Flickering Myth

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Movie Review – House at the End of the Street (2012)

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House at the End of the Street, 2012.

Directed by Mark Tonderai.
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Elisabeth Shue, Max Thieriot and Gil Bellows.
SYNOPSIS:
Teen Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence) and her Mum (Elisabeth Shue) move to a small town and end up next door to loner teen Ryan (Max Thieriot), whos parents were murdered by his younger sister. Elissa befriends the lonely teen only to find out that everything isn’t as it seems.

House at the End of the Street (or #HATES as Twitter lovers would prefer) is a standard horror film which delivers nothing new and surprising over the 101 minute running time. Although the trailer suggests a supernatural horror, writers David Loucka and Jonathan Mostow have provided a ‘by the numbers’ thrill which doesn’t thrill. It isn’t a bad film to watch if you want some standard popcorn fun, but if you’re looking for genuine scares this isn’t the one to watch.

Fresh from her success in The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence is the moment’s hot commodity and she delivers a good performance throughout, although that’s the problem – her performance is good but there is nothing ground breaking on display at all. Considering the performances she’s given in Winter’s Bone and Silver Linings Playbook I expected a lot more from her. The lack of life in the film isn’t down to Lawrence; she simply does the best with the material that she’s given. Lawrence is the best thing about this film, but she is reduced to the stereotype of a blonde non bra wearing horror heroine.

The supporting cast are almost redundant as well. Max Thierot is watchable as loner Ryan, but his performance is off balance and he fails to drum up any sympathy from the audience. The rest of the supporting cast seem a bit try hard, with Elisabeth Shue on full ‘worried Mother’ form, while the only other recognisable face is Gil Bellows from Ally McBeal, whose character is there purely for cannon fodder. None of the characters are developed fully and we’re only given snippets into the lives of Elissa and her mother. Further character development would have been better, but this isn’t the main issue of the film.

The main issue with House at the End of the Street is the plot. Formulaic from beginning to end, the “awesome twist” that was publicised on posters is anything but. I saw it after about 30 minutes. After 45 minutes the film looks like it’s going to take a new avenue and explore some new ground, but unfortunately it doesn’t. The film continues on its generic path all the way through to a final confrontation that echoes Silence of the Lambs. The director doesn’t try to do anything new and the studio seemed content to keep going with this tired genre.
There are some good jumps throughout the film, but after a while they become predictable and you sit there waiting for the next person to appear behind a door or emerge from the darkness. A good horror is about surprise and there is nothing at all surprising throughout the 101 minutes.
House at the End of the Street will be successful at the box office because of its marketing campaign. Although slightly misleading, the film has been architected to create a buzz on the social media side of things. From the casting of Lawrence through to the hashtag #HATES, the film has been contrived to pull in numbers, rather than providing a new and exciting film.
Although a decent popcorn movie, House at the End of the Street is one to avoid if you’re looking for a fresh take on the ‘creepy neighbour’ story. It starts well but loses itself in generic twists after the first 30 minutes. If you can get by the fact that Elissa and her Mother don’t actually live on a street (there are only two houses in dense woodland), then this is a film to watch if you fancy a standard horror.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Helen Murdoch

Originally published September 28, 2012. Updated April 11, 2018.

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