, Elissa gets close to Ryan, and she learns more about what really happened with his family. 

As the story progresses, twists and turns keep you interested enough only to learn how it ends.  Some scenes may have been enough to make you briefly jump out of your seat.  However, my judgement has been fogged by the abundance of teenaged shrieks throughout. 

Although the film starts out slow and the actors seem bored with their roles, don’t let that fool you.  It really is a slow moving film and everyone is bored.  Only until about an hour in does the film really pick up, and from that point on, it moved so quickly I almost lost track of what went on.  The cinematography may have been an innovative idea to the directors, but I found the movement of shots back and forth distracting to what was actually happening in front of the cameras. 

With a title as boring as the movie, House at the End of the Street will keep you on the edge of your seat…eagerly waiting for the credits to roll so you can go home.