 | Genre: Horror |
The characters are fairly good, which feels like a shame. The neighbour, for example, is a wasted character. The grief of the main characters' dad and husband is explored realistically. However, it doesn't seem to lead much to the plot and the teenage boy's flashbacks are a distraction. Judging by other Netflix originals, it's probably in the contract to include PTSD.
The killer is too vague and unknown, and without other aspects to give a sense of horror (and with some strange moments) it's just confusing. The boy is obsessed from the start that someone is in the house, but it's not clear when he gets in or where he hides. He's unnaturally silent and fast, but other than his probably impossible behaviour he's probably not supernatural. But he has no identity, no motives, no seeming connection to them, the house, the other characters, or anything. Nothing to pin down means nothing really to fear.
He does, however, get some killing done. A favourite trope of mine is the (spoilers ahead) "everyone dies" ending, and this film pretty much delivers. The friendly black guy who flirts with the mum is accepted by the son just in time to turn up and fulfill one of my least favourite tropes. As the only speaking and seemingly only-but-one black person in this rural mountain village... Yes, he dies first. His entire character is seemingly to be this trope and it's annoying to see. After he is so quickly dispatched, the long torture of the mother character gave me hope for some motive reveal, but there is none. Watch out here for some 'fingore' as he breaks each of her digits in a loud, celery snap just for the unpleasantness factor.
Some other unpleasantness is in a very brilliant series of events, that could have been taken further. Early on, the boy carefully takes out his contact lenses in a focused scene. This is important, it says by lingering, but the film is filled with this sort of focus on the mundane. Later, the killer takes his glasses, and returns them. Finally, near the very end, the killer pins him down, holds his head still and very carefully removes his contact lenses. Chilling. Effective. It really could have utilised better.
Asides from a really lovely twist, there is a lot that made this film feel like a draft. Having a blank state killer with no motive puts the focus on the victims. They too, however, give no reason to be stalked and killed. The wrong no other character and display no fatal flaws. There is a horror concept that first a victim commits a 'sin' for which they are then punished. The teens having underage sex are killed by a slasher, the person who dabbles in the occult is killed by the monsters they summon, and the unpleasant character is unceremoniously offed. This way, the viewer enjoys the deaths and even feels a lesson or an escape can be learned. In Open House, however, this too is lacking. There's no reason for the deaths from either party and their deaths are unsatisfying. Even the twist, thrilling in it's unexpectedness, is not satisfying and luckily the action does not linger there.
On the topic of the title, there is so much emphasis on the concept. The title, the explanation, the closing view of the sign. Asides from a handwaved way for the killer to get into the house, its completely irrelevant. A fair few things are over developed red herrings. The film begins with the father killed in the car accident, and aside from the son's PTSD it doesn't make much difference. The basement has a mysterious tunnel, blocked off by a pile of furniture and instead of being revealed it's not shown again. The neighbour has dementia and her husband's death is a point of curiousity, but ultimately she's a distraction. The realtor's assistant is creepy and has a couple of supposed jumpscares, but he may as well be a cat because he serves nothing more to the plot.
While the credits began to roll on my disappointment, they did reveal an interesting fact. As well as a minimal cast, this film had a skeleton crew. Really, a tiny amount of people working behind the scenes. The beautiful shots are a credit to their work. It's just a shame that Netflix didn't put a more effort into the story and the horror concepts. Whatever the point was, I'm still none the wiser and not at all scared.
The killer is too vague and unknown, and without other aspects to give a sense of horror (and with some strange moments) it's just confusing. The boy is obsessed from the start that someone is in the house, but it's not clear when he gets in or where he hides. He's unnaturally silent and fast, but other than his probably impossible behaviour he's probably not supernatural. But he has no identity, no motives, no seeming connection to them, the house, the other characters, or anything. Nothing to pin down means nothing really to fear.
He does, however, get some killing done. A favourite trope of mine is the (spoilers ahead) "everyone dies" ending, and this film pretty much delivers. The friendly black guy who flirts with the mum is accepted by the son just in time to turn up and fulfill one of my least favourite tropes. As the only speaking and seemingly only-but-one black person in this rural mountain village... Yes, he dies first. His entire character is seemingly to be this trope and it's annoying to see. After he is so quickly dispatched, the long torture of the mother character gave me hope for some motive reveal, but there is none. Watch out here for some 'fingore' as he breaks each of her digits in a loud, celery snap just for the unpleasantness factor.
Some other unpleasantness is in a very brilliant series of events, that could have been taken further. Early on, the boy carefully takes out his contact lenses in a focused scene. This is important, it says by lingering, but the film is filled with this sort of focus on the mundane. Later, the killer takes his glasses, and returns them. Finally, near the very end, the killer pins him down, holds his head still and very carefully removes his contact lenses. Chilling. Effective. It really could have utilised better.
Asides from a really lovely twist, there is a lot that made this film feel like a draft. Having a blank state killer with no motive puts the focus on the victims. They too, however, give no reason to be stalked and killed. The wrong no other character and display no fatal flaws. There is a horror concept that first a victim commits a 'sin' for which they are then punished. The teens having underage sex are killed by a slasher, the person who dabbles in the occult is killed by the monsters they summon, and the unpleasant character is unceremoniously offed. This way, the viewer enjoys the deaths and even feels a lesson or an escape can be learned. In Open House, however, this too is lacking. There's no reason for the deaths from either party and their deaths are unsatisfying. Even the twist, thrilling in it's unexpectedness, is not satisfying and luckily the action does not linger there.
On the topic of the title, there is so much emphasis on the concept. The title, the explanation, the closing view of the sign. Asides from a handwaved way for the killer to get into the house, its completely irrelevant. A fair few things are over developed red herrings. The film begins with the father killed in the car accident, and aside from the son's PTSD it doesn't make much difference. The basement has a mysterious tunnel, blocked off by a pile of furniture and instead of being revealed it's not shown again. The neighbour has dementia and her husband's death is a point of curiousity, but ultimately she's a distraction. The realtor's assistant is creepy and has a couple of supposed jumpscares, but he may as well be a cat because he serves nothing more to the plot.
While the credits began to roll on my disappointment, they did reveal an interesting fact. As well as a minimal cast, this film had a skeleton crew. Really, a tiny amount of people working behind the scenes. The beautiful shots are a credit to their work. It's just a shame that Netflix didn't put a more effort into the story and the horror concepts. Whatever the point was, I'm still none the wiser and not at all scared.
