This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ugh! I get so tired of these movies that look frightening as hell in the trailer, with a great young actress like Elizabeth Olsen, and they turn out to be (1) boring and (2) completely B.S. (Incidentally, I was more freaked out by the usher in my theater who grabbed my shoulder asking me to take my feet of the seat in front of my than by anything in the movie). I"d love a return to "intruder" movies that involve a protagonist and an actual "bad guy", rather than realizing half way through the movie that the protagonist IS the bad guy and that she's so cracked from early-life abuse that she's actually wreaked all the havoc thus far in the movie. Oh yeah, it's a "psychological thriller", Marc. Blah! Don't buy it. Not scary, not good. I'll give it three points because Elizabeth Olsen is truly a great young actress. But the disappearing girl on the road, the toilet bleeding from the bathroom ceiling, the blood spreading on the bed - all crap. Rent a better horror movie. Don't waste your time with this sucker.… Expand

In today's world of movies, it's hard to find a decent film. Although the trailer looked thrilling, I came onto Metacritic, saw the critic reviews and said "Well, it can't be that awful". Take my advice, this was quite possibly one of the worst movies I have ever seen. The story was dreadful, the scares were nothing, and the acting was top notch horrible. Save the money, and get it on video if you're that desperate.… Expand

Billiantly done movie. Very smart and almost overly engaging as a horror movie. For 88 minutes this movie puts your whole body and edge and after it's over you can't help but disect all the details you must have missed. Rare movie that is meant to be seen more than once. The pioneering of the single take movie really speaks to the director's and actor's talent level. Great movie, go see.

This is well done smart little film. The acting is terrific as it takes you into a world of sheer terror. You cannot get away from the any scene as the single shot concept creates an atmosphere that make it impossible to look away or catch your breath.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A crime photo begets the crime scene, that's the function of the unforgettable last shot in Roman Polanski's Repulsion, where after an exploratory pan across Helen's apartment, the camera revisits and lingers upon an old family snapshot, bringing into sharp focus the dissonance behind this distinguished-looking bloodline, whose smiles suddenly seem put-on, as if this display of unconditional familial bliss, in actuality, is hiding a conspiracy. You see the manicurist as a young girl looking off to the side with terrified eyes, commonly presumed by many to be trained on the old man seated in his chair, the manicurist's father. But on closer inspection, does the focal point of the young girl align with the old man, or is Carole attending to some malevolent presence in the black and white photo's negative space? From a kitchen window, Carole(Catherine Deneuve) observes the abbey across from her older sister's flat, and it's the positioning of the nuns, in which the filmmaker relegates the chaste women(out getting some fresh air) to the diegetical margin that seems conspicuous, since it alludes somewhat to the old picture, because like the unseen presence that scares Carole, the nuns are off to the side. In Silent House, Sarah(Elizabeth Olsen) uncovers repressed memories of sexual abuse at the hands of her father(interestingly, he has a biblical name), whereas Carole, quite possibly(in which the nuns are meant to suggest more than her wish to join a convent), was molested by a higher "father", a priest, whose religious denomination could be described as a "silent house", when the subject turns to pedophilia. After all, the male figment that greets Carole at night in her bed looks nothing at all like her father. The would-be rapist, potentially, is the same man who, years ago, damaged a little girl irreparably, resulting in a grown woman rendered celibate due to her fear of sex, and furthermore, abhors sex outside the sanctity of marriage, which is why Carole(the Catholic) judges Helen(the lapsed Catholic) harshly for her affair with the married man, the older sister's part-time live-in lover. Sarah, on the other hand, had a boyfriend, somebody that inspires John to say, "Princess, he doesn't deserve you," an ex who wants to reunite with his comely daughter. As it turns out, this fatherly concern, this obligatory bit of paternal love, so seemingly unremarkable, is the wrong kind of love, a latency that manifests itself at the crime scene, Sarah's childhood home, where the haunting is atypical for it being steeped in physiognomy instead of the usual metaphysical phenomena. Once it becomes clear that the dry rot has metaphorical properties that exceed its corporeality, the Polanski film rears its sex-hating head, because the dry rot is part of the same psycho-architectural language as the cracks that Carole projects onto the apartment walls. Since Sarah, by virtue of the short conversation she has with dad about her love life, we know the woman has gone on dates, whereas the French wallflower thwarts a persistent suitor at every turn. It doesn't mean, however, that Sarah is any more social than Carole, as evidenced by the pained expression in which she receives a hug from Sophia, an old friend, and the fact that this college-aged girl doesn't attend school, choosing instead to work for John's house restoration business. Sarah's aversion to being touched, quite possibly, is a clue as to why things didn't work out with the beau. Maybe, similar to Carole, she can't get intimate, repulsed by a man's touch since her first sexual relationship was a grossly inappropriate one. Silent House, a remake of Gustavo Hernandez's La Casa Muda, differs from the 2010 Uruguayan film in that Carole may be less innocent than her counterpart, Laura, since the new film fleshes out the apparition of a girl from the original into Sophia, all grown up, a young woman who may have been victimized not only by Sarah's father, but Sarah herself, an exploited girl who may have played the role of her father's collaborator, a suggestion made valid by the fact that she is still working for John, albeit now for a legitimate enterprise, and not child pornography. Unlike Neil(Joseph Gordon Leavitt) in Greg Araki's Mysterious Skin, Sarah forgot about the abuse. Brian remembers, though. Similar to how a youth baseball coach employs Neil to lure other boys, Sophia may have been recruited by Sarah, in which both children were under the specter of a sinister man. Brian, growing up, fosters the notion that he was abducted by aliens, thereby transmuting Mysterious Skin into a faux science fiction film. Likewise, Silent House is not a horror movie. The subject in both films are deposited in a speculative genre piece as a filmic salve to deal with, and, ultimately, postpone the inevitable bombshell that there are no aliens, or in Sarah's case, things do not go bump in the night by their own volition.… Expand

This copies everything from the Uruguayan film La Casa Muda. It's not scary, the acting is tedious and the final act is a complete waste. Elizabeth Olsen's acting talent has been tossed aside for PG-13 style scares.

Not a bad little film. I think the weakest part of the film was the dialogue. The dialogue was clunky, unbelievable and inappropriate for the characters, it was very oddly written. The supporting cast was also not very good. Overall, nice cinematography, nice pace.

Besides lacking the creepiness and scares that were present in the original, this remake still manages to pull off a couple frights. Silent House may be confusing to some, but this remake seems to be less confusing than the original thanks to the film's graphic imagery and symbolism.

Silent House is a stylish nightmare of a movie, and one of the most terrifying experiences I've had at the cinema. This is the kind of film that will haunt you after you leave the theater. It's a tour de force directorial effort from Chris Kentis and Laura Lau, who previously collaborated on the 2003 thriller Open Water. Elizabeth Olsen as Sarah proves herself in a demanding role to be the next great Scream Queen since Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween. Olsen carries the film on her shoulders, and there is not a moment we do not share her terror. Full review on my blog.… Expand

Interesting case in Silent House, after appear in Martha Marcy May Marlene, Elizabeth Olsen have a good performance, and the story in Silent House is incredible, this is a fresh sorprise, is not excellent, but is fresh.

Im only giving this movie a 4 because the story line was good. The rest goes down hill. The bad acting from the father and son was as bad as it gets and destroys the movie plus the fact that the movie was not put together well at all. This movie could have been a block buster. What were they thinking???? Do not waste your money on this movie, it wont be out long anyway. wait for it to come on tv. Even then you will be disappointed. Not the worst movie I ever saw but is in the top 10 of the worst movies I ever saw. My girlfriend embarrassed me with her snoring. Lucky for me there were only 6 people in the theater.… Expand

Sarah attempts to elude her would-be assailants after being trapped in her parents' remote lake house in the edge-of-your-seat thriller SILENT HOUSE. Chris Kentis and Laura Lau of OPEN WATER fame stage the action in real time, using clever editing techniques to disguise their cuts while creating the illusion that the entire film has been performed in a single shot. Kentis and Lau experiment with as many different angles and framing methods as they can realistically achieve given these stylistic constraints, and although this frequently removes the viewer from the false sense of reality, any film maker can appreciate the effort and creativity that is being employed on screen. What this hand-held technique does provide is a level of uncomfortability and voyeuristic intrusion in to the events, forcing the audience inside the room as we creep down the dark and dangerous hallways right alongside Sarah. Elizabeth Olson gives another excellent performance as Sarah, whose sheer terror and vulnerability rattle us to the bone. SILENT HOUSE comes out a big winner in the scare department while greatly impressing with its unique approach to film making.… Expand

Myself rating 'Silent House' would be kind of unfair. The let down ending was spoiled to me and my attention wandered throughout most of the film. I was not frightened at any point and spent most of it playing Alchemy on my phone and only occasionally glancing at the movie. Elizabeth Olsen is pretty admirable, doing one straight cut for an-hour-and-a-half where she hyperventilates for most of the second half. In comparison, the other men in the film portraying her father and uncle fizzle in her presence. The first half is recommendable (of course, only if you have no knowledge of how it ends), but 'Silent House' gradually descends into an absurd let down that could have been better than standard horror movie execution.… Expand

This is more acting reel material for Elizabeth Olsen than anything else. She's a revelation, but a garbage script riddled with expository dialogue and a poor supporting cast drag the film down.

An interesting little horror film with impressive camerawork and plot twists that you probably won't see coming unless you've seen the original film that this film is based off of. It may not be great, but it's worth a watch.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. At best, "Silent House" is an interesting experiment of a film - a movie that's more suspense than horror, and goes for a decidedly unique approach by making the entire feature appear as a continuous shot. Although this does allow for some decent build-up and tension at first, by the second act the film gets somewhat monotous and sometimes tedious, with only Elisabeth Olsen's cleavage to maintain any engagement whatsoever.

However, anything good the movie had going for it is completely lost in the third act. Although this is delivered in a frustratingly cryptic and rather clumsy manner, the climax reveals that Olsen's character has essentially developed a dangerous psychological dichotomy, which has apparently been festering within her all this time since her father and uncle sexually abused and impregnated her as a child, then forced her to undergo an abortion. This mental scarring takes her over during the film's runtime, making her see things and hiding from her childhood demons, until in the end she finally kills her father and leaves her uncle miserably whimpering in the corner.

Personally, this took the plot just too far in the wrong direction. Horror/suspense films in which the main character is crazy are often, at best, only decent to start. But to discover, after we've spent just enough time following her about the house to become attached to her, that our lead is suffering a mental breakdown due to a tragic and horrific past is a truly depressing revelation to have to sit through, and leaves you feeling in need of a shower. There is no real triumph here - Olsen's character has not really claimed any victory, because she has not conquered her fear of her past. She has only bludgeoned to death the perpetrator of her abuse, and will likely wander off into the rest of her life as the tortured soul we've endured the presence of for the past ninety minutes. This is not a happy film, a scary film or a gripping film - it's just a bad experience.… Expand