Do you enjoy thrillers? If so, House at the End of the Street is perfect for you. This horror movie is filled with intense scenes and an unbelievable plot based on a girl, Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence), and her mother (Elisabeth Shue) who move to a new town where they learn a chilling secret. They are told that at the house at the end of the street, a girl named Carrie-Ann killed her parents in their bedroom and disappeared. Only the brother, Ryan (Max Theriot), survived. The town rumors that Carrie-Ann still lives in the woods; however, the police claims she drowned, even though they never found her body. As the movie progresses, Elissa meets Ryan and begins a relationship with him. Ryan is very likable and the audience falls for him easily because of his brooding and sensibility. Ryan is essentially the misunderstood outcast, who is really a hero. But, what the audience does not know at this point is who the villain really is.
The audience is deluded into thinking that Ryan loves his sister Carrie-Ann, who is still alive. Ryan appears to be protecting his insane sister by keeping her alive in his basement and keeping her a secret. The plot flows like any other suspense movie, where there are moments where you scream and others that just build up for later. The movie takes on an eerie feeling throughout, especially when the final, totally unexpected twist is revealed.
The acting in the film is also very enjoyable. Not only did I believe that the characters were actually who they pretended to be, but I was also just as scared as Elissa was even though I was only watching her own fear play out. The moment Elissa realizes what is going on she whispers, “Oh my god.” That is exactly how I felt, because everything suddenly fit into place.
Also, the actors have great chemistry; Jennifer Lawrence seems truly annoyed at Elisabeth Shue throughout the movie, exactly the type of attitude that a mother and her teenage daughter commonly have towards each other. I was really just blown away by how unsuspecting I was about how the film would unfold.
This movie is not just incredible because of the intriguing plot twist and riveting story line, but also because of the very creative filming. The director, Mark Tonderai (Hush), incorporated elements far beyond the usual fear and suspense. The movie contains romance, comedy, and interesting focus points. Also, Tonderai focuses the camera on certain elements to make the audience suspicious. He makes sure only the most observant audience members can figure out the mystery, but it doesn’t blatantly state it for everyone to realize. If you are into scary thrillers, or just want to see one of the actors in the movie, I would recommend renting or buying House at the End of the Street, coming out on DVD on January 8th, 2013!
Watch one of the trailers for the film below.