Elizabeth Olsen displayed real brilliance in last year’s Martha Marcy May Marlene and once again, her talent shines through in Silent House. The problem here is that the movie itself is not nearly as compelling as Olsen’s performance and if it wasn’t for her being in it, I’m afraid this haunted house feature would be lifeless and fall completely flat. The directing duo of Chris Kentis and Laura Lau (Open Water) know how to take their time with a story and slowly let it build into something unnerving and unimaginable. And while Silent House (supposedly done in one continuous, unbroken shot) starts off well, it soon loses steam and the audience loses interest.
Sarah (Olsen) is helping her dad with the family’s lakeside home. They are packing stuff up and repairing practically everything inside the house in order to get it on the market and sold. But what starts out as noises occurring upstairs turns in to pure terror once Sarah finds her father laying on the floor in a room, barely breathing. While being out in the middle of nowhere and the power being out, we follow her while she tries to survive the house and escape whoever or whatever is in it.
For movies like this, it always comes down to two things: how scary it is and the ending. Silent House has some tense moments, but it never scares. It never makes you jump out of your seat. Actually, it barely even gets you on the edge of it. And as far as the ending goes, it’s weird and almost awkward. Of course I can’t tell you what happens because that’s no fun. However, I can say that you can probably guess some part of it from almost the very beginning, but even if you are completely clueless until the end, you won’t be that shocked. It deals with a sensitive subject in a senseless, messy way.
Olsen is the reason to see this. That should be clear by now. Kentis and Lau had something fresh in mind for Silent House, but it just didn’t turn out that way. Olsen shows every emotion she can on her face and the camera is up close and personal to capture it all. She keeps the suspense going for as long as she can. You completely believe in her performance. Unfortunately, the movie just can’t keep up with its actress.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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