The Open House Review

The Open House Review

A teenager (Dylan Minnette) and his mother (Piercey Dalton) find themselves besieged by threatening forces when they move into a new house.

The Good

The setting was really nice. I may just need to go camping but I always enjoy a movie that takes place in a more rural setting.  The Open House uses its lush green wooded environment to maximum effect.  The Open House does a great job with its use of minimalism to set the mood.  After watching for a while I noticed that you don’t see many people on screen at the same time. Characters appear on screen when required for the story and don’t interact with one another. I paid more attention to these characters when they appeared and always questioned their motives for wanting to get involved. The Open House is one of those movies where you have to guess who’s the killer. I couldn’t help but pause and discuss theories throughout the film which helped maintain the fun.

The acting was surprisingly good considering how bad the story plays out. Patricia Bethune is a name I need to remember because she nailed the creepy neighbor character. Patricia played the nosy and creepy neighbor Martha who made awkward conversation a delight to watch. I kept thinking about Kathy Bates in Misery when she appeared on screen which is an incredible accomplishment. I still feel like there’s a lot to learn about Martha but The Open House leaves us wanting on that front.

The Bad

The Open House spends way too much time on setting up the mystery. I get that Open was doing its best to set up the suspense but the pacing was way too disjointed. There are important plot points that Open House brushes past in the opening of the film.  Big ones. This is a tough pill to swallow when you consider how much time is wasted in the 2nd act. The basement. I get it. The basement is creepy and something bad is probably going to go down there. The payoff for that kind of set up isn’t there and that sucks.

The ending is bad infuriating. I do my best to avoid spoilers and stick to the aspects of film-making in these reviews but THAT ENDING. The ending was dumb. The Open House is like opening a Happy Meal and realizing that there’s no toy inside. Totally disappointed.