Review of The Open House (2018) by Rivka J — 26 Jan 2018

I don't like to be mean-spirited, but this is one of the worst horror movies I've ever seen. On a technical level--writing, directing, photography--looks like a work in progress rather than a finished film.

Some examples: repeated revelations re young man's flashbacks to his father's death, with focus on gray sedan and license plate, and ZERO follow up. The car never shows up again, there is no link to the fate of the family.

Car shown at the end is a completely different car. Fundamental horror film making mistake. (And I re-watched fast forward scene by scene too, looking for something I missed.) Fate of son--why? He was already going to be blamed for the carnage, not an original plot but far more satisfying to the audience.

The mother's sister--trying to get her sister killed? Why did she and her husband want to sell the house? Did they suspect something--but why would she want to stick the house on her sister? We see nothing about their relationship to give us a hint.

The "crazy" neighbor lady--what was the point of her existence in this film? And the helpful black man--dialogue, photography, sound effects trying to make him seem suspicious but then he's killed off without a single scene of his own; nothing but a plot point for the teen to react to.

Lots of potential--good acting, family interaction--but poor writing, cliched direction/photography that manipulated the audience without any payoff, and an almost non-existent plot. Filmmakers need to read Truffaut's book on Hitchcock's cinema.

Stringing together stereotypes, hackneyed horror chestnuts and cliches, pointless torture scenes does not a story make.