After watching the trailer for “House at the End of the Street” I was a bit confused as to what the movie was about, but I was nonetheless excited to go out with a couple of friends and get a good scare.
However, this didn’t happen.
Despite being directed by Mark Tonderai-director of the 2008 movie “Hush”- and starring the heroine of “The Hunger Games” movie, Jennifer Lawrence, this movie falls flat as a horror film.
Elissa, played by Lawrence, and her recently divorced mother, Sarah, played by Elizabeth Shue, move from the big city of Chicago to a rural town and decide to rent a house. The house next door to the one they are renting is where a girl, named Carrie Ann, murdered her two parents and then ran off, never to be found again.
Ryan, the lone family member who survived and is Carrie Ann’s brother (played by Max Thieriot), still lives in the house where his parents were murdered and this doesn’t sit well with the town citizens, and who believe he’s weird.
Despite her mother’s objections due to their age difference (he’s a college student and she is in high school), Elissa befriends Ryan and they begin dating.
One night, Elissa stops by Ryan’s house to check up on him after he gets jumped by a couple of boys at her high school. She finds his keys on his kitchen counter, hears a loud banging noise in the basement, and decides to go and investigate. In the process of her investigation, Elissa finds a secret door and uses Ryan’s key to open the door like every person in a typical horror movie does.
Although the director tries to make scenes like these suspenseful, such as in the scene mentioned above, by having Elissa walk slowly and make shots of the back of her head and feet as she walks, this ultimately fails and was instead cheesy.
There is a huge plot twist, which to some may think it’s predictable, and Elissa gets trapped in the basement and must find a way out before she is killed.
Lawrence acted very well throughout this entire movie, and made her screams or crying very believable. However, Thieriot tried to bring creepy to his character, but failed. He did not make me feel scared of him, even though the viewer was supposed to.
Although this may sound harsh, the plot was horrible. I only jumped at two scenes throughout the entire movie. I wouldn’t classify this as remotely scary. I got more scared from the movie’s trailers the movie theater aired before “House at the End of the Street” then I did in the real thing.
Another thing this movie does not succeed in is its relatability to the audience. Unlike in “Paranormal Activity 3”, where I felt like I was watching something in real time with the characters and felt genuinely scared, I didn’t feel like I could relate to Elissa on any sort of level or feel her fear due to the un-impressing plot line.
If you’re looking for a good scare, this isn’t the movie for you. I would wait a couple weeks for the scarier movies, like “Paranormal Activity 4” or “Sinister” to come out in late October.
Grade for “House at the End of the Street”: C+
