Silent House – Film Review

Director(s): Chris Kentis, Laura Lau

Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Adam Trese, and Eric Sheffer Stevens

Distributor: Open Road Films

Why, Hollywood, why? Why would you take a perfectly good horror film and then subject it to Americanization? It’s bad enough when the film is altered in such a way that it becomes a CGI heavy mess with none of the charm of the original. (A Tale of Two Sisters and the remake The Uninvited come to mind). But it is so much worse when it shoots the film in a near identical manner, meaning that the only major difference between the two films is a lack of subtitles and the word ‘The’ in the title.

Of course, this only applies if you have in fact seen Gustavo Hernàndez’s Uruguayan original film, ‘The Silent House’, which, admittedly, is fairly unlikely. This remake follows young Sarah who, along with her constantly bickering father and uncle, is cleaning out their old lakeside retreat before it is sold. Based on true events, the real hook for the film, as well as the original, is that it is shot entirely in real time, with no additional cuts.

This, naturally, puts a lot of pressure on its main actress, Elizabeth Olsen, who acts as both our eyes and ears for the duration of the film. Luckily, she delivers particularly well, distancing herself far from the fame of the Olsen twins and ultimately proving her own worth. The terror she experiences is utterly convincing, not just because of her performance, but also because of the twitchy camera style.

Due to the shaky nature of the camera, and the setting of the film itself, there is a strong sense of claustrophobia. Following Sarah down narrow corridors in the dark, and with absolutely no soundtrack to speak of, it is an effective tool in heightening tension. The fact that all the windows are covered, so that it is pitch black in the middle of the afternoon, is a nice touch. It plays out very very similarly to those increasingly popular found footage films, only without the technical restrictions, thus evoking a powerfully creepy atmosphere.

However, as effective as it may be, the cinematography is a little bit sloppy. On more than one occasion, you will probably find yourself confused about what exactly it is that Sarah is screaming at. There is the possibility that this is just a method of communicating how irrational she is becoming, but the fact that we are given no closure on this theory is particularly irritating.

There are occasions when the film stops to breathe, teasing the audience with hints and giving them time to ponder over what exactly is happening in Silent House (which, ironically, makes a hell of a lot of noise). The conclusion is a familiar one, and so will almost certainly be guessed by the time things start getting really bizarre.

However, with the style in which it is delivered, some suitably surreal scenes in the closing act and an excellent performance from Elizabeth Olsen herself, Silent House manages to tick enough boxes to make it worth the watch, provided you haven’t already seen the original.

Score: 3/5

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