Friday, May 31, 2013

House at the End of the Street (2012)



Number Rolled: 87
Movie Name/Year: House at the End of the Street (2012)
Genre: Thriller
Length: 100 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Director: Mark Tonderai
Writer: David Loucka, Jonathan Mostow
Actors: Jennifer Lawrence, Max Thieriot, Elisabeth Shue, Gil Bellows, Eva Link, Nolan Gerard Funk, Allie MacDonald, Jordan Hayes, Krista Bridges, James Thomas, Hailee Sisera, Craig Eldridge

Elissa and her mother move into a huge house in a new town. They were able to get the house cheap because of a double murder that occurred just next door. Throughout their attempt to get comfortable in their new lives, they learn that the son of the victims still lives in the same house. Rumors circulate about him, and his sister, but Elissa is determined to get to know the damaged boy who lost everything.

A lot of sites and reviews label this movie as a horror. I think that’s one of the reasons it got trashed as badly as it did. Netflix is right on point by making “thriller” the main genre of this film. It wasn’t a horror. If you go into this movie thinking it’s a horror, you’ll be highly disappointed. For a thriller, however, it was awesome. There were a lot of twists and turns to tie into the drama portrayed.

I found the story to be completely enthralling and thoroughly enjoyed the script. There are a couple of quotes in the film that I thought were down-right brilliant, in fact. I thought the majority of the actors brought their characters to life in such a fashion that really grasped me.

For as much as I loved it, it wasn’t perfect. There were some unusual and unnecessary camera angles that served more to make the audience dizzy than actually add to what was going on. Shaky camera isn’t my favorite thing in the whole world and I accept it as a necessity in very few films. There was just one other issue I had with the film, and I absolutely hate to say it but, Jennifer Lawrence completely dropped the ball.

You might recall from my review for “Home Run Showdown” that Jennifer Lawrence is easily one of the top ten actors I follow. To be honest, she’s actually in the top three. I would follow that woman anywhere. I don’t care if she acted in movie directed by Beavis and Butthead, I’d watch it. So, it absolutely kills me to say that I don’t think she did a good job with this movie. I didn’t find her believable, for the first time since I started becoming familiar with her acting. Whether she was having an off moment or just wasn’t completely invested in the story, this was definitely not her best work.

Regardless of the flaws, I loved this movie and I would still follow Jennifer Lawrence anywhere.

Overall Opinion – 4/5


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