Silent House

Silent House (2011)
Directed by: Chris Kentis and Laura Lau
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 44%

When I saw the trailer for Silent House I was intrigued. It looked like many of the other horror films that had come out recently (see: Paranormal Activity) but there was something unique about it. I couldn't quite place what it was but I knew that I wanted to see it. I then promptly forgot about it. I don't typically watch horror films because they are boring to me. I used to be deathly afraid of anything remotely scary (I couldn't watch Unsolved Mysteries at night let alone here the theme music). Something clicked with me when I was in high school. I saw the remake of the Amityville Horror and laughed all the way through. This was the first horror movie I had ever seen where I simply was not afraid of what I was seeing. I then went and purchased John Carpenter's Halloween (which remains the scariest movie I have ever seen) just to prove to myself that I really was over my horror film phobia. Over the years I have seen select scary movies (The Nightmare on Elm Street reboot, Paranormal Activity, The Haunting of Emily Rose, etc.) but definitely wouldn't consider myself a fan of the genre. When I was at RedBox this evening (getting Beasts of the Southern Wild) I saw that Silent House was available. I thought it was worth a shot and at the very least I would get to see Elizabeth Olsen'sacting chops. I can say, without a doubt, this is the best filmed horror/thriller film I have ever seen.

Silent House stars Elizabeth Olsen as Sarah, Adam Trese as her father John and Eric Sheffer Stevens as her uncle Peter. The three of them have come to Sarah's childhood home to clean it out, renovate it, and sell it. The house has become an attraction for vandals and squatters so the inside is in extreme disrepair. When the film starts it appears to be near nighttime; with the sun just about to set. We see that there is no electricity at the house and the cell reception is non-existant. Sarah is outside taking in the scenery of the lake next to the home when her father arrives to continue working on the renovation. The two go in and find Peter who tells John that he has found black mold. John tells Sarah to go upstairs because inhaling the mold would be dangerous. While Sarah fiddles with tools upstairs she hears the two brothers argue and Peter leaves the house. John explains that he'll be back soon and that they need to continue working on getting things packed. Sarah begins to hear noises and she has her father check them out. When he doesn't find anything upstairs he instructs her to finish packing her room. She then hears more noises and when she calls out to her father he doesn't answer. As she looks for him she realizes that her father has been hurt and they are not alone in the house.

Silent House is told in real time. This means that the entire film looks and feels like one continuous take. As you may recall, this is probably my favorite technique in cinematography. I love how complex even the simplest scene becomes when you take into account that there can be zero mistakes. No lighting issues, no missed lines, no missed entry cues, no focus issues. It is absolutely insane! I have previously linked the kitchen entry scene from Goodfellas to demonstrate but I thought I'd give another example. Watch the opening sequence of Robert Altman's The Player:


That is eight minutes of continuous action! The camera takes the audience from one conversation to another; from one set of characters to the next. When you take into consideration all the moving parts that make up this scene you can see why this is no easy task. Silent House does a terrific job of hiding their edits to make the film feel like one long take. I say that they hid their edits because it came out after the film was released that the film is actually broken into twelve minute increments and there are certain camera movements that are designed to allow for a cut. If you don't look for them then you won't see them. That takes talent. The first seventy-five percent of Silent House is great. Sarah is trapped inside a house with dangerous intruders and all she has is a lantern. The intruders are never seen unobscured so we are not able to see what they look like. When she finally escapes the house she immediately falls to the ground as she runs away. This marks the beginning of the cliched horror tropes to come. I won't go into detail about how everything ends because I do think that this is one worth seeing especially if you want to see the techniques utilized by the filmmakers. Also, Olsen plays her role perfectly. I am looking forward to seeing her career take off because she definitely has the talent.

No BS

Silent House will scare you if you are not a seasoned horror film watcher. There are pop out moments and some truly great suspense sequences. The veteran horror film fan will not appreciate the story but might enjoy the more technical aspects of the film. The feeling of this film is reminiscent of the 2008 thriller The Strangers. If you have seen that and liked it then this is one you shouldn't miss (and if you haven't seen The Strangers then see that first because it is great).

My Score: 6.5/10