Silent House

Negative—Warning: This review will contain spoilers, but I cannot think of how to express my feeling about this film without them. “Silent House” is a well made thriller. Effectively shot and very well acted by Elizabeth Olsen. There are some very good scares, suspense, and creepy moments.

On a technical level, there is a lot to be said, and I would be lying to call the film badly made. However, I cannot in good conscience recommend “Silent House.” The big twist at the end involves child molestation, which is an ugly subject. I don’t object to subjects like this being explored in a thoughtful film that analyzes the subjects, but “Silent House” is intending to be a fun popcorn jump out of your seat film and to put child molestation in what is supposed to be essentially just a scary thriller, I found deplorable.

There is a scene where it is implied that a little girl is being molested on a pool table, and, although it is shot with restraint and we don’t actually see anything, I still found it offensive that that scene is in the movie, at all. Another scene has a naked little girl (again we don’t see actual nudity) in a bathtub with bloody water, and I was disgusted and revolted.

For a large chunk of the movie, I was on the edge of my seat and thoroughly enjoying being scared, but, ultimately, the movie left me feeling unclean. I know “Silent House” is rated R, but I figured it was probably for a few extra f-words or violence that was a little bloodier than usual; I wasn’t expecting anything of this nature. The twist came as a surprise, but I cannot be sure if it is because of any filmmaking quality or because I never thought the filmmakers would go for something so sick and just plain wrong. You want a scary movie see “Insidious” or the first “Paranormal Activity.” Skip “Silent House.”
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½

“…En route to the solution, [Directors] Kentis and Lau set themselves the challenge, with their single-shot technique, of generating suspense without the usual reliance on jump cuts and quick edits. They manage well enough initially, bog down in the middle, and then really strain toward the climax. Twin Hitchcocks they aren't. …”

“…a seemingly unlimited number of doors located at right angles to other doors, so that in another world, this would be a good location for a slapstick farce. There's also an unreasonably high number of closet doors and doors opening into staircases. …My attention was held for the first act or so. Then any attempt at realism was abandoned…” [2/4]

“…They give away where they're going with this too easily—what are the men not telling her?—and test the patience of the ‘Don't go in there’ crowd by making Sarah mostly passive and her actions seemingly illogical. And the movie's third act strips away its mysteries, much to its detriment. …”

“‘The silence will kill you!’ warn the posters for Silent House. That’s only if the boredom doesn’t get you first, though. …This stunt of a movie—done in real-time, in one single take—is woefully short on frights. …” [1/4]

“…It's sort of like a creepy stage play that's both thump-in-the-dark scary and unintentionally funny. It can surprise us with its creative and slippery sleight of hand, right after numbing us with clumsily delivered dialogue and yet another hide-under-the-bed sequence. …”

“…Demonstrating the limits of being too clever in a genre movie, the art-house chiller “Silent House” lets the tenseness of its first act trickle away. …” [1½/4]

“…Unfortunately, the end horrors are telegraphed (subtly, but still) too far in advance, thereby denuding the payoff of its rightful, righteous shriek. … I didn't jump once, but you might.” [2½/5]

“…Soon, Sarah's long afternoon journeys into night, which soon renders her close to catatonic but, more seriously for the movie, makes most of what's come before seem unmotivated and/or unnecessary. Or perhaps silly is the right word for it. …”