House at the End of the Street, 2012.
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.
Originally published September 28, 2012. Updated April 11, 2018.
