Are You in the House Alone?

This movie may not be a straight up slasher movie due to the fact that there are no deaths at all, but for a TV movie, I found this very much decent and entertaining. The opening where we see the aftermath of a high school girl beaten and raped, which really set the tone for what this movie is about and then it flashbacks to the previous events leading up to what happened.

Like I said this movie is not a slasher but features several elements like the young girl getting strange phone calls, threatening notes and tense stalk scenes. However the suspense here has a very realistic feel and you do feel the raw emotions that this character is going through especially when she sees her rapist getting ready to stalk his next victim and of course we do get a list of suspects and this movie doe's display that angle well and keep you guessing throughout. While what happens is horrifying, there's not much in the way of true horror, but what we have is a pretty solid thriller with lots of build up and a great pay off thanks to its good pacing.

The strongest thing about this movie is the acting which is top notch Kathleen Beller who plays the main character was very good and believable, her innocence and beauty makes you really root for her especially when she turns detective and eventually turns the tables on her attacker. Plus we get a standout performance from a fresh faced Dennis Quaid and Scott Colomby as the boyfriend also really stood out, displaying great chemistry with Gail, in fact all of the cast had great chemistry with each other, even the parents were great.

All in all "Are You in the House Alone" may seem a bit dated by today's standards, but still genially creepy and frightening realistic.

A teen attends high school in the Los Angeles area (Kathleen Beller) wherein she starts dating a guy (Scott Colomby), but she's harassed by an unknown stalker. Blythe Danner and Tony Bill play the parents while Robin Mattson and Dennis Quaid are on hand as fellow students.

"Are You in the House Alone?" (1978) is a made-for-TV coming-of-age drama/mystery with elements of horror in the stalking & assault mold. In other words, it's real-life horror as opposed to a cartoonish assailant with a mask and a machete butchering people. It borrows a little from "Black Christmas" (1974) and is the precursor to "When a Stranger Calls" (1979), but don't expect a slasher or any gory, over-the-top horror.

This is perhaps the best movie to behold Beller's youthful, winsome beauty. Meanwhile Blythe Danner is attractive at 34 during shooting. On the other side of the gender spectrum, it is interesting to see Quaid when he was just starting out in the biz.

As far as whom the assailant turns out to be, I wasn't able to figure it out, which was a pleasant surprise. I can't say much else because I don't want to give anything away, but the flick drives home its point effectively while entertaining the viewer (as far as this genre goes).

The film runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles, including Ahmanson Mansion, Hancock Park, with a sequence of Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.

GRADE: B.

I think my issue with this film is that I was expecting a very different movie, but I also think it makes sense to expect a different one. It's called "Are You in the House Alone?" and is apparently about a babysitter being stalked by an unknown assailant, but that's really about 10 minutes of the running time. Most of this film is a high school drama about this girl's teen angst and her current boyfriend ... and she receives the odd anonymous note leading into the 10 minutes of not very effective horror. This is not for me.

A late 70s TV movie, that whilst not particularly original, is tightly told and most engaging. It is surprising watching this just over thirty years on just how much the social view of sex, sexuality and rape has changed. One central suggestion here is that the main defence will be that only a virgin can be raped. An attitude we now assume only applies in country areas of such countries as India or Pakistan. But this is modern sophisticated USA, and the other social factor this film raises is that of the protected moneyed class, depicted so devastatingly well later in Brian Yuzn'a 'Society'. The film tells us of the main event early on and then flashbacks to give us the lead up and aftermath. Watching it I wasn't sure this was a good idea but it works astonishingly well with much tension and suspense. Kathleen Beller is excellent as the wider eyed victim and a young Dennis Quad does well in one of his very first films.

This TV movie is surprisingly good about a girl being stalked at school. I used to watch a lot of these movies as a kid and this one stands out as one of the best. It has an unpredictable ending and holds your attention throughout. Highly recommended if you get the chance to see it!