Written & Directed by: Matt Angel, Suzanne Coote
Cast: Dylan Minnette, Piercy Dalton, Patricia Bethune
Over the last couple of years I’ve been impressed with the productions that Netflix has released. The films they’ve produced for their audience are unique and they have put out some more unique stories than the theater. But not all of these films are unique, nor good. Since July I’ve watched a few of the “Netflix Original” films and have been sorely and regrettably disappointed.
Some of these Netflix Originals feel like hidden gems that you find in a sea of meh. Netflix has made some changes to include blockbuster hits sooner rather than later, but it’s interesting to see big names come to some films that haven’t hit theaters. Netflix has been pumping out a ton of stuff and it’s no surprise that some of these will be boring trash. Speaking of boring trash, let’s talk about The Open House.
Teenager, Logan Wallace (Minnette) lives in a typical American family with his mother Naomi (Dalton) and his father. Very early in the film, Logan’s father is tragically killed when a driver who has a heart attack accidentally hits him. Both are forced to move away since they cannot afford to live in their house. Naomi’s sister offers the both of them to stay in her house way out in the woods. She’s trying to sell the home and the one condition of living there for free will be to allow open house visits every Sunday.
After the two arrive they meet the nearby neighbor Martha (Bethune) who seems incredibly nice but has no tact when it comes to the situation this family has suffered. Martha seems innocent enough, but something seems odd about her that you just can’t quite put your finger on. Later you find out that her husband had passed away and she was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
While watching this I began to think that maybe the house was haunted or that the neighbors were psychotic or something. Soon strange things start to happen, and you begin to believe that someone doesn’t want them there. A pounding on the front door in the middle of the night. A car with its bright lights shining at the house followed by a long car honk which then drives away. Not exactly horror film material but weird if you think about it happening at your home.
Weird things keep happening with Martha showing up and yelling at Logan for being on her property even though it’s his aunt’s home. Then the following day acting happy as can be and believing that nothing happened. Odd banging sounds coming from the basement. The hot water heater turning off during showers. Things moving from one room to another and missing. All things that are pretty weird but really, nothing scary.
This film is about an hour and a half long and literally nothing “scary” happens until about an hour and ten minutes into the film. Things turn from very odd to murderous in a matter of minutes, and we find that someone really wants this family out of the house stopping anyone who gets in their path.
The Open House made me completely grouchy in that fact that I watched an hour and a half film with no real closure as to who was causing the odd phenomena at the house and who ultimately attacked this family. No resolution. No explanation. Nothing that would make this film worth seeing again.
It’s no wonder why horror film buffs seem to hate the new era of the horror genre. Nothing thrills like it used to. It leaves me wondering why anyone would produce a film with no conclusion? I’m thoroughly pissed off that the past several films I’ve seen from Netflix have no real conclusion. I realize that some stories are like that, but when you have a string of movies that you watch that have no real ending you may become as bitter as I have.
Don’t waste your time on The Open House. Spoiler Alert: Everyone dies at the end and you never know who did it or why they did it. Worthless!
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