House at the End of the Street - A Movie Review

Stay away from the house at the end of the street. Dark stories plague its history.

Released to theaters in 2012, House at the End of the Street is about a mother and daughter moving into a neighborhood. Intrigued by the house next door, Elissa meets her neighbor, Ryan. Instead of listening to warnings from her neighbors, a dark secret is dug up.

I am so glad that I went into House at the End of the Street with fresh eyes. Based on the trailer, I had this film completely wrong. It had me guessing until the very end. I’m not sure why this movie has so many negative reviews. While I do agree that it could have better in some ways, I was on the edge of my seat.

Jennifer Lawrence is a fearless powerhouse. Stubborn, Elissa would rather listen to her heart than the people around her. As a teenager, Elissa just wants to be understood. I like Lawrence’s ability to act with her eyes. As she becomes closer with her neighbor, Ryan, her quick thinking is put to the test.

The best character actor award goes to Max Thieriot. He had audiences on their feet the whole time with every subtle action. Just like Lawrence, Thieriot also did a terrific job acting with his eyes. You think you may know Ryan, but he has different motivations altogether. Overall, the story got a bit lost with Ryan’s character, having trouble with details in his background.

The mother-daughter relationship between Elissa and Sarah could have been executed better. Knowing that they have had issues in the past, they’re at each other’s throats too much. Aside from this direction in their characters, Lawrence and Elisabeth Shue were excellent in their interactions.

I like how the film focused on Sarah, and not just Elissa. Sarah has a subplot of her own, but it doesn’t fully flesh out her character. If this film was from her perspective then we could have delved more into her background in discussion with Bill (Gil Bellows).

Most supporting characters don’t have that much motivation other than revealing exposition about Ryan’s mystery background. Credits include Gil Bellows, Eva Link, Nolan Gerard Funk, Allie MacDonald, and Jordan Hayes.

Writers missed an opportunity to use some of these characters. For example, I would have liked to have seen more of the dynamic between Elissa and the girl who she befriends from the party. Because the town is against Ryan, writers missed a key opportunity to include this friend in Elissa’s rebel attitude.

Overall, Mark Tonderai planned out thorough shots for the atmosphere of the film. He picked nice locations to film in along with building the designs of the houses. Ryan’s house has many subtle nuances that I was not aware of.

One shot of the film had cool cinematography surrounding raindrops. The way he directed the story made for a suspenseful ride. Now when you go back and watch the movie, it is not like the first time. But some aspects of the story and characters needed to be fleshed out more.

The climax is the highlight. The eerie soundtrack builds up the tension. Everything from the staging, the slow camera movements, and an ending that turns your opinion around on one character made House at the End of the Street a heart-pounding watch. It had the tone of an Alfred Hitchcock film.

Take a look at it and enjoy the film. I would love to watch this film for the first time again. I definitely recommend it to anybody who is a fan of the thriller genre.