The Open House 2018

Was this made by a film student? Checking on IMDB shows an estimated budget of $100,000 but that doesn't mean the story has to suck!

What this film gets right is completely negated by what it gets wrong: unanswered questions. The classic suspense build-ups are there: creaking doors, turn-around surprises, and questionable characters. I admit, I really liked the slow tension ascension - I couldn't tell if it was ghosts, or a maniac killer, or just in the mind of the main character(s). But then they pour on more slow walking to scary area gimmicks and you just want to get past it, thinking: Okay, okay....I get it!

Then, in the last 2 minutes of the movie, we find out nothing. This is one of the absolute worst things you can to your audience: leave 'em hanging with no hint of resolution. This is why they suggest in film school to tell your story orally over and over again to people. If someone told me this story the way it was reflected on screen, I would say, "You got quite a turd on your hands there, wtf happens?! Go back and think it over, there is potential there."

This movie will leave you frustrated and I wouldn't recommend it. Instead, watch The Others for a good mind-f*&$# ending!

"Death. It's like it moves in and never leaves."

What a dreary, slow, monotonous waste of 90 minutes! This film is like a checklist of horror cliches brought to life. They're all included just for the sake of it. Seriously, these things happen for absolutely no reason and are never explained (someone's nose randomly starts bleeding, there's a blocked off passageway in a cellar, some old lady acts like a creepy-ass bitch and so on). There is no point to them actually happening. None whatsoever.

///// The following four paragraphs contain spoilers but please read them anyway because you should not watch this movie /////

The antagonist is absolutely ridiculous. He just... does things. He moves someone's cereal bowl from their bedroom to the living room in the time it takes that person to travel between those two rooms. How? And, more importantly, why?!

He attacks someone, then while they're on the ground he pours water on them. Why? Did he want them to slowly freeze to death outdoors? Does he just think it's amusing when people are drenched in water? Why not, I dunno, kill them maybe?

He lies down in bed next to someone while they're asleep. In the middle of the night this person wakes up and looks through a pile of family photos. The antagonist has somehow managed to take photos of this person while they're sleeping, develop/print them and sneak them into the pile of family photos in literally no time at all. How did he know they would wake up and start looking through photos? WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS?

You never learn anything about the antagonist. His motivations? No. His possible connection to a murder that takes place at the beginning? No. He just wants to murder these people because they had an open house. What a giant middle finger to the audience.

Even the poster is shit, step up your game, Netflix.

It's like two terrible hack directors, who are actually actors, saw It Comes At Night and The Strangers, then said, "Hey, let's remake The Strangers without understanding anything that made that movie interesting. Then let's throw in the ending from It Comes At Night. People will love this!" Nothing is explored, nothing is explained, all set-up plot threads early-on are completely ignored in favor of an open ending, there are no interesting characters, the drama is extremely forced and immaturely edgy, the cinematography and editing is jarring and even laughable at quite a few points, but overall, it's a fucking bore. It's trying to be like so many other horror movies (other bad horror movies, mind you, I mentioned Paranormal Activity 3 once when watching), and even doesn't understand why those were successful. All I can tell you, is Netflix is not having a good track record with their original movies. Sure, some of you may argue about Gerald's Game, but ultimately, nothing has impressed me enough into thinking paying for a subscription to this service is worth it. The idea I enjoyed Insidious: The Last Key more from earlier this month is downright unacceptable. Avoid this house, trust me, you won't want to buy it.