Skip to main content

House at the End of the Street, Nearly too Generic for Words.

What's worse than a bad movie? One so generic and boring that you forget about it as soon as the end credits roll. Thus is how it went with House at the End of the Street.

Pre-Watching Thoughts

Somehow, "House at the End of the Street" sounds like it wants me to believe it's like "Last House on the Left." Okay. If that's your schtick, I'm possibly interested.

So how do they compare?
I could read into them both and say that they (thematically) deal with, "the horror next door." Or that they deal with "regular, every day people" being pushed so far that they do something horrible. They both feature an element of "violence against young women." But all that esoteric reaching is really the extent of it.

Post-Watch Thoughts

Overall, this movie felt more like The Stepfather (or, more recently, Disturbia.) It's one of those standard, PG13 "horror" flicks that hit screens, lure in some kids who have little real experience with horror, and then fades away.

It's only, possible saving graces are:

  • a few, pretty good, gore moments
  • some pretty good cinematography
  • a nod to Sleepaway Camp
  • a nearly 70's quality final girl
  • okay acting (except for Gil Bellows who played the least believable cop OF ALL TIME.)
I'm actually surprised that this movie hasn't gotten more traction as it stars the girl from The Hunger Games (Jennifer Lawrence) and that pre-teen age bracket seems like the prime target for this movie.

And, unlike me to say, I almost feel bad for Nolan Funk (one of the deviants from Deadgirl - review here) turning up, yet again, as a rape-y high school boy. Only 24 and he's already typecast as a morally corrupt teenager. Looks like Michael Madsen may have a successor some day. 

Anyway.
Wrap up time.

I have, certainly, subjected myself to worse movies that this one but, I'm already having a hard time remembering why I even care.

You can watch the House at the End of The Street Trailer here:

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rebuttal: 17 Disturbing Horror Movies You Will Never Watch Again

When I'm not watching movies, I'm reading about movies. I stumble across all kinds of articles, blog posts, book excerpts, etc. in my quest to absorb as much movie knowledge as possible. Now, I'm snotty and loud-mouthed and opinionated but I'd never begrudge another human their opinion. Seriously. You're absolutely welcome to have any opinion about any thing you want. However, I must warn you, if I think your opinion is stupid, I'm absolutely going to say so. I've recently stumbled on an article completely  brimming with so many idiotic opinions that I'm actually compelled to craft a response. Here's the gist of the original article: there are some horror movies out there that are so disturbing , you'll only ever want to watch them once. I've have taken her original list and refuted her claims without pulling her entire article over. You can read the original article here . Let's start at the beginning, with her opening statement

Escape From Tomorrow

I love creative people who are willing to take risks with their art. I appreciate the refusal to do things by the rules. I'm also terribly impatient with mediocrity. Enter  Escape From Tomorrow . Created by a team of rogue filmmakers, the movie was shot in the video mode of high-end still cameras. Actors shared scripts and shooting locations across their smartphones. Shot on location at Disney World, the parks were completely unaware this was all going on right under their mouse ears. I wanted to love Escape From Tomorrow. More than that, I wanted to be completely taken with its ingenuity and creativity and - oh yes - its originality. And there is really a simple brilliance to their covert plan; all families are roaming around the parks, taking videos and chatting on their phones. Just blend the fuck in, act like you belong, and you won't get caught. Too bad the movie can be summed up as: ambitious but Rubbish. As you can imagine (or possibly know), there was a ton of con

Mother!

Alright friends and readers–this one is probably doubly filled with typos and grammar errors because I wrote it while angry. Good luck and happy reading. There are unpopular opinions in every realm. As a film student, you can truly strike a nerve when you say things like, "I fucking hate the self-indulgence of independent films and the way people idolize them." Or, you know, "Low lighting and slow pacing does not a good movie make." Or whatever. You can of course, objectively, understand how this happens. When you are creating art–when you are outside the system  so to speak–you are free to explore things (subjects, techniques, etc.) that may need to be addressed and that freedom can become intoxicating and go to one's head. While it may seem only right  or only fair  to respect and accept each creative endeavor that every artist undertakes, it is unreasonable to believe that the world will remain forever patient with the self-obsession artists have. Th