House of Horrors... Not

  Critics have called Silent House the reinvention of the horror genre. Apparently children in Scream masks can scare these guys too. If you wanna pee your pants from pure fright, this is not that movie.
  The plot is generic: cute, paranoid girl and unsuspecting dad are fixing up their broken down house when they get trapped inside and are hunted down by an unknown predator. Ooh haven't seen that before. Even while watching the film with a bunch of obnoxious pre-pubescent children, the dialogue felt tired. "Oh Daddy, there's a noise upstairs! Please check it out!" she will cry out in unconvincing fright. "Sure honey, I will look. Just stay here and you'll be fine," he says, unbeknownst to him that death is around the corner. Please, you may as well tattoo your forehead with: " I'm an open target for murder" since no one has thought to carry some sort of weapon throughout most of the film!
  What was fresh, however, were the sounds and music selected. Sometimes I heard low drumming or a morose harmony, but it heightened the fear because sounds and music are key factors in creating an eerie atmosphere. This is were I will give them kudos. A lot of overzealous sound directors will throw dark melodies or haunting tones left and right, drowning the actual acting, however this director kept things simple. When things actually appeared to be scary on screen (and trust me, there weren't a lot of those moments), the music highlighted the feelings the actors were attempting to convey, rather than carry the scene for them. What I liked most was that each footstep, uncapped beer, and door slam was crystal clear. What makes people jump out of their seats is a nice loud bolt (especially when it's unexpected) and for that, I tip my hat.
  Another thing that impressed me was the way they shot this. To capture a performance in real time is watching a continuous shot. Yes, in the beginning, there wasn't a lot going on, but towards the end with all the running and diving under tables to avoid being abducted, I was astonished. The actors had to practice extremely hard in order to make sure every scene was as perfect as it humanly could. Plus the shot, itself, was fluid, almost as if we were looking through the eyes of someone lurking in the corner, puzzled by what's going on. And even though not all shots were clear, it made me feel as if I were in the midst of the chaos, blinded by pure terror and motivated with adrenaline to zip through the house like a rocket. Though, to be honest, I was more excited than anything.
  I will not say that about the acting however.
   Elizabeth Olsen is the idea "cute/paranoid" mixture. Those big green eyes are something of a wonder and her lips.... don't get me started on those lips. And everything in her body read hesitation. But for the most part, all she could do was cry and scream. The character lacked personality (other than that of a "Daddy's girl"); it's a script issue mainly, but it's the actress's job to make them pop. Her expressions didn't captivate me enough to watch her (in fact, I often stared at her chest because I was that bored) and that's what it's all about in horror. To mention the others would like noticing faded wallpaper: boring and time-consuming. Though the script was without depth on all their parts, they still didn't measure up to anything worth while. It's a damn shame. If the director had taken his time on the basic fundamentals of the film, then maybe I could say it was good, but he needs to go back to film school.
  Like I mentioned in the beginning, this is not a urine inducing film. In fact, this is not a movie worth full price admission. However, if you are the type who has too much free time and an acquired taste for mediocre films, wait for the dollar theater showing and enjoy.