La casa de la pasión

I watched this on cable after rejecting a couple of films that I thought would have promise. At first, I had little hope for this one, either. When Mickey doubted that Alex was really an actress, so did I! But it was too early to go to bed, and I couldn't bear to go back again to "Comtaminated Man", I stuck it out, right through all the plot turns and miscellaneous characters that wound up getting involved in it. The best thing about it was, I never found myself saying "Gimme a break!"---the place where the totally unbelievable turn of events finally bombs a bad plot. This one held together. A nice little film.

The plot is not all that bad for a low budget item. The acting is good. Three viewings and no boredom! Must say something for it. The underlying theme to me is that sometimes in life two people come together reluctantly and their life changes. They are not meant for one another or so they believe. But every now and then they wonder: "What if?"

Saved by an intelligent script and some good performances, A House In the Hills chronicles a housesitters descent into the maelstrom of violence and lies at the heart of the California Dream (well, the Southern California one, at least). It's not Htichcock, but it's miles better than your average Showtime filler. Jeffrey Tambor delivers a particularly rich performance as next door neighbour Willie, and the rest of the cast is up to the task. Apparently filmed in Luxembourg, of all places.

There is a murder in the Hollywood hills. Alex Weaver (Helen Slater) is a struggling actress working as a waitress. She replaces her friend to housesit for the needed cash. The cops are next door investigating the murder. The Rankins mistakenly take her bag. Exterminator Mickey (Michael Madsen) unexpectedly comes and assumes Alex to be the owner. He's looking to get something from Rankin and takes her hostage. Will Stryker (Jeffrey Tambor) is the Rankins' new neighbor.

There are a couple of scenes where it is a little too convenient. This should be an intense kidnapping thriller. However there are a lot of false notes being played. The music cues are wrong but that's not the half of it. Madsen is being too cool and lacks the intensity of a real criminal. The romance is awkward and fake like a bad romance novel. It's incredible that Mickey would fall for it. It's completely set up wrong. Jeffrey Tambor is a nice turn but the movie keeps trying to go back to the romantic tones. There is no chemistry to work with here. Just when the movie is coming to an acceptable end, it becomes silly as Helen Slater overacts unconvincingly.

This is the movie that introduced me to Michael Madsen LOL. It's one of those films that sucks you in and grows on you! I have it on VHS and DVD LOL it's a thriller / mix comedy / semi love story... I love how they dress up in the homeowners clothes, she puts on the dress, he puts on a tux and they travel to the world of Make-Believe and pretend to be in love. Well almost lol. Alex and Mickey bear their naked souls to one another and I absolutely love that, they have to learn the hard way to trust each other and to get each other out of this mess they're in to stay alive. I love the ending as well. Jeffery Tambor's weird character gives it a quirky dangerous twist to the movie as well.