Iffy for 16+
Horror movie has more style (and blood) than story.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that the horror movie Silent House (from the directors of tense indie hit Open Water) includes some not entirely explained backstory involving some kind of child pornography (or worse). Onscreen, there's lots of blood, guns and gunshots, scary figures, and beatings. The main character wears clothing that displays plenty of cleavage. Language is infrequent but includes strong words like "s--t" and "f--k." Some drinking is involved, with a negative air around it.
- Families can talk about the unspoken, violent past surrounding the photographs and what might have happened in the house. Should Silent House have been clearer about these events, or is the mystery more effective this way?
- Is the movie scary? What makes it a horror movie? What's scarier -- the stuff you see, or the stuff you don't?
- Does Silent House's unique style make up for any problems with story or character? What does "style over substance" really mean? Is it possible for a good movie to have style but little substance?
The good stuff
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Messages: Not much in the way of positive themes. The three family members (father, daughter, and uncle) sometimes don't treat each other very well, and they behave suspiciously from time to time. Some of the backstory and the movie's themes are deliberately muddled and obscure.
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Role models: The main character spends most of the movie running around in terror. Though her values are sometimes questionable, she does make a few attempts at being brave and strong.
What to watch for
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Violence: Lots of blood in the movie's final third. A gun is drawn and shot. Though nothing is really spoken aloud, there are clues that some type of child pornography has taken place (or perhaps something even more sinister and/or violent). Other brief acts of beating and torture. Scary figures appear, and other nightmarish images are shown.
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Sex: The main character wears a cleavage-displaying outfit throughout; it's very overt and could almost be considered "partial nudity." The main character's uncle gazes at her in an uncomfortable and inappropriate way.
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Language: Language is infrequent but includes strong words like "s--t," "ass," "damn," "oh my God," "goddamn," and "a--hole," as well as one "f--k."
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Consumerism: "Facebook" is mentioned.
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters occasionally drink beer and other hard drinks; empty beer bottles are shown.
Fan Reviews provided by
1
Gave Me A Headache by Installredge
This movie gave me a headache. There was so much blurred vision shaky camera filming it was actually annoying. Movie got so slow people started talking loudly in the theatre. Don't waste your money. If they show it on TV don't waste your time.
4
1970s horror revised by Hoffmaier
Silent House reminded me of a 1970s horror movie, which is the highest praise that I can give to a horror movie. Although the ending was pure DePalma, the first two thirds was early Wes Craven. Without giving away too much, know that the fear at the beginning felt real and intense. Olsen's acting reminds me of the best of Jamie Lee Curtis: she is truly afraid, alone, and seemingly stalked by a maniac. Mix in modern handheld camerawork, a bit of Blair Witch lighting, and you have a really creepy movie.
2
Not every story needs a twist by plain_jane_rotten
The concept of a single take, without the camera breaking away even once is a great idea. For the first half of the movie I was /really/ into it. It was intense, it was terrifying, it was everything I wanted it to be. And then there's a plot twist. When is Hollywood going to realize that sometimes it's okay for a movie to just be about what it's about? Our only emotional investment in this movie was the girl getting out alive, and if that element is made irrelevant your audience stops caring. This could have been such a great movie if it had just stuck to what it was, but then the stupid plot twist had to go and ruin everything. Save your time and money and just skip it.
5
Silent House by davidjrcook
This movie, was a complete shocker from what the commercials originally gave us. It was extremely disturbing, now don't get me wrong, it was a very well done disturbing, but all the less very disturbing. What was so scary about it was the silence. The silence in this movie was amazing. It was as though you were in the characters position completely; that was really good. The acting was superb along with the set upon the house and the area that it was set in. Overall i would give this movie a 9.5, but like i said earlier it was not what i had expected, which at sometimes can be really good. In this case, it was extremely good. Great movie! Makes you really think about life.
2
Silent House no by msvanda789
Silent House was a slow starter, and never really had much of a plot. It seems like the only intent was to scare people. It wasnt worth the money to go see it.
1
Don't waste your money!! by Moshey
This movie is SOOO bad. We left about half way through it. It remember me of the Blair Witch Project, the camera was moving the whoel time and gave me a headache. The acting was also bad.
1
Pointless and lame - save your money by kaching64
This film was so bad, my immediate thought leaving the theater was to cancel the credit card charge to Fandango for the tickets. The film was shot in that annoying handicam style similarly done with the Paranormal Activity series and Chronicle. Sadly, the cameraman for Silent House must have suffered from Parkinson's disease becuase the camera was constantly jittery. We were too busy dealing with nausea to notice if anything scary was happening. Don't even think of wasting your time with Netflix or Redbox for this one, you'll be wishing for the 90 minutes of your life back.
2
Epic Fail! by Jellz_30
This movie was a total flop. The acting was bad and the ending was worse. In fact, the only good thing about this film was that it was only 88 min.
4
Silent House is Scary! by chattymom04
I am surprised by the bad reviews, one which pretty much gives too much information (glad I didn't read any of these reviews before I went to see it!). I will say I did not care for the ending, it was a little twisted and I can think of much better ways to end it, however the movie was very scary, my heart was pounding through most of the movie. I thought it was more scary than Paranormal Activity. I thought Elizabeth Olsen was great, her acting was great. I don't know...I went to be scared and I was not disappointed so for me I say GO if you like scary movies.
2
Not Worth Seeing by lynnmurphy
A disappointment. Storyline is superficial. Not spooky at all, and not as suspenseful as trailer depicts. Movie starts out slow. It does begin to build up toward the middle of it. Acting was very good and believable. A good twist at the end, but it does leave you hanging without a strong conclusion. Would give this movie a mediocre score of 5 out of 10. Just not much there.