Glass House: The Good Mother

High class intense melodrama which had my attention.

Mother loses child and adopts two as replacement; yet the mother and her husband have dark secrets in a house full of them. And on one level this film goes further than child endangerment but into child cruelty and worse.

Excellent photography, generally very good direction with a few blimps near the end.

Super performances from the two female leads which makes the film.

The actress playing the mother is sensationally "bad".

Worthy of a sound: 7/10.

Having lived with an abusive stepparent, this hit the nail bang on the head. DAMNED scary. Soundtrack was nice, acting superb all around, and the photography lush and brilliantly planned.

Actually, I'd rate this as an 8.5, because the enabling stepfather was just a little TOO accommodating, although the writing is otherwise well-crafted. The reason I gave this a ten is to offset the overly biased previous postings which don't give this movie its due. The visuals are truly stunning, the sets gorgeous, and the camera-work clever and innovative.

Oh, and the actresses are unbelievably beautiful. The "stepmother" is a latter-day Ali McGraw, and it's testament to her talent that she can go from dazzlingly, breathtakingly sexy to skin-crawlingly scary within a matter of seconds.

The "stepdaughter" is also great, absolutely believable and so pretty and vulnerable you know she's going to be a major heartbreaker as she matures.

Don't listen to the negative voices. Judge for yourself. A solid, high-tension, superbly-crafted thriller.

(And no, I have no connection whatsoever to anyone involved.)

I rent a lot of movies. I find some unexpected gems, a lot that get categorized as idle entertainment, and some that make me curse myself for renting movies in the first place. This movie solidly fits into the idle entertainment category, as I could see the end result taking shape way too early in the viewing process. Without giving away anything, the one thing that stands out in this movie is the acting of Jordan Hinson. She was cast as what she is...a teenager. But throughout the entire movie, she goes above and beyond what (I would think) would normally be expected, and delivers an outstanding performance. I think she was the true star of the movie, though you have to look at the fine print on the back of the DVD to find her name. If you want to see a diamond in the rough, look here. She makes the movie worth viewing.

I must admit i did think this might be just another of those dreary drag along movies. But I can honestly say its not. Angie Harmon plays a very convincing role as a troubled mother & keeps you squirming in your seat. Shes backed up well by Joel Gretsch as her doting husband, with a very fine performance from unknown Jordon Hinson. The plot it self is a very simple one & its been seen before in a number of good movies, but this doesn't take anything away from the excitement or suspense. The characters all develop well as the story unfolds, & still gives you a ending with a surprise twist. Its a very entertaining effort, its no blockbuster but I,m sure it will be well received in video stores.

An orphaned teen girl (Jordan Hinson) & her little brother start a new life in remote Simi Valley, Ca, with their adoptive parents (Angie Harmon & Joel Gretsch), a seemingly-ideal couple who tragically lost their son a year earlier. Jason London is on hand as the kid's acting-godfather.

"Glass House: The Good Mother" (2006) naturally has a similar plot to the first film, but the kids are a little younger here and, as the title implies, the mother is now the key adversary. Being a direct-to-video release it lacks the budget of the first film with Leelee Sobieski and Stellan Skarsgård (2001) and therefore lacks the theatrical pizazz thereof, having a Lifetime movie vibe.

As with that first movie, the awesome mansion itself is a highlight, located just a dozen miles north of the Glass manor used in the previous flick (in real-life). Unlike the first film, however, the actors are all no-names. Yet they rise to the challenge, especially Harmon as the increasingly not-good mother and Hinson as the formidable girl, who essentially becomes the "final girl" à la slasher flicks.

Not that this is a horror movie, but there is that element. It's more realistic than the conventional slasher, which typically involve some eye-rolling psycho wearing a mask and brandishing a machete, etc. Here, the diabolic individual is more every-day and perfectly harmless on the surface, which somehow makes it more chilling.

The flick effectively addresses the mental illness factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA), aka Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP). These types of psychos actually exist, unfortunately.

The film runs 1 hour, 34 minutes, and was shot in Simi Valley, Ca, with some stuff done in Hollywood.

GRADE: C