The House Across the Street

I was confused at first. Very often when someone slaps the label 'Thriller' on a film its because they didn't have the sack to go full force horror, or think that because they've read enough John Grisham novels in airport lounges they know how to keep an audience hanging on every moment. And, usually, they fall face first. Its spectacularly difficult to keep the average viewer's interest (especially mine, I'll admit it) all the way up until the conclusion – that's 3 acts and roughly 90 minutes of tension – no small feat.

And that is essentially what you'll find in The House Across the Street. I say essentially because there are moments of lassitude where the momentum ebbs, or the writing is a bit awkward and pulls you out, but it is otherwise a fully immersive experience, and by the final act you'll be unable to look away or even exactly understand what's going on until the end.

Its a remarkable combination, I think, that holds the viewer. Thoughtful shots, a bleak and hopeless mood, bizarre characters and a compelling lead (Jessica Sonneborn as Amy) together build a sense of unease, that nothing is OK, that this thin veneer of happiness in an idyllic and quiet neighborhood is hiding something horrifying, slick and slimy.

Ugh. Still makes my skin crawl a bit. Makes you look twice at that neighbor that always waves when he's throwing out the trash, or offers to mow your lawn – makes you second guess those split second appraisals we make of others. What is it that Mom always used to say?

"Don't judge a book by its cover." The House Across the Street brings new light to that sentiment, and breath to the idea that 'nothing is ever as it seems'. Do you really know whats going on around you? What happens behind closed doors? Do you even dare give life to the possible horror that other people are capable of?

TL;DR The House Across the Street taps directly into our primordial hive mind and distills the primitive juices of terror from our collective lizard brain, leaving the viewer agape, jaw planted thoroughly on the floor.

Original review at http://horriblyhooched.com/

I would not even give this film a star. Was not even worth the five minutes it took to watch the beginning. Please don't waste your time on this film. Wasn't even scary. And also had a boring transition. I would prefer watching a cartoon than wasting my time on this film. They are making me write 10 lines for this film, but I do not even have any more to say. It was a boring beginning, did not even keep my attention. Had to turn it off after 5 minutes. Please do not even waste your time clicking the play button. They should of called this film. Bore you to death HA HA. Thank you for spending two minutes of your time reading my review. And hope this was helpful for you to not waste your time.

The main character is just raging all the time. And speaks to people that are trying to help her, or who she wants help from, like dirt. Id probably try running her down myself. So u end up not really caring about her. Or anyone.

This movie is NOT a thriller by far. I just couldn't keep my attention span long enough as the parts just weren't flowing to the next scenes. The acting was below substandard. There could have been some good potential here if it was executed differently because the story was good. I think the actors have some of that potential as well, so not sure who to point the finger at.

It was a movie I just couldn't stay awake for. Didn't make much sense. Some of the decisions made in the story didn't make sense; like the just got crutches, let me be nosy and break into the house.

Too slow.

Can you see how I wrote my review? Patchy? Kinda felt that way about the movie too. Watch it with your cat.

Review: I really wasn't a fan of this movie because the storyline is really slow and the random events were a bit too sketchy. Its about a troubled woman who moves to a quiet town to try and escape her past. After witnessing a car accident outside her house, she starts to ask questions around the town, which upsets the police and some of the locals. She also sees strange visitors turning up to the house in front, so she puts her investigating hat on, to try and find out more about the strange goings on. Everywhere she turns, she hits a brick wall so she befriends a cop who is also intrigued about the house across the street. After a while, the story starts to make sense but it does take its time getting there. The woman seems to be walking around in a daze through most of the movie and her schizophrenic nature made her character look and feel a bit strange. Personally, I found her acting a bit dull and emotionless, especially when her ex-boyfriend helped her out and she kept on treating him like rubbish for no apparent reason. Anyway, I liked it when it all came together at the end but it was still a bad script and the poor acting didn't help. I also didn't like the way the film was filmed but that just me being picky. In all, it's a total waste of time and money and I can completely understand why the critics gave it the thumbs down. Awful!

Round-Up: The actress who plays the lead, Jessica Sonneborn, has starred in over 40 movies but they have all been low budget and unheard of. She wrote, directed and starred in Alice D, which I've never heard of and she also starred in Never Open The Door, A Lure: Teen Fight Club and Love Addict. She might be better in those movies but I didn't really rate her in this one. The director, Arthur Luhn, has only directed 6 movies but none of them turned out to be anything big. Anyway, Eric Roberts acts the same in all of his movies so I wasn't that surprised with his input but it's really the lead actress who let this film down. At the end of the day, I really didn't enjoy this film but the twist at the end wasn't bad.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their thrillers about a woman who moves to a strange town and starts to investigate weird episodes which occur in the house in across the street. 2/10